Lost In The Rain

It all started with the rain. 

Today, I woke up as usual and began my morning routine. As I was preparing my outfit, I checked the weather app on my phone, and luckily for me, it was supposed to be a beautiful day: sun in the sky, nice breeze, and no rain. I arrived at school feeling prepared; it was my second week of school, and I was in the groove of things. I had my classes figured out, I knew my way around town, and I had the bus system under my belt… or so I thought. 

After I finished my classes, I followed the crowd of murmuring German teenagers out of the large wooden door of our school. I let myself be carried by the gaggle of students until we hit the brisk outside city air. It was chili, the sky was cloudy, and worst of all, I felt a single raindrop plop smack dab in the middle of my forehead and trickle its way onto my glasses. As I crossed my eyes to hone in on this drop of water, I realized what this meant. I would have to brave the treacherous streets home in the rain. I swiftly broke free from the wall of students and began marching to the closest bus station. As I made my way, I noticed in the distance that my ride had just pulled into the station. I hiked my pants up, tightened the straps on my backpack, and ran like my life depended on it, but sadly, it was too late, and the bus doors had shut and left me stranded on the side of the street with no raincoat or umbrella, my only option to stand there and face my impending doom. 

So, with no other option, I waited, and eventually, my bus made its way to the station. I hoped on swiftly, for, of course, there was no reason to spend more time in the rain than needed. I found a seat and lowered my drenched self onto it with as much elegance as I could muster, given I was soaked from head to toe. My hair began to drip water between my legs and onto the arcade-style red fabric beneath me, slowly moistening the seat drop by drop. I looked up to see if anyone was shooting looks at me, but it seemed the cold wetness was something of the norm. So I slung my head back and nodded off. Luckily for me, my bus stop was the very last one on the route, so it provided me with the luxury of being able to doze after a long day.

Some time had passed, and I poked my head up to notice the number of people who had boarded with me was now very sparse. I looked out the window to see where I was, but for some reason, I had no recognition. After I pulled myself out of my sleepy daze, I came to the realization I was definitely not where I was supposed to be. So I exited the bus at the next stop. I sat down on the bench with a sense of confusion as I looked back at the bus, and it flashed the numbers in orange on its LED screen that were my bus numbers. I got on the correct bus, yet I needed to be in the proper place. Something was not quite adding up. I reached my pruned hand into the pocket of my now slightly less wet corduroys and retrieved my phone. I opened up my map app, and low and behold, I was on the complete opposite end of the city. Then it had hit me, I took the bus in the wrong direction. 

Even after I missed my first bus and had what felt like all the time in the world to contemplate what bus I would board next, I still messed up. I had taken the bus an hour in the wrong direction, and now I would have to travel 2 hours to get back to where I needed to be, to get home. I massed the energy to fling my tired body off the bench and direct myself to the station poster with the information on when the next bus would come, and it seemed I had to wait for quite a bit. Luckily the rain had stopped, and a few rays of sun were poking out of the clouds. Soon, my chariot arrived, and I felt victorious as I arrived at my bus stop, the correct bus stop. I stumbled off of the bus and threw my hands up in victory. I had arrived back home, and my corduroys were now fully dry. Another day that the exchange student wins!

The experience overall made me realize that no matter how big the mistake or how far away you go, you can always make it back to where you started. Naturally, it also taught me to make sure the bus is heading in the right direction before you get on.

I hope you learn from me, talk to you later, 

Hugh