“Oh lord, I’ve had enough of these people out here.”

The subway was full, and I was crammed between the busy stream and struggling to pull the heavy suitcase. Every time the train stopped, I had to cling to the handrails; it felt like a roly-poly doll. The chaotic noise, loud conversations, the smell of fast food, sweat from people exercising, and the mix of various perfumes made me feel scared, and I could not even breathe. Additionally, I observed several unusual behaviors: a man brought his speaker and started singing and rapping; actually, he looked pretty enjoying his voice at that time, while a random guy sat on the subway seats and kept talking alone; I thought he was on a phone call, but he was not. Someone was shouting random things, kids were crying loudly, and they were even carrying some unusual items that I did not know we were allowed to bring on the subway. I remembered seeing a huge, black mix with grey, and it looked pretty dirty; I could imagine that if it stood up, it would be the same height as me. It was muzzled but still went around to smell everything.

After eight hours sitting on the bus with the houseparents and some of my friends, my sense of excitement was gone, replaced by a feeling of exhaustion. My back ached, and my fragile joints started to hurt, making me feel twenty years older by then.

Arriving at the subway station, I had to pull my suitcase on the slippery floor, which made me feel worse. With this being a crowded and bustling area, I was really overwhelmed. The worst things suddenly came to me; every stop brought another wave of people pushing, and I always stepped back to make sure that people would not trample on a short person like me. I felt extremely nervous; my heart beat as if it would jump out of my chest in a few minutes, and I also found it hard to breathe. about this situation; the feeling of wanting to lie down on the bed at the hotel made me a little rushed. I had never been in such a crowded and confined space like this before. I thought, “Why did I start this trip?” I was thinking that I needed to go back to Bangor right away, as it is a peaceful and quiet place that suits my personality.

After stopping at the seventh station, I finally got off the train and walked towards the hotel. I felt lighter when I left the station. When I finished setting up and entered my room, the calm and quiet finally made me relax completely.