I was at a small train station waiting to go back to Chicago. My dad and I were coming back from the Illinois Train Museum that was more north of Crystal Lake, near the town of union Illinois. We were sitting next to a family that really only spoke Spanish.

When the train rolled slowly into the station and stopped, we boarded and sat in a part of the train called “the cab car,” which was very empty but not too quiet considering the sound of the train horn and the dinging of the bell.  It was nice to be there.  In the car with my dad and I was the father of the Spanish-speaking family. I didn't think much of him at first--I was just enjoying the ride.

The conductor was going around the car to get tickets, and he eventually reached the father who barely spoke any English. So then I hear my dad call me over. He told me that the conductor needed a translator. I spoke to the father in Spanish and asked him where he wanted to go and he said Chicago. I then translated the father's words to the conductor.

In conclusion, if I had not have been on that train, or if I had not learned Spanish, that man wouldn't have been able to reach Chicago. That is why you should be prepared to use what you learn in any given moment.