Be Helped and Help

When you are in a new place and new situation，you might expect yourself to do everything wrong. You might get the wrong direction，you might find the wrong stand，and you find it hard to express yourself.

This is the mindset① I was in when I set up for my spring break② travel. This journey is pretty complicated for me：I will leave Ithaca，New York at 4：00am by Shortline bus and arrive in Ridgewood，New Jersey，to meet my externship③ sponsor④. After our meeting，I will leave Ridgewood and find a way to go to Newark，New Jersey，to take the Amtrak train to go to Richmond，Virginia. One person，two bags，three states，four means of transportation. I was expected to arrive at Virginia at 9：30 pm. I was nervous—I had never had travels like this，not even back in China.

Therefore，I asked for help，and expected myself to be helped. I was always bound to find someone in uniform first. I asked all sorts of questions that might even sound dumb. Before I got on to the transportation，I would talk with a fellow passenger（who definitely should look decent⑤），just to make sure that I was not going to the wrong direction.

It worked. At the end of the day，I arrived in Richmond，Virginia，safe and sound. Although tired，I enjoyed the smooth and interesting trip. I can say that I’ve got a pretty good idea about American transportation，which might help me survive future travels. One of the things that amazed me the most，however，is that， on the journey，I，too，was asked for help and was able to help others.

There was one suited？鄄up⑥ Asian boy who looks like a college student；a woman who seems to come from somewhere in South Asia，dressed in some colorful traditional clothes；two Chinese tourists who could not speak English at all；a blonde girl with some German accent；and an American boy who was probably a business student in college or graduate school. They asked different questions like where to take the train，how to connect to the Internet，and so on. Most of the time，I could actually give them directions. This gave me a great feeling of satisfaction—even though I was having a messy and complicated journey，I could，occasionally，give others support. Even in a completely new place，facing completely new situations，I am still pretty strong.

Next time when I travel，I will not be as frightened and nervous. I will still ask for help—probably more than enough. At the same time，I would not hesitate to help others，because I know I am not the only one facing unfamiliar situations.

① mindset n. 心理，心態，固定思維，態度

② spring break一般指英國、美國、加拿大等國家的大學或中學的春假。還可稱為March break，spring vacation，study week，reading week 或 the Easter holidays。

③ externship 校外實習期

④ sponsor n. 發起者，主辦者，倡儀者，保證人，資助者；vt. 贊助，發起，主辦

⑤ decent adj. 正派的，合乎禮儀的，得體的，像樣的，過得去的，體面的

⑥ suited？鄄up adj. 穿上制服的

編輯/梁宇清