It was 9am in the morning. I was on a crowded train on the way to work on the Circle Line. Everybody was minding their own business, some tried to get in a nap while commuting, everybody enjoyed the silence that comes with the dread of waking up early in the morning (I know it's not THAT early but I'm sure we all dread going to work or running errands in the morning). Nobody talked at all, no loud music from some random young punks low quality earpiece, no uncles/aunties watching Korean dramas with their phone's loudspeaker on.
In came an auntie on her phone.
She talked so loudly and so quickly in her mother tongue. She stood beside me and annoyed the hell out of me with the amount of noise she was making. However, my annoyance was short-lived. I started laughing at the reactions of other aunties who were seated around auntie on phone. The aunties literally stared at her, shook their heads and even tsked her but she paid no heed to the rest of them, obviously engrossed in her conversation. One auntie even took off her scarf in anger (she literally threw her scarf into her bag and slammed it shut) while staring at auntie on phone. Many also moved further into the carriage to get away from auntie on phone.
There was one point in time when her call got cut off due to the bad reception in our train tunnels. People actually smiled. But auntie on phone did not let that obstacle get to her. She dialed back and continued on with her conversation to the disapproval of other commuters. Luckily for me, the next stop was where I was going to get off. I could still see one of the aunties looking at me with anguish in her eyes.
Today's experience got me thinking, why can't we be more considerate towards other commuters? It got me thinking about the time when I was in Japan last year. Everybody on the train was silent or at the very least, whispering. It was pure bliss. Why can't we have that in Singapore? I'm sure it will make us happier while we commute.
Editors Note: How annoyed do you get when there are such noisy people around you when you commute? Let us know!
