09.25.06
Completely Lost
We took a quick trip to Perugia this weekend to visit some good friends there. On the way home, at the train station where we had to change trains, a man came up to me. He looked scared, and he sort of gestured to me towards the train tickets he held in his hand.
I looked down and saw where he was trying to go. I realized that he had no idea what he needed to do. I asked him several questions in English and Italian, but it was all lost on him. I took him over to the schedule, and found the track where he needed to be. However, they had made an announcement over the loudspeaker that they had changed the track, but since he didn’t understand, he probably stood at the wrong track and watched his train leave without him.
I finally figured out he was from Pakistan (the only word he used with me). I took him to the ticket window, which was already closed. I went to the computer to see if there was another train. I talked with the guys working in the control center. He had missed the last train of the night. So I had to explain to him that he needed to wait 2 hours for a bus, that would take him to another station. Then, he had to get on a train at that station to get to where he was going.
I sat him down in an area where he could see the bus, held up 2 fingers to symbolize how long he needed to wait, and pretended like I was driving a bus.
The thing that really struck me was how scary that situation would be. Coming from a country where public trains barely exist, I understand how confusing the system is to the uninitiated. Missing the last train of the night would be awful. Finally, I boarded my train, and prayed for him to get to where he was going safely.