On the No. 7 Train, ‘Hello’ in Many Tongues

Dear Diary:

On one boring Tuesday morning, I was on the No. 7 train going to my classes in the city. People of different ethnicities, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian and others, eagerly shuffled to get a seat on the express train to Manhattan. Everyone had no energy, being sleepy. They were all just waiting for the weekend to begin again.

The train conductor came on and made a different announcement, instead of the usual “Seven express train to Times Square. Next stop Willets Point. Stand clear of the closing doors please.”

He said: “Hello, good morning. Hola! Ni hao! Anyoung haseyo! Shalom! Namaste! Seven express train to Times Square. Next stop Willets Point. Stand clear of the closing doors please.”

Just like that, he brightened everybody’s day.

Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via email diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.