Culture Shock

Erin: USA to Buenos Aires

The classic expat embarrassing moment: falling into the subway gap, getting rescued by strangers, and accidentally assaulting your rescuer with gratitude. A perfect Buenos Aires moment.

Travel Blogger

Palermo

10+ years in BA

4 min read

Source: Sol Salute blog

Key Highlights

•Fell between subway car and platform
•Strangers rallied to help immediately
•Hugged unwilling rescuer in panic
•Lost shoe on tracks - another stranger retrieved it

## Mind the Gap

"Mind the gap. We all know it and when we say it our heads we hear a cute little British accent. But do you actually think about what it means?"

Erin didn't. Not until the day she found out the hard way.

The Fall

It was rush hour on Line D. Erin was rushing across the city to pick up her final check from a job she'd quit the day before. She stepped out of the subway car in Palermo, and instead of hitting solid ground, her foot fell through the gap between the car and the platform.

Her knee slammed into the edge. She was stuck.

"I hear gasps all around as I try to wriggle out. Someone screams at the driver not to leave. Argentines are GREAT in a crisis - they rally."

The Rescue

While Erin pushed frantically against the ground, convinced she was about to lose her leg, she felt someone behind her. A man slipped his arms under hers and pulled her up.

"I WAS FREE."

The whole incident lasted seconds but felt like an eternity. Erin never even saw the face of her rescuer before he disappeared into the crowd.

The Hug

Standing on the platform in shock, Erin realized she was missing one shoe. It had fallen onto the tracks.

"Maybe I was in shock, but I definitely wasn't thinking clearly."

Another young man saw her distress, hopped down onto the tracks, and retrieved her shoe. Erin's response? She immediately hugged him.

"With all the enthusiasm as if HE had been the one who just saved me from getting my leg ripped off. This guy did NOT want to be hugged."

The Aftermath

"I'm sorry random Argentine man," Erin wrote years later, "but thank you for my shoe (and my leg)."

The story has become one of her most-shared expat moments - a perfect encapsulation of Buenos Aires: the danger, the kindness of strangers, the embarrassment, and the humor that comes with surviving it all.

The Lesson

"Mind the gap, ya'll."