Valerie, I need you to get out the phone. VALERIE, GET OUT THE PHONE NOW!

Okay...before reading this, I need everyone to realize that Valerie and I are totally safe here. Mom, this story might frighten you a little, but as soon as I talk to you on the phone, I will tell you all the things I remembered you teaching me about what to do in situations like this one. My life was never in danger...I don't think.

The Subte is mine and Valerie's top choice of transportation. It is easier for us to navigate than the bus and much cheaper than a taxi. Valerie and I have been here for 15 days now and have taken the subway almost everyday. The first few days, we took it the wrong way or got lost a little bit, but in recent days, we have been successfully navigating the subte every time. We have even been making 2 or 3 connections from line to line recently. Well, apparently, Valerie and I lost our heads last night for a little while...and consequently, almost our lives (just kidding).

Valerie and I left the youth meeting last night at church around 8:30pm. We walked down to the subway stop and boarded the subway as normal. However, we both realized that it wasn't normal this time--there was nobody on the train. I got an eerie feeling about this and asked Val if we should get out and check the next traincar to see if there were people on that one. As Val was deciding what she wanted to do, the train began to move. The doors did not close, though. At this point, I got a little worried, but I figured we'd just get off whenever this train stopped and get a taxi to take us the rest of the way home. (You see, the subway closes at night. I didn't know what time it normally closed, but I thought maybe it was closing and we just happened to get on the train. I knew it was going to have to stop somewhere, so at this point, I was worried, but figured we'd be out soon). At this point, Valerie poked her head out the door that was still open and made eye contact with a few subway workers who were standing on the platform. Through the horrified look on her face and the emphatic hand gestures she was giving, she informed them that we had no idea where this subway was going and why nobody was on it (this is an important detail of the story to remember).

Well, the subway traveled for a little bit before it began to slow and eventually stopped...in the middle of nowhere...underground...in the dark. At this point, my heart was pounding out of my chest. It was like something out of a horror movie. Two young girls, traveling alone, get stuck underground on the subway tracks. It was like the point in the movie when an ax murdered jumps aboard the train. So...I turned to Val and said, "I'm about to throw up. You need to get our phone out right now. VALERIE, GET THE PHONE OUT NOW!"

We saw a man walking down the tracks toward the car we were in. You know how there is a "fight or flight" reaction to everything? Well, we found out last night that I have a "fight" reaction and Val has a "flight" reaction. I immediately made my way to the open door of the train and prepared myself to attack this mystery man. Valerie had the phone in her hand, ready to dial Osvaldo, but began to back away from the doors slowly. Valerie said, "Senor? Senor?" The man jumped from the tracks up into the train car. At this moment, Valerie was the one almost throwing up, but I knew from looking at the man's uniform and his face that he was the train conductor and was there only to help us, not harm us or anything. Apparently, the three men Val had seen on the platform earlier had radio-ed to the conductor to tell him there were passengers on the train.

We said (of course, all in Spanish) "What's going on?" The conductor began rattling off in Spanish and the only word I caught was "caminando" which means "walking". I said, "Caminando contigo, por favor? (Walking with you, please?)" I knew I did not want to walk those subway tracks alone. He helped Val and I get out of the subway and led us down the tracks. We apologized profusely and explained to him that we're not from here. We had apparently boarded the train that they were putting up for the night! He just laughed and even let us take some pictures walking down the tracks. He led us up to the platform and made sure we got onto the right train and knew which stop to get off at. Praise God for this man's kind heart!

In summary, I have never been so scared in my whole life. I have no idea what could have possibly happened to Valerie and me down there, but I thank God that everything turned out alright. I only suffered a minor heart attack, so I'd say that's pretty good. But, seriously, only read this story to laugh at the ridiculous adventures we have daily in Buenos Aires. Don't worry about our safety...God is protecting us even when we do REALLY dumb things! I've attached some pictures for your enjoyment! =)

peace. love. subway tracks,
Hannah