 Monthly Archives
Categories
A Chance Encounter
While traveling through Europe a little while ago, I caught a nasty flu. I was especially bummed because it manifested itself when I arrived in Berlin. I celebrated my first birthday in Germany and my family lived there for nearly three years, so I really wanted to have some sort of affecting experience. However, the morning after I arrived in the city I felt very sick. Not wanting to get my travel companion or anyone else sick, I slipped out of our hostel early and alone. I just bundled up, grabbed my wallet, and left. I was on the U1 subway line when I realized I had left every map and guidebook at the hostel. I didn't want to turn back, so I decided to wander around the city and hope for the best. Things went as well as they could until it started to get late. I found a subway station and, while I was on the platform, I realized I had no idea where I was going, or how to get back to the hostel. The only other person waiting for a train was an elderly woman. When I asked her if she spoke English, she said something in German that I could hardly make out. I was walking away from her, dejected and contemplating my next move, when a young couple descended the stairs. I noticed that the husband was holding a map so I approached him and asked "Do you speak English?" He looked at me blankly. Not good. I turned around, dejected again, but then heard the woman ask her husband, "či migeh?" (What did he say?) It was Farsi! Farsi! The only other language I know. I spun back around and used my passable Farsi skills to learn that they too were lost and having trouble understanding the subway system. So, working together, a couple from my dad's hometown of Tehran and a sick guy from New York City (me) were finally able to figure out how to get to their respective destinations. I was in Berlin for three more days. I never fully recovered from the flu before I left, but fortunately I got healthy enough to experience much of the city. —Saba (New York, NY) Tags: Berlin, Farsi, newsletter, travel, travel story
|
|||
