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I was riding the bus home from work here in Virginia once when a German couple boarded and sat down near me. After a few minutes they asked the bus driver, in halting English, where the bus went. The driver was a real jerk and just kind of ignored them after a few grunts in spite of the fact it was clear these were foreigners.
They tried asking him again and he just grunted. So, in my halting German, I asked "Entschuldigung. Wo willst du hin? (Excuse me. Where are you going?)"
And they were very relieved to have found someone who understood them and wanted to help. Anyway, it turned out they were on the wrong bus which wouldn't go anywhere near their destination.
"Komm mit mir.(Come with me)", I said when we got to where I lived. We got off the bus and I took them to my car (a BMW ironically enough) and I drove them across town to the restaurant they were trying to find.
"Bitte lassen Sie uns zahlen Sie für das Gas und Ihre Zeit (Please let us pay you for your gas and your time)", they insisted. But I refused telling them that, one day back in Germany, they would come across foreigners who were hopelessly lost. And, when that happened they would have to drive them to their destination.
"Wenn Sie das tun(when you do that)", I said, "Ich werde prüfen, diese Schulden bezahlt wurde (I will consider this debt has been paid).
And, based on the look in their eyes, I'd be willing to bet more lost foreigners have been helped by that couple than I've ever helped
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