How seriously do we take the silent compartment* in trains?
Yesterday I sat in one for the first time in a long time. Two nuns went in just ahead of me, and they were chatting as they went in. They continued chatting (in a quiet and nun-appropriate sort of way, but still) and after a few moments the girl in the seat next to them told them to shut the hell up (or politer words to that effect). They complied in a nun-appropriate way.
Today I sat in another compartimento del silenzio (or whatever it is), and some dude spoke LOUDLY on his mobile phone. He was sitting opposite a stranger, and the stranger tried to encourage him to speak more quietly or to go somewhere else and have his conversation or to wait until later, but the man was adamant that he HAD TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION NOW AND IT WOULD ONLY TAKE A MOMENT. While he was on the phone I was wondering if I should tell him to shut the hell up, but then someone else's phone rang, and then someone else's, and so all of a sudden me and the cranky old man adjacent to me were the only ones not on the phone. Everyone hung up after a while, and it was silent again, but then the original phone man ended up having another 2 phone calls in the space of the 45 minute train trip, the last one of which he put on speaker phone (!!) because apparently the reception was so bad he couldn't hear anything any other way.
In general I don't particularly care, but this man was so blatant in his non-silence. Is this because he is a general flouter of rules (and therefore likely to react badly to being told what to do), or because he didn't know it was a silent compartment (and therefore likely to slink off with his tail between his legs when yelled at)? Should I have asked him to shut up? Should someone else? Since I was apparently unwilling to get into any sort of argument with a stranger in a language not my own, I didn't say anything. And nor did anyone else. And I don't know if I approve or not**.
* Some bits of some trains are designated silent, and there small, quiet signs everywhere telling you this in 4 languages and pictograms. In general, people seem to take the silence thing quite seriously, so you never normally have to think about whether you should try to enforce it or not.
** The very fact that I have even considered telling strangers to shut up makes me worry that I am embracing the least endearing aspects of Switziness far too much. Sigh.
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4 comments:
Last week I was in the Quiet Car I was astounded by the number of people talking.
I did notice, however, that NONE of them were speaking German. Mostly French, a bit of Italian and, in the case of the man shouting into his mobile, one of the languages from india. (Haven't a clue which one.)
My friend, who happens to have retained some French from high school, caught enough of the nearest French conversation to hear them complaining about all the Rules in Switzerland. (They were on their way back to Paris.) Pretty amusing.
I take the quiet car pretty seriously and will tell people to shut up. Probably because the only time I'm ever allowed in a quiet car these days is when I don't have either child with me - a rare and blessed event! - and oh boy do I want my peace and quiet then!!
I agree with GL - I more often hear French than Swiss-German in the quiet car. Not that I'm ever in them anymore.
Can't you just complain to the train staff? In Denmark they're pretty strict about it to my knowledge. I was once asked to turn of my mobile, which I was playing a game on - on silent mode - just to pass time. And it's not like the pressing of rubber buttons make a lot of noise. Nor more than someone texting on their mobile...
silent carriages? What a good idea. Wouldn't work in sydney though, they just have to cram everyone on wherever they can fit.
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