My (student discount) train pass. I get cheap rides between my home and school stations (which are named on the top; the character with the arrows below it means 'school') and it has my name on it (at the bottom) and even my age (weird). This one s good for three months, and I can just wave it in front of the turnstile when I get off and on instead of buying a ticket and feeding it into the machine. Plus, it has a penguin, and I have very positive associations with penguins. (This guy is everywhere; there are posters advertising the pass all over the place and merchandise with him on it in all the big stations.)
This amazing poster is in my home station:
As anyone who's anybody knows, I love Thomas. I named my car after one of his friends, and tormented my brother with him as a child (Poor Jeffrey Thomas the Tank Engine Gary; I don't know if he ever got over it). Seeing him outside my station on my morning commute is one of the best things a foreign girl could hope for. Above him says (more or less) 'a kinder station is a safer station', and the bubble by his head says 'engine driver'. Down below where he's next to Henry and Gordon (side note: David Henry the Tender Engine Gary never got quite the response as the Thomas version, which was always a huge disappointment) he advises us to ask the 'station people' about anything we might not understand or are concerned about. Thank you Thomas; I will certainly do that. Thank you for keeping me safe. Between you and the happy penguin, I am certainly in good hands.
