Going in the Right Direction

For some reason I can't quite figure out, I am constantly asked for directions. Maybe I am not asked more than other people, but it seems that, no matter where I go, I have been asked for directions.

It doesn't much matter where I am. The first time I spent unsupervised time in London, 2006, I was walking around Trafalgar Square waiting for Phantom of the Opera to start. On my way through the square I was asked where the Hard Rock Cafe was. Thankfully, I knew where that was, having just walked past it. Here was a British National asking an American in London for directions, essentially, down the street.

Oddly, that trend has not changed. On my extensive journey here, I was stuck looking for the B Terminal in the nightmarish Frankfurt International Airport. According to the map, I was supposed to walk in this one direction, but this was directly contradictory to the signage (which was in German, but I managed to piece together from the large letter B and the arrow in the opposite direction that I was going in the wrong direction). This is stupid, I thought, and looked for someone in an official looking uniform to get directions.

I took some elementary college German at SIU, so I knew what to say: "Wo ist B?" I asked a man in a day glow vest. "B? Ja, B gibt es. Nehmen Sie die Tram nach B." I got from the hand gestures and pictures he gestured toward that I was supposed to take the Tram to B. Good. On my way.

As I walked, this confused looking woman made purposeful eye contact with me. I knew that look, and from the looks of it, she did not speak English. According to Google Translator, she asked me something like, "Gdje je B?" This, you see, is Croatian. I didn't know it at the time, nor could I pronounce it now, but this Croatian woman was looking for the same terminal I was going to.

Some people might shrug their shoulders and keep walking, feigning ignorance, but I have this bizarre humanist feeling, and knew that this woman needed help. "B?" I asked, trying to inflect my voice to suggest a question. She handed me her itinerary, highlighted to show where she needed to go. She was two gates down at the same terminal. Crap, I thought, how to tell her.

I showed her my ticket, and gestured for her to follow me. We went up the stairs and waited for the Tram. "B," I said, and pointed to the platform. "B," I said and gestured toward the arriving train. "B," I said when it was our turn to get off.

This woman knew two English phrases: "Yes," and "Thank you." She used these profusely, and communicated her finding to her traveling companions. As it turns out, I had to walk past their gate to get to mine, so I managed to hand deliver these woman to their gate, and they seemed very happy to be there before the plane. "Yes," she said, nodding happily, "Thank you."

At Heathrow, it continued. This time, someone stopped me for directions to the Tube station, which I happened to be going towards. I managed to direct him there, and then we worked out how to get to the specific zone he was going towards (something I looked up on-line before arriving, suspecting that this was going to be an issue). This, another British National, made it to his train, and knew which stations to switch at due to my directions.

In Aberystwyth, the trend has also continued. Twice, while at the Sea Front, I was stopped by the same Welshman looking for specific restaurants. I didn't, at the time, know where the McDonalds was (which, is ironic on some level, considering I could name at least four within a ten mile drive of my mothers house). But the second time, I had seen that restaurant while walking to the Sea Front, so I managed to get him where he needed to go.

And again, just this afternoon, a delivery driver flagged me down as I was walking home. He let two other people pass by him before he stopped me, asked me to take my headphones out, and then asked me for directions to Penbryn Halls. I didn't know, but I did have a map, and directed him to the building we were standing in front of. He thanked me profusely, and I continued up the hill wondering why he stopped me, and not the two other people to ask for directions.

So maybe, my dedicated readership, you can answer this question for me: what is it you look for in a person of which you intend to seek direction? Usually, when I ask for directions, I look for two things: maps, or people that wear name tags. Without either of those visible on person, I am flummoxed as to why I am continually stopped for directions. Due to this trend, though, I have tried diligently to know my surroundings quickly so that when it happens, and it will happen, I can say, in my American accent, "Yes...I know where that is," and lead the wayward British person back to where they need to go.