Foot in the door? No thank you.

Less than 24 hours in Russia and I had already had my first near-death experience. Fantastic. I went out with a couple colleagues of mine to get some things set up for work. One had just been telling me how easy the metro is to use. The train pulled up, and people piled out. It was a particularly full train so it took a while to clear out. The three of us then attempted to squeeze in, but I was first. I turned around and realized there wasn’t time for the other two to get in behind me. Being used to the German metro, I simply reached out to stop the door from closing. Newsflash: This is Russia, not Germany. The door didn’t stop so I started to reverse off the train, but it closed on my hips. The girl I was with pulled me off BUT not fast enough, and my foot got stuck in the door. So there I was, sitting on the cement of the metro station with one appendage still on the train. Anyway, let me say: those things go fast. And the tunnels are narrow. (But don’t worry, Mom!) I tried pulling my foot free and the girl grabbed me by the arms and started pulling, although it didn’t seem to be doing any good. I’m not going to lie, some interesting thoughts flashed through my mind. One being, “Aw, man! What if I have to lose my boot? I just got here.” Fortunately, the man with us noticed a head a little closer to the ground than usual and ran over from the other train door. He took a firm grasp of my ankle and I (and my boot as well) came out virtually unscathed. Oh yeah, then the doors opened for a second and re-closed. Thanks a lot. 

Now, you may be asking “Didn’t anyone try to pull the doors open or push your foot from the inside?” No. No, they did not. I thought they looked irritated, but they were not exactly my biggest concern. My co-worker said they looked shocked/terrified. What? It’s not like you’ve never seen a girl almost dragged by a train before. Sheesh. Needless to say, I now have a strict policy against getting on the train first or last when traveling with a group.

I’m not sayin’; I’m just sayin’.