Hong York

When I was living in Hong Kong, one of my biggest pet peeves was the fact that oncoming passengers would not wait for exiting passengers to step off the subway before pushing their way on. Every time this would happen I would miss New York and the fact that even amidst the chaos of the subway, New Yorkers at least know to wait on either side of the door for people to exit the train. The last two weeks I spent back in New York, however, have been a rude awakening for me to the fact that New Yorkers are becoming a lot more like Hong Kongers. On numerous occasions, I had people push past me into the subway car before I was able to exit. One afternoon, as I was waiting patiently to one side of the doors to board the F train, another boarding passenger in front of me stood blocking almost the entire doorway with his girth. As soon as the train doors opened he began shoving his way onto the train, prompting an exiting passenger to say, rightfully so, "wait for people to get off the train first." The man shoving his way on scowled and replied, "Oh, @#$% you!" In some ways, New Yorkers will always be New Yorkers.