The incident happened, back in good old days when we did not possess a GPS, navigation system. Finding our way out was limited to handwritten driving directions, courtesy www.mapquest.com. During initial days a wrong turn, left the note in hand of no use; unless until one is smart enough to drive back to the street, from where s/he made the wrong turn.
Boston suburbs are sparsely populated. One finds them even more thinly populated, if you have recently arrived from India.
One afternoon, we lost our way. It was a precarious situation; neither in the position to reach the destination nor drive back home. Our route quest resulted in the endless loop.
After a long wait, I sighted a man at a distance. Quickly approached him and rattled away my sorry tale. He patiently listened and replied in one sweet line
“I DON’T KNOW ENGLISH” , in spanish accent.
Gosh, I could not stop laughing aloud, wondering who taught him this one great sentence. It was then I realized for the first time, English challenged people live in America too. After getting driving directions from a friend on phone, we reached home safely.
Few tips on what to do when lost.
1.Look for a gas station. Get down from the car and ask the person at the counter inside the convenience store for the directions. Probably he might be of help being familiar with the area.
2.Most important just not carry the address but also note down the nearest cross street. It really helps you to reach the area, close to your destination; then you can get down, walk around a bit and find the exact address.
3.There is no better option than GPS. It won’t shut-up till you are right on track. It is indeed a very useful device for frequent travelers.
No comments:
Post a Comment