public transportation part one

once upon a time when i was a young highschooler (age 15-16) i participated in varsity volleyball for my highschool in turkey, "the Hodjas". as a ""Hodja" we got to travel around the country to compete for finals which were held in Germany. The Hodjas were unbeatable. every serve was unvolley-able and we went to germany for finals. while in Germany we got the chance to sight see around the town we were staying in, Heidelberg. To get around we had to navigate the local bus system in German both of which i am unfamiliar. well a teammate and i got on the bus infront of the hostel and went downtown. we had a grand time walking around and shopping and looking at the artisans works in the square. towards dusk we decided to go back to rest and meet up with the rest of the team so we headed back to the bus center and waited until we saw our number enter the hub. we got on and chatted away, an hour or so later we noticed that we were not heading towards the hostel and not in the city of heidelburg at all but were out in the hilly countryside, at night, in a country where we didnt speak the language and were terribly lost and a little nervous. we tried communicating to the driver that we were trying to get to the hostel, which was near the heidelburg zoo and asked him if he was going that way. he said yes and motioned for us to be seated. so we sat and waited and watched with wide eyes at the darkening countryside on the otherside of our window, time went by and the bus made more and more stops that didnt look familiar, we wondered if we would ever get back. were we going the right direction? would we be kidnapped and die out here or sold to a german farmer as laborers? another hour later we neared the area where we were staying and felt relief rush through our limbs. our stop appeared in the buses headlights and we exited thanking the driver in german as we ran down the road towards the hostel. we broke curfew that night and got lost in a foreign country. but i'm better for the wear; alot more careful and observant about the trains, buses, stops, subways, and taxis that i take.

that was the first time i had ever ridden public transportation.