Since I have been here there have been numerous times when I have gone to catch a train and the train has been late by more than 15 minutes. Thankfully for me, it is not usually too big of a problem outside of making people wait for me (which of course is frustrating). But the last few days it has been worse than that. Apparently one method of vandalism here is for people to set ‘fire bombs’ that mess with certain trains' power systems. I can not explain it more than that because frankly, I don’t get it. The other night I was coming home on a train around 10:30 PM and our train stopped at a station just one station away from mine and waited there for over half an hour. I found out it was because of this sort of vandalism. It was not too big of a deal, it just didn’t make me the happiest to be walking home at midnight after we finally go to my stop.
Last night however, took the cake. I was in a part of the city called Zehlendorf (not close to Falkensee at all) around 8:30 pm when I started heading home. I was thinking it would have been better if I had left sooner, but thought, oh well, it will still be around 10 pm when I get home...not too late... I got on the Subway no problem and pretty easily found my connecting subway line. Two lines down, just one train ride to go and I was home free. I found the train I always take. The sign said it was arriving on time, I was good to go. I just had to wait maybe 15 minutes. I was cold and tired and eager to get home. I paced back and forth on the platform to try to warm myself up. I laughed at the fact that I was wearing a jacket, two scarves and a beanie AND had my hood on over my head, and this is FALL. Not winter. It was about 34 degrees F outside…to this desert rat, freezing.
The train arrived and I was happy to get on. I sat and looked at my pathetic self in the reflection of the window opposite of me. I had my headphones in with music playing from my phone. I looked down at my phone and thought, maybe I should take a picture of myself right now, to document how pathetic I am in the fall.
Isn't that pathetic?
I looked at my phone and saw that my battery was dying. I decided I had better shut off my music to save some battery juice, just in case. I thought to myself, ‘I am almost home, it is probably fine, you won’t need your phone.’ But then I thought ‘better be safe than sorry.’
Praise God.
The train did not stop in Falkensee. At one point we stopped, I think in a tunnel because I could not see anything out the window, and just waited for about 5 or 10 minutes. Not a good sign, that was what happened last time when there was vandalism. But then the train started up again. I was worried though, ‘will we stop in Falkensee? Why does it feel like we have been riding for so long?’ But the sign inside the train still read that the next stop was Falkensee, and there were no announcements coming on…
Sure enough though, when we finally stopped we were in Nauen. I don’t even know where Nauen is except that it is past my stop. All I knew next was that there was NO ONE at this train station and it was nearly 11 PM….I walked down the stairs to check the train schedule. It said there would be another train coming, but of course up on the platform the signs were either blank or said that the trains were NOT coming.
I walked back downstairs and out of the train stop. The parking lot was mostly dark and I looked at the bus schedules, already knowing that they would have stopped running by now. Yep. I text messaged my coach. Then I looked down, my battery light was definitely yellow. ‘Oh God, please let my battery stay alive! Please don’t leave me stranded out here with no phone!’ The battery sign went back to green…
At this point I don’t remember if I called my coach or he called me, but he let me know he was calling the train co. to see what I should do. I paced, trying to keep warm. I decided I had better try my host family before my battery died. At this point it was probably 1130 PM and I knew they were probably sleeping. I really did not want to call them and wake them up but I really did not know what else to do. I was in some random town late at night and my phone was back to yellow….No answer…I waited a few more minutes and Timur called me back, there would be no trains at all and a bus would not come for two more hours…He told me he would come and get me. He also told me that his phone was dying, I laughed, ‘mine too!’ He told me to switch my phone off for half an hour (his estimation of how long it might take him to get there)…
While I was waiting a bus pulled up and some guys got out, they all went to their bikes or cars and left…At that point I spotted a teenage boy I had seen on my train. I walked over to him, and the conversation followed:
Me: Where are you trying to go?
Teenage Boy: There are no more trains.
Me: Yes I know that, but where are you trying to go?
T.B.: There are no more trains, no trains come.
Me: Yes yes, no trains. (now more slowly) Where…are…you…trying …to…go?
T.B.: Falkensee.
Me: REALLY? How are you getting there?
T.B.: (looking at me like I am the strangest person he has ever met)My father is coming.
Me: (without hesitating)Can I have a ride? (what has overcome me that I would just ask some random dude for a ride? Living in a foreign country changes you)
T.B.: (now looking at me like I have grown an extra head or two) That bus there will go to Falkensee (pointing to a bus parked at the back of the lot with no one in it, lights off)…
Me: (pretending that I am not offended) Oh, okay, thank you!
At this point I wasn’t trusting anyone about the bus except the bus driver. The first bus that had dropped some guys off was still there and there were two drives inside. I assumed one of them must have been for the bus at the back of the lot. I went and paced back and forth in front of the bus, trying to figure out if I should wait for the door to open or go pound on the window. I stuck with the pacing (dumb). Finally the dude opened the door. I walked up, ‘Excuse me, is that bus over there going to Falkensee?’ The dude told me yes, in another ten minutes or so.
I tried to call Timur to let him know he did not have to come after all. I got his voicemail. Shoot…did he turn off his phone to save his battery also?
Decision time…do I hop on the bus and hope that I can reach Timur, risking that he will drive all the way out to Nauen and I am not there? Do I stand here and let the bus take off and hope Timur is not annoyed that a bus came and he still drove all the way to get me? I waited a few minutes and called again. Voicemail. Shooooooooooooot! I heard the bus start up and saw the lights come on…I just stood there…The boy had left by now in his comfy ride with his dad…(wish I could say I hadn't felt ill will towards him as they pulled away)...I was the only person there. Again.
The driver waited a few minutes then he came out and found me, ‘Are you coming to Falkensee?’ I tried explaining to him my situation, I am not sure how much he got. ‘No bus?’ He said back to me….
’No,' I sighed, 'no bus. Thank you though, very much!’ He shrugged and walked away…
My phone literally rang about a minute and a half later. Timur. I answered laughing. ‘Timur, a bus was JUST here going to Falkensee!’
Timur: Oh are you on it??
Me: Nooooooooooo! I couldn’t get a hold of you, I was afraid you were going to drive all the way out here and I would be gone!
Timur: So you are not on the bus?
Me: (doing the half laugh, half cry) nooooooo
Timur: Are you laughing or crying?
Me: I don’t know. Laughing.
Timur: Ok, I am on my way and when I get there, you better be smiling. Be strong. I will be there in 20 more minutes.
Back to pacing. He was right. Why was I being such a pansy? So I was cold and alone in a town in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country. I had someone coming to get me. I had a jacket on. I had a choice to make to laugh or cry. I would laugh.
I walked up and down the train tunnel about 5000 times. Then I decided to walk the stairs. I prayed for every person I have met in Germany. I sang a few songs. I mastered the stairs.
10 minutes later my phone rang. Timur, 'are you still at the train station?'
Me: laughing and thinking `where could I possibly have gone?' Uh, yeah
Timur: I will be there in five minutes.
It might have been five minutes, I don't know. I kept doing stairs till my phone rang. Timur. I picked up but he was gone. I walked out of the tunnel. I heard my name, Timur was walking up to me. I thought ‘huh, he didn’t have to get out of the car.’ Then we started walking across the parking lot as he explained to me that the route his navigational system gave him took him through construction and the road was blocked so he had just parked the car and walked the last 400 M. I started cracking up. So did he, of course that happened!
I apologized that he had to come get me. He told me it was great because in his 23 years he has never been to Nauen and now he got to see it.
We walked to the car. At this point it was after 1 am. I told Timur about my phone battery, how I thanked God that I had seen that my battery was dying while on the train listening to my music.
I thanked Timur about a hundred times for driving all the way out to get me. When I got home, I thanked God again for keeping my battery alive. Every time it moved to yellow or even to red, I had prayed again and every time God gave it some new life. I thanked Him also for giving me people who I can call when I need help and I thanked him that I did not have to sleep in the freezing train station in Nauen last night.
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