upon your first visit to germany, what was the first thing that surprised you?
the bus came to a screeching halt in the midst of nowhere.
i looked around, puzzled. the thing is, buses in germany never stop without a reason. i squinted at the driver who was peeping behind at the road from his window. he continued to do so for 10 minutes. then he got up, killed the engine and announced something in german.
i turned my head. i could see some male passengers get off their seat, walk straight up to the driver and talk. by the looks on their faces, something serious was up. after 10 more minutes, everyone was nodding their heads in agreement.
they off boarded the bus and started walking down the footpath. out of my curiosity, i joined them too. some footsteps later, we saw an extremely old lady with a suitcase, cowering in the harsh chilly wind. the driver ran up to her and asked her something in german. he then signalled us to help him carry the lady to the bus. the woman was shivering and was barely able to walk. somehow, we managed to get her into the bus and seated her down near one of the heaters.
from the corner of my eyes, i saw the bus driver calling the polizei i.e. the police. from what i could make from his animated gestures, he was requesting them to come as soon as possible. on the other side, few good lads were keeping the lady some company, talking to her and trying to know where she lived. this continued for another five minutes until the police came.
two policemen boarded the bus and talked to the lady. of course, i couldn’t understand a thing. it was only when they picked up her baggage, i got a faint idea of what was happening. the policemen then greeted everyone, thanked the driver and carefully escorted the lady back to the police vehicle.

i nudged a friend of mine who was with me the whole time to go talk to the driver and get a clue about this very very strange thing. as he spoke a bit of german, he was able to talk to the driver and make sense of the situation before the bus drove off.
turns out,
the old lady got off at a wrong bus stop and was stranded in the middle of nowhere. the bus driver spotted the lady and following his intuition, stopped the bus. after seeing that she was shivering and barely able to stand, he offered her a warm place to sit inside the bus until the police came. the policemen then personally escorted the lady safely back to her place.
the driver stopped the bus for 30 minutes and worse, got late (buses here in germany are never late), just to help a human being in need.
when you value people more than time, rules and regulations, you are doing it right.
it was literally an epitome of the quality of german people these days.
was i surprised? yes.
was i impressed beyond belief? oh yeah.
place of incident: kiel, schleswig-holstein, germany.

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the bus came to a screeching halt in the midst of nowhere.
screen：尖利的刹车声
公共轿车在马路中心俄然停下来。
i looked around, puzzled. the thing is, buses in germany never stop without a reason. i squinted at the driver who was peeping behind at the road from his window. he continued to do so for 10 minutes. then he got up, killed the engine and announced something in german.
squint：斜视看向；peep：瞥向；
我很疑问地看着周围，要晓得，德国的公交车历来不会平白无故停下来的。我斜视着看了一下从窗口正在向后看的司机。车子停了大约10分钟，之后，司机站起来，把引擎关掉，而且用德语说和我们了一些话。
i turned my head. i could see some male passengers get off their seat, walk straight up to the driver and talk. by the looks on their faces, something serious was up. after 10 more minutes, everyone was nodding their heads in agreement.
我转过头，看见一些男性乘客脱离坐位走向司机和他攀谈。可是他们脸上都是严厉的表情。又过了10分钟，每自个都答应标明晰附和。

they off boarded the bus and started walking down the footpath. out of my curiosity, i joined them too. some footsteps

later, we saw an extremely old lady with a suitcase, cowering in the harsh chilly wind. the driver ran up to her and asked her something in german. he then signalled us to help him carry the lady to the bus. the woman was shivering and was barely able to walk. somehow, we managed to get her into the bus and seated her down near one of the heaters.
footpath：人行道；signal：奉告；shiver：颤抖
他们下车了而且走向了人行道，出于猎奇心，我参加了他们的部队。停下脚步后不久，咱们看到一个很老的女士，提着一个箱子，在冬风中缩成一团。司机走向她，而且和她说了一些话之后，呼吁我们协助他把老女士扶到车上。这位女士此时一向颤抖，几乎不能说话了。接着，咱们把女士扶到车上，而且让她坐在一位热心的乘客周围。

from the corner of my eyes, i saw the bus driver calling the polizei i.e. the police. from what i could make from his animated gestures, he was requesting them to come as soon as possible. on the other side, few good lads were keeping the lady some company, talking to her and trying to know where she lived.

this continued for another five minutes until the police came.
animate：使有生气／生动／煽动；
我用眼角的余光看到司机正在打电话给有关人员，如差人。从他摇晃的手势中，我猜测他期望差人从速过来。在另外一边，一些好意的女士正在陪同着这位老女士，和她攀谈测验晓得她住在哪里。持续了大约5分钟，差人才来到。
two policemen boarded the bus and talked to the lady. of course, i couldn’t understand a thing. it was only when they picked up her baggage, i got a faint idea of what was happening. the policemen then greeted everyone, thanked the driver and carefully escorted the lady back to the police vehicle.
faint：迷糊的；escort：伴随
两个差人上了车而且和老女士攀谈起来。当然，那时我并不能听懂他们说啥。当他们把女士的行李拿起来的时分，我对即将发生的作业仍然感到迷糊。差人像周围的人称谢后，留心肠伴随女士回了警车。

i nudged a friend of mine who was with me the whole time to go talk to the driver and get a clue about this very very strange thing. as he spoke a bit of german, he was able to talk to the driver and make sense of the situation before the bus

drove off.
nudge：推进／闲谈；
我其间一位兄弟参加了整件作业，而且和司机攀谈了，因为我向他晓得这件新鲜作业的前因成果。在他能讲一点地遇后，他和司机攀谈，而且在轿车脱离前对这件作业有了一个大约的晓得。
turns out,
the old lady got off at a wrong bus stop and was stranded in the middle of nowhere. the bus driver spotted the lady and following his intuition, stopped the bus. after seeing that she was shivering and barely able to stand, he offered her a warm place to sit inside the bus until the police came. the policemen then personally escorted the lady safely back to her place.
spot：发现；intuition：直觉
实际是，
这位老女士上错了公交车，然后困在了一个陌生的当地。这位公交车司机发现了这位女士，根据他的直觉停了车。在查看了女士的情况之后发现，她一向颤抖而且几乎不能说话，然后他让这位女士来公交车上温暖一下，直到差人到来。然后差人人员把女士留心护卫回她的家了。

the driver stopped the bus for 30 minutes and worse, got late (buses here in germany are never late), just to help a human being in need.
when you value people more than time, rules and regulations,

you are doing it right.
it was literally an epitome of the quality of german people these days.
literally：字面的／正确的；epitome：缩影
这位司机把车停了接近30分钟或许更长时刻后，其时现已迟到了（公交在德国是历来不迟到的），而这只是是去协助一位有需要的人。
当你把人看的比时刻，规则重要的时分，你是对的。
这就是德国人日子的一个小缩影。
was i surprised? yes.
was i impressed beyond belief? oh yeah.
place of incident: kiel, schleswig-holstein, germany.