So, after an exciting day around Germany, we decided to all kick back, eat dinner together (pizza!), and watch a movie. Naturally, I had already managed to secure a German copy of my favorite guy movie ever - The Dark Knight. In my opinion, this is one of the best action movies ever made and I love it. ( Mostly because Christian Bale unbelievably attractive as Bruce Wayne. But Aaron Eckhart is amazing too!) And I am happy to report that a good movie in English is still a good movie in German. Although I missed the voice acting from the English version, I was able to follow the movie really well in German. Holy German Vocabulary Lesson Batman!
Zach left early because he was super tired and Jake was planning on taking the bus back to his dorm. The only problem with the Dark Knight is that's it's a really, really, really long movie. It keeps you engaged the whole time, but it's about 3 hours long. Emily, Rachel, Jake, and I said goodbye around 1am and everyone went their separate ways.
At about 1:30 am, my phone starts ringing. It was Jake.
Oh God, I think, he's missed his bus. Instead I hear Jake's voice, small and shivery on the end, telling me that he took the wrong bus, he has no idea where he is, he can't see any houses or cars or lights, and it's raining.
It turns out there are two bus stops with the same name in Tuebingen.
Jake has called me because I am the only one of the five who has both internet and access to taxis. I quickly googled his location.
The news wasn't good. He was on the direct opposite side of town from his dorm. (Point A is Jake's dorm, Point B is where he was)
I found a taxi number online and called. I explained (in terrible German) to the driver that he needs to pick up someone from the other side of town and drive them back home on the opposite side of town. I can come in an hour, the driver says.
Meanwhile, Jake was having a panic attack. His cell phone was out of minutes, a single car would drive by going 80 mph about every 10 minutes, and the only light and shelter from the cold was the overhang from a gardening shed that he found. There wasn't a pathway for him walk even if he wanted to try and walk back home. All he had was his wallet, a soon-to-be-useless cellphone, a jacket, and a bag of snacks.
So I did what Batman would do when faced with a daring rescue mission without the Batmobile - I grabbed my umbrella, my wallet, my keys, and my phone and found myself a taxi.
Luckily there was a taxi service company right outside my dorm. There was one taxi waiting outside, its little yellow light the only beacon of hope in the rain. I tapped on the window and told the driver where I need to go. He told me he knew the place, but gave me a weird look. I quickly told him that my friend had gotten on the wrong bus. The taxi driver made a little noise somewhere between a cough and laugh. He patted the passenger seat on his side and invited me to sit there.
I scowled and sat in the back. I'm not stupid. It was about 2am now and I was young woman taking a solitary taxi out to the middle of nowhere. There was no way in hell that I was going to get groped or raped while on a rescue mission. Instead, I busied myself on the drive by keeping a close eye on where we were going, counting the number of turns, and trying to memorize where things were on the way in case I needed to escape or walk home. I knew we were going the right way - the map and its twists and turns were burned into my mind thanks to adrenaline and panic - but I still worried. I got really worried when I saw a Tuebingen sign with a huge red slash through it, proclaiming to all that, indeed, I had left the city limits.
What if Jake was actually somewhere else and I had incorrectly Googled his location?!
What if this taxi driver was taking me out of city limits for some nefarious purpose?
What if he killed me and dumped my body in the forest or the fields? No one would ever find me! No one would know where I had gone! And Jake would still be stuck cold, wet, and lost in a field!
And worst of all, I realized, was that I didn't know the number to call the German police.
The taxi slowed by a dark part of the road. Then I saw Jake standing by the bus stop. (Bus stop here is an operative word. Some bus stops are nice with little shelters and benches - this was just a pole with the bus schedule on it.) Jake wrenched open the taxi door and said: "I knew it was you! This was the only car that has gone past in like 15 minutes!"
We then told the taxi driver to drive back to my house. I called Zach to tell him that I had found Jake, because as it turns out Jake's phone was now useless and out of minutes. We got back to my place, paid the taxi driver an exorbitant 20 Euros for the ride, and Jake crashed at my place for the night.
Then I switched off the Batsignal and curled up in bed, feeling like quite the superhero.
Meanwhile, Jake was having a panic attack. His cell phone was out of minutes, a single car would drive by going 80 mph about every 10 minutes, and the only light and shelter from the cold was the overhang from a gardening shed that he found. There wasn't a pathway for him walk even if he wanted to try and walk back home. All he had was his wallet, a soon-to-be-useless cellphone, a jacket, and a bag of snacks.
So I did what Batman would do when faced with a daring rescue mission without the Batmobile - I grabbed my umbrella, my wallet, my keys, and my phone and found myself a taxi.
Luckily there was a taxi service company right outside my dorm. There was one taxi waiting outside, its little yellow light the only beacon of hope in the rain. I tapped on the window and told the driver where I need to go. He told me he knew the place, but gave me a weird look. I quickly told him that my friend had gotten on the wrong bus. The taxi driver made a little noise somewhere between a cough and laugh. He patted the passenger seat on his side and invited me to sit there.
I scowled and sat in the back. I'm not stupid. It was about 2am now and I was young woman taking a solitary taxi out to the middle of nowhere. There was no way in hell that I was going to get groped or raped while on a rescue mission. Instead, I busied myself on the drive by keeping a close eye on where we were going, counting the number of turns, and trying to memorize where things were on the way in case I needed to escape or walk home. I knew we were going the right way - the map and its twists and turns were burned into my mind thanks to adrenaline and panic - but I still worried. I got really worried when I saw a Tuebingen sign with a huge red slash through it, proclaiming to all that, indeed, I had left the city limits.
What if Jake was actually somewhere else and I had incorrectly Googled his location?!
What if this taxi driver was taking me out of city limits for some nefarious purpose?
What if he killed me and dumped my body in the forest or the fields? No one would ever find me! No one would know where I had gone! And Jake would still be stuck cold, wet, and lost in a field!
And worst of all, I realized, was that I didn't know the number to call the German police.
The taxi slowed by a dark part of the road. Then I saw Jake standing by the bus stop. (Bus stop here is an operative word. Some bus stops are nice with little shelters and benches - this was just a pole with the bus schedule on it.) Jake wrenched open the taxi door and said: "I knew it was you! This was the only car that has gone past in like 15 minutes!"
We then told the taxi driver to drive back to my house. I called Zach to tell him that I had found Jake, because as it turns out Jake's phone was now useless and out of minutes. We got back to my place, paid the taxi driver an exorbitant 20 Euros for the ride, and Jake crashed at my place for the night.
Then I switched off the Batsignal and curled up in bed, feeling like quite the superhero.
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