3 Days, 3 Ways

The first method of transportation I choose to retrace my route with was running. I went at about 9 in the morning, it was a calm and slightly overcast. I have always noticed that when I am running early in the day people are more likely to say "hello" or "good morning" as I pass by. This mode of transportation is more than trying to get from point A to point B, it also has many benefits. It releases stress, I sleep better at night, and of course get an opportunity to spend some time outside.

The next method of transportation I used was driving. It was later in the evening and a like brisk outside. But this gave me an opportunity to see my designated site lite up by the street lights. Since I do not have my own car, I had someone else drive me. This created more of an "outing" situation. While still paying attention to my surroundings, having someone with me forced my focus to mainly be on them. This method differed from running because the only reason I would drive is to spend time with someone, somewhere. My movement through the city was under their control since I was not the driver. They choose the speed, the music I heard, when to start and stop, etc.

The third and last method of transportation I used was riding the bus. I went around dusk and it was still fairly warm weather. I frequently use the bus as one of my main modes of transportation to navigate my way through the city and am accustomed to the socially acceptable behaviors. For example, sitting in an open seat rather than next to a stranger, keeping to myself and not engaging in conversation with other bus riders, and appropriately thanking the bus driver for taking me to my destination safely. Riding the bus was the most mundane type of travel. Again, my movement to my destination is in control of the bus driver just like driving in someone's car.

After making an assessment of my three different ways I made some comparisons to the Nato Thompson reading. The observation is made that "we become what we experience". I saw this through my decision to run. People acknowledged me as a "runner" as I passed them. I experienced running through the city and in turn was a runner. The article also discusses how our behaviors are a result of how we move through the world. When riding the bus, my chosen behavior was a product of learned behaviors appropriate for this method of transportation. One of my favorite parts of the article was the comparison to language. Discussing Michel de Certeau's The Practice of Everyday Life, it states "The city can be considered a language: a place where a short-cut across a yard or jay-walking were moments of personal flair. Loitering could be an aside, skateboarding a sonnet." I related this to when I took the bus. On my way back, because I had missed the first bus back to my apartment, I walked a few blocks so I would not be standing and waiting as long for the next bus to arrive. This change in the ordinary bus ride was my "moment of personal flair".