The Bus...actually written on Feb. 23rd

I accomplished something today, something that I have never done before…wait for it….I rode the bus in a foreign country. I know, I know, my parents must be so proud of my recent accomplishments, I mean, really, who would ever believe that a 26 year old could summon the courage and strength to get onto a bus…IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. Wow. Thank You, Thank You, charitable gifts in the name of my accomplishment can be directed to the foundations that you feel are most worthy. All kidding aside, it was the first time that I have ever ridden a public bus outside of the US, a trip that ended in such humiliating defeat that you can all mock me mercilessly about it when I return to the States. I set out this morning to get to downtown Beijing. This trip requires a bus ride followed by a subway ride, or the more expensive option of taking a cab. Two days ago, I took a cab since I did not know where the bus stop was located. I was pretty sure that I had now found out where the correct stop was, and due to the high cost of taking a cab (about 5 dollars) I made the decision to only take the bus when going into downtown. The whole trip (bus and subway) should take about an hour and a half and cost just over 75 cents. A bargain whichever way you slice it. On top of the monetary benefit of taking the bus you also, when blessed with my stunning good looks…or is it just my freakish height… are stared at and talked about (I think…there is still a pretty substantial language barrier at play in this country, as you will soon hear more about) and generally viewed as a celebrity the entire trip rather than just on the subway portion. A win, win all around.

To get to Longze Subway Station (pronounced (Chinese Phrase of the Day) Lon Tze Dee Tie) you need to get on the #21 bus. The stop is a short (1/2 mile or so) walk from campus and is the only bus that services this area so it was a no brainer. Hop on this bus and ride it to the end (presumably the subway station) hop off and get on the subway. The bus portion of the trip should take, at most 40 minutes. Well, the #21 bus came, I got on said I:G: er kwai or 2 Yuan ticket please (translation approximate and pronunciation pretty poor). We started off in the direction of downtown Changping, the opposite direction of the subway station. I figured that we would simply be making a loop and shortly headed towards the station. As more time passed and we started to get a little further from the station and then outside of the city of Changping the pass issuer tried to tell me something. (I have no idea what her title is, but it is always a women. She does all of the work of what is automated in the U.S.. She takes money, announces the stops and tells the driver if he needs to stop and let someone off). I shook my head no, and gestured that I am an ignorant foreigner with little knowledge of her language and I wish she spoke English since I did and everyone should know my language…or something to that effect. Upon further review she was saying something along the lines of “you dumb American. There is no reason at all that you want to be let off out here in rural China. We have about three stops left before our break and I suggest you get off and get on a bus headed the opposite direction rather than sitting here stupidly assuming we will turn around to take you to your desired destination that you should know is not on the route of this bus” Or something like that. I finally did reach the end of the line and got off the bus. There was no other buses at this exact time that were headed the way that I wanted to go so I began to walk back the way we had come to look for a bus stop on the opposite side of the road so that I could head back towards the subway station. Finally a bus came and, of course, I was not at a stop so it went past me. I kept walking until I could see clearly that this was a bus stop. The #21 bus finally came by and I got on. Thankfully, it was a different driver and ticket taker so I would not “lose face” (a uniquely Chinese idea that I will no doubt have more to say about in future installments).

The ticket taker on this new bus asked me (what I later found out to be) what price ticker and I made a gesture to indicate no idea. I thought that there was only one price for tickets no matter the length of the ride. I did not know that on bus rides, the longer you go, the more you pay, an idea that really makes a ton of sense when you think about it. She gave me a 1 yuan ticket (about 12 cents) and left me alone. About a third of the way to the subway she came up, laughed nervously and gestured that I needed to pay another yuan. I happily paid as I actually understood this gesture and perhaps even some of what she said. I sat back and tried to laugh at myself and enjoy the sights of my new home. This was interrupted some time later when I needed to pay yet another yuan to cover the lengthy (as long as one can take on the #21 bus) trip to the subway.

This trip reminded me that I really need to work on getting at least some knowledge of the language in order to communicate and understand those around me. A sense of humor is also needed to get through these times that can be (and were) filled with frustration and ignorance. I made it, eventually, back to the school and collapsed exhausted after a long day of unintended travel. More to follow when I have hopefully mastered the process of public transportation here.