Loyola University Chicago

Getting Lost in a Foreign Country

"Now Nora, please be careful when you travel. Now don't talk to strangers, and more importantly stay together." Those were the words I heard from my mom before I got on the plane to Rome on August 26, 1994. I sort of chuckled at her for being so worried. Did she really think that I would travel alone or get lost. No way!

I arrived in Rome and the first weekend I traveled to Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples, with seven other girls. We stuck together like my mom told me to.

The semester wore on, and I was beginning to understand the train system, however I always let someone else figure out the details. Then came the weekend when a lot of students decided to venture out of Italy to Munich, Germany, home of Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival. My friends and I were all very excited to be there to celebrate with the Germans.

We arrived at one of the huge beer tents around two o'clock in the afternoon. We sat at a table and ordered a beer. The atmosphere around us was nuts. People were singing and dancing everywhere. Before we knew it, it was getting dark and we were hungry. Three of us left to get some food. We told the group we would be back soon and ventured out of the beer tent into a crowd of thousands of people. Then the trouble began.

I noticed that my two friends were no longer with me. I decided not to panic, and to go back to the table where we were sitting. But, when I went to look for the beer tent I was in, I could not find it. There were about ten beer tents, and about 300,000 people throughout the whole festival. I began to panic. My mom's worst nightmare was coming true. I was lost in Europe! I decided the only thing I could do was go home. Not back to Chicago, but back to my home in Rome. In order to do that, I had to break another one of my mom's requests and I had to talk to a stranger. I found a German who spoke English and he took me to the train station. I found out when the next train to Rome was and I got on it. I made it back to Rome safely the next day.

As I look back on that experience, I realize that it was very scary to get lost in a foreign country, but there is always someone there when you need help. Another thing I realized that mom's advice is not always best. Sometimes it is necessary to talk to strangers!