Awkward Metro Moments pt. 1

I'm going to make this segment a recurring feature, as I'm been here only two days and already had a number of awkward metro moments. The most awkward has been today, going to Lyon III on the green line to Sans Souci. It's a short ride, but today was supremely awkward as I hit it at almost 2:00 pm, prime time for people going back to work from their lunch breaks. A rule of the metro is: more people = more awkward.

One thing you need to know about the metro is that you must not make eye contact with anyone. Nothing will happen to you if you do, but it will be exceedingly awkward. I accidentally made eye contact yesterday with an elderly fellow, who proceeded to narrow his eyes and waggle his eyebrows at me in a seriously alarming way. I immediately averted my eyes to the floor. The floor is generally the best place to keep your eyes on the metro, and it's also nice because you get to have a look at everyone's stylish French shoes. However, it poses problems in very rare scenarios such as one I experienced today. The metro being so crowded, my usual technique of staring blankly straight ahead was ineffective, as other humans were in my field of vision. I once again tried to staring the floor. However, something, or rather someONE was obstructing my vision. I found myself accidentally and quite obviously staring at a Little Person. He was dressed very snappily, in a leather jacket and those stylish French shoes. Of course he saw me looking at him, and he gave me quite a Look. I imagine this isn't a very common situation, as I've never seen a Little Person on the metro before, however, if you're in a similar position, look at the ceiling of the train car. Sometimes there's gum up there.