Hazed and Confused
Last night...er or should I say this morning.... whichever.... I was driving home from a cafe in lemmer at 3 in the morning(guess that answers whether it was morning or night) when I saw two figures standing in the middle of the street. As I drove closer I realized they were people trying to get me to stop. I instantly swerved around them, my American everyone-is-a-psycho-killer instinct kicking in overtime. Then I realized I was in the middle of no where and that no cars drive down that road at night so they would be the worst psycho killers ever waiting there. So, I came to a stop a ways down the road. The two young guys came running at my car full speed. They didn't open the door but stood outside it til I opened it. ONce I opened it they popped their heads in and the chatty one start talking in VERY fast Dutch and all kinds of words I didn't know. So I gave him the time out signal and said " WHOA WHOA TIME OUT! Spreekt uw Engels?"
"YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!"
"JA"
"We are a part of a fraternity we have been dropped off and we must make it back to our fraternity by tomorrow afternoon. WHERE IS A MAIN ROAD?"
I was thinking maybe the Fraternity was in Groningen which is only an hour from me. "Where is your Frat?"
"In DELFT!"
Delft for the record is no where near me... although it is a tiny country so you never that far away.
I had to inform them that they had been walking in the wrong direction. If they were to keep walking the direction they were they would run into a big lake and just more teeny tiny villages.
"Where are we?"
"Friesland"
"We are in fucking Friesland?"
the quiet one speaks up, "Middle of fucking no where Friesland!"
"Well if you want any kind of big road head back the other way and go to Lemmer. It's just off a big road. Good Luck."
"Thank you so much"
I drove on and realized that was kinda mean of me to just leave them in the rain in an area they don't know and there are no good walking routes to Lemmer. Also, I didn't feel it was very Midwestern of me to just leave two confused college guys in about as remote of a place as you get in the Netherlands. I drove on for about a kilometer and then turned around and came back for them. I had my window down(despite the fact that it was raining) and shouted, "C'mon get in the car!"
They couldn't believe I had come back fror them. They were very Dutch so they did the polite Dutch thing and asked me what I had done tonight and why was I on these back roads at three in the morning. They also couldn't believe that any American woman would be willing to live in Friesland without being married to a Frysan man.
They told me that they had started drinking at a quarter to 5, they each had to do a few beer bongs, and then once they were pass out drunk they and the other freshman were thrown into the back of a van asleep and then they were all being dropped off in different places around the country and had till the afternoon to get back. So, they woke up on the side of the road near nothing. I asked them if they were still pretty drunk. The quiet one in the front seat was like, "No, it has all warn off!"
I had been the first person to drive by and also the second person to drive by in the few hours they had been walking. They were so glad both cars stopped. I gave them a lil tour of Lemmer as we drove though it towards A6, a major road in the Netherlands. I took them to a bus stop where a bus goes to Lelystad and stops at a train station. They had no money. They kept saying, "all we have is a bottle of water, these trash bags for rain coats, and now you!!!!"
I had a full tank of gas and was tempted to just say I'll drive ya all the way to Delft. I have never been there and that seems as good of a reason as any. But, I realized that would be taking away the fun and adventure of figuring out how to get back. Making it too easy for them would ruin it. When I told them I felt bad for their dillema Tom(the chatty one in the back seat, Martin was the quiet one in the front) grabbed my shoulder and told me I shouldn't feel bad. It was their decision to join the Frat and that other than this it is a very nice fraternity. I explained to them I went to a party school with a great greek system and have seen some pretty shitty stuff with Hell Week and still thought the frats weren't all bad so no worries.. Martin said, "Well, we just have a hell weekend." God everything really is smaller in the Netherlands(roll of eyes should be said with that last sentence)
They were excited to see the bus stop was next to a McDrive, but sad when I pointed out that because they are in Friesland it doesn't open til ten. I walked them through what they could do: take the bus, catch a train to amsterdam and then from amsterdam to delft. And since they had no money and were kinda cute I made sure they knew they should trying sweet talking the ladies and telling the guys the whole story about being left out by Oudemirdum. I don't know if they have some how already gotten back or if they are still sitting at that McDrive, but I do now know Hazing is Hazing the world over.
