bus rides

I am taking the bus from Vancouver to Seattle to meet one of my most dearest friends in the world for dinner and twelve amazing women.

I love this. I love the bus, I love the idea of the dinner. I just plain love this.

Whilst on the bus, I met the most fascinating, hungry woman who ended up sitting to my right and chatting with me about everything from gender studies, racism, roommates, family, introspection, changing the world, and school all in a matter of 2 hours. How cool is that?

The two men behind me are discussing the economic crisis in the US and ways of changing and fixing it while the woman to my left has her head neatly tucked in the middle of a foam crescent moon, sleeping . I am surrounded by strangers and yet infinitely fascinated.

I love things like buses and trains, you have a whole whack of people who would never choose to sit together, jammed into a box on wheels for any number of hours. I love to make up stories about the people around me, like… maybe the two men in the back are conspiracy theorists and they are heading to DC to blow up the White House, and the crescent pillow lady to my left is so tired because she was up all night getting wasted at an underground rave in Vancouver.

So fun we are.
xo
a

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  • Alexandra

    Thats so funny u mention this.
    I was traveling with two of my best friends throw Canada. And we always took the Greyhound bus. One day we went from Toronto to Ottawa and a really nice guy was sitting next to me. After a while we got into a chat. We talked about everything. Like you about “what is important to us”, “what we think about diffrent subjects” and so on (even we didn’t know eachother at all and never met before,we were talking all the time)…now I can say this guy, Phillip his name became a friend of mine. Even if we don’t live in the same country, we still write eachother from time to time. Never thought to meet someone on a bus and become friends. :-)

    And the think to make up storys about people you observe…I think this can be sometimes the biggest fun. Sitting there and create a whole fictional story…now I have to say I would like to know what kind of story people would create about me…
    Have great time in Seattle…and don’t get lost like I did. ;-)

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/RitinhaBr Rita Gabriela

    I loved dinner with my friends… it`s really cool!!!

    Enjoy very much Allison!!

    Take care

    xo

    Rita

  • Elena

    One of my college friends and I rode the bus to the transit station here in Anchorage, Alaska. We wanted to observe the different types of people. Particularly the crazy and strange individuals! It most definitely was fascinating because bus riders are a whole other culture within themselves. :D

  • viviane

    riding a bus can be nice … Maybe even a surprise! also met my best friend in a bus coming home .. is not cool! :)
    then, take care,
    kisses
    Viviane – Brazil

  • Killjoyroy

    It’s fun to slum it every once in awhile eh?

  • taylor nikole

    haha i hope they aren’t going to blow up the white house…
    thats all we need :-p
    more trouble HAHHA

  • Andrea Staley

    Hi Allison! This is my first time commenting one of your blogs, though I read them all the time. I thought this was fantastic! One of my favorite things to do is people watch and my dad and I are always sitting and making up stories about people. Plus, Seattle is amazing.

    I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while about a project I’m starting called Teens Changing the World, but I wasn’t sure how to get in contact with you. I guess this is the best way.

    So the organization is what it sounds (well trying to be!) The only site I have up now is a myspace. I t would be amazing if you checked it out. I’d explain what it’s about now, but I’m afraid of getting carried away and rambling. (Kinda like now) So, here’s the site: http://www.myspace.com/teenschangingworld

    You are a huge inspiration to me. Just…thank you.
    :)

  • arash

    Last time me and my friend took a bus south of the border US Immigration stoped us and pulled both of us out for a body search. Two hours later we realized the bus had left without us. Now that I think I remember there was a pretty girl sitting in front of us.

  • http://thegingersnaps.blogspot.com Ana

    You know, people always look at me funny when I say I like taking the bus.

    I mean, even everyday bus rides are fun. I love the bus I take to University every morning. You get to see all sorts of people: funny, strange, amazing, beautiful, unusual…

    A friend of mine always says: “Riding a bus is an anthropological experience.”

    Buses give me ideas. I start wondering about pictures I could take, films I could make…

    I just wish people would talk more to each other on buses. Here where I live people are kind of cold and don’t seem to like human contact at all.

    I usually say this is a city where everybody comes in “one”. There’s never two of anybody. You go to the movies, you go alone. You go to the theatre, alone. You go to the mall, alone. You go to a restaurant, alone.

    But hey, this is a completely different subject.

    Have a great weekend.

  • thomas

    Laughing on the bus
    Playing games with the faces
    She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy I said “Be careful his bowtie is really a camera”
    Simon and Garfunkel America.

  • http://www.natwilsonsr.piczo.com Nathaniel

    I do remember taking a bus ride years ago from Lake Charles, LA to Houston, TX (a two hour ride). What was fascinating then and now, is that your in this box on wheels thinking, “I am here taking this ride with complete strangers, whether sitting next to, behind, in front, or accross the aisle from me, and I wonder if each of us are thinking; is this ride really worth taking with all these strangers.”

    You know we were always told, “Dont ride with strangers!”

    The fascinating thing is you almost always end up meeting or making a new friend!

  • http://www.natwilsonsr.piczo.com Nathaniel

    I do remember taking a bus ride years ago from Lake Charles, LA to Houston, TX (a two hour ride). What was fascinating then and now, is that you’re in this box on wheels thinking, “I am here taking this ride with complete strangers, whether sitting next to, behind, in front, or accross the aisle from me, and I wonder if each of us are thinking; is this ride really worth taking with all these strangers.”

    You know we were always told, “Dont ride with strangers!”

    The fascinating thing is you almost always end up meeting or making a new friend!

  • Beth

    It’s funny you should mention bus rides.
    On the bus on the way home from uni today i saw this guy sneak passed the driver without paying. I was thinking did he really just get away with that. Lol.

    That’s the most original bus story I’ve heard in a while. Usually when I get the bus I just sit and mind my own business unless I’m with friends.

    You just made bus rides sound a whole lot more interesting.

    You always manage to make me smile.
    I hope you had a fantastic dinner with your friends.

  • http://www.chloesullivansite.com/ BOUROUX

    Hi Allison
    Thanks for sharing this experience.
    It’s amazing, 2 strangers, a communication, a story , a scrip for a film and a new project.
    It’s the life, full of surprises.
    Good night.

  • http://deleted Robin

    It always fascinating when a group of people who normally would never cross paths are brought together for a set amount of time.

    When ever we travel by plane, train or bus I am always amazed at the variety of people around, and how different we each are, and yet how similar each of us are, us humans are a funny bunch.

  • Aziza

    Alexandra’s comment reminds me of one of your little vids- Allison Mack Driving. :)
    That was such a cute vid.

    The moral of Allison’s blog- open- heartedness expands your world.

  • http://myspace.com/conduit0 Conduit0

    Some buses are better than others, though. It depends upon the neighborhood. Some are very nice, like the one I use to commute, as it takes a nice ride along the lake I live nearby. Other buses in other neighborhoods (that I no longer live in) are as scary as their neighborhoods. You could be a grown-up tough guy like me yet find yourself looking over your shoulder periodically. Especially when you get off the bus at a poorly lit stop. Not everyone’s as tall and strong as Mr. Welling, and it’s not cool to be outnumbered after dark when you look more like Samwise than Superman. Even the University District in Seattle has been getting bad press about people being assaulted by thugs at random lately, which is a real shame. Especially since buses help keep us drunks from driving! The coolness of the bus depends upon the local environment.

  • Lorraine

    I also make up stories to help pass the time too and if I decide to make a scenario into a story, I’d hastily tabbed it to the note function of my fone. :)
    About bus rides, I had such experience traveling from NJ to Chicago by Greyhound. My parents were with me for the long trip. Dad, who knew I was caught in that insecure phase, suggested that this was best platform to find my confidence. Lolz. So, I gathered my guts and sat beside a friendly girl who I found out to be from Sweden. For the duration of the trip, we shared stories of home, our schools, and for how long we were staying in Chicago then we swapped e-mail addresses. The long trip became an enjoyable time. We stayed in touch for a couple of years but as always, other stuffs cropped up and we lost touched. It was just this year through Facebook, that she ‘found’ me and we started to trade little stories again. The bus ride was an unforgettable time.

  • http://www.myspace.com/fridayphilosopher The Friday Philosopher!

    It all sounds nice!

    People don’t do that over here any more. Like Ross said, the only thing we have to entertain ourselves on public transport is the fear of being stabbed!

    I try to avoid it as much as I can these days! Though to be honest, you’re just as likely to get stabbed whilst walking.

    Friday

  • http://www.twitter.com/Magpiez Magie

    Ahh the bus, I take it to get home every break during the school year and it never fails to entertain me to some end. I just love to kind of look at the people around me and try to imagine their stories and where they are going and where they came from. It’s the ability to run into so many different people and be apart of a moment in their life and them in yours that is really freakin awesome.

  • http://irockfm.com/ Jonathan

    Bus rides are not really for me. I like to drive instead. A long drive from Texas to California or better yet to Florida. I dig the beach. Drive along the coast and see all the Ocean. Ever done that?

  • http://reelartsy.blogspot.com Karen

    I know! I’ve met several fascinating people on long bus/train/plane rides. One of the best was a professor. We talked about everything from vegetarianism to politics. She was the person who introduced me to vegan brownies. Yummy!

  • Soniclore

    Buses are fun. Yay, the bus!

  • http://www.myspace.com/tjaymedina TJ

    Had experienced a two six-hour bus ride when I went to Sagada in the Philippines. It was exhausting, but God has put all the magnificent view everywhere. Commuters are interesting too expecially when they speak a different dialect. Makes you wonder what they’re talking about.

  • SERGIO

    Saludos mi querida Allison
    Esa experiencia que tuviste estubo genial , pero dejame contarte que en la mayoria de ocaciones el viage en bus es muy tedioso debido a que normalmente van exedidos en su capacidad y viajar en las gradas o apretado en rutas urbanas es totalmente desagradable,,.. aunque por el contrario realizar viajes como dices, en rutas largas es una experiencia increible en especial si el viaje incluye paradas en distintos lugares para conocer sitios hermosos…

  • poetic dissonance

    myspace.com/abidethefall

  • Natalie

    I love making up stories about people. It is so funny yo people watch and make up stories about them and their life. lol! :)

  • WhoisWorthyToAknowledge

    hahaha u like to make stuff up too eh

    “maybe the two men in the back are conspiracy theorists and they are heading to DC to blow up the White House”

    lol i do that too, love being creative/imaginative like that.

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