So I am supposed to be in my Chinese class right now reviewing for a test on chapters 36 to 40; however I am sitting on my bed pondering what exactly happened this morning. You see, I tried to go to school. I woke up at the normal time: 6:30. I lay in bed for a few minutes thinking, "wouldn’t it be nice if there was no school today and I could just speak Chinese without having to go through the process of actually studying it". However as the clock continued to tick by I finally pulled back the covers and forced myself into the cold, harsh reality that study I must. Going through the morning rituals I prepared my bag, reviewed yesterdays Han zi (Chinese characters) and collected my keys.
It was then 7:25; just enough time to catch the bus. Normally I ride my bike, but seeing as it is a Monday my legs found the idea of riding the bus quite appealing. I descended my stairs, checking at each floor to make sure I didn’t see the bus drive by. This particular route only comes every 15 minutes so missing one makes all the difference between being on time or being late. But no bus came, my timing was impeccable - or so I thought.
The 608 bus was the third of three buses that arrived at the same time. I hurried along with several Chinese riders to board the bus. As the bus pulled forward I was feeling quite pleased with myself, I would be on time and ride in comfort. Yes, it was a good start to the week. Then the bus stopped. We had only gone about 200 yards, and there we were in a sea of traffic with no end in sight.
There is a major construction project along this road where they are building a subway station. The road has been narrowed to about two lanes but with the Chinese’s expert driving this usually means 3 or 4 cars and at least 3 bicycles can fit at once. The construction project has a cement wall built up around it about 7 feet high. While the wall may seem slightly excessive, I am grateful for it! That wall means that you can’t get pushed into the very large ditch on the other side.
The bus was about 50 feet from the wall and narrowing road which looked like a human funnel. Traffic was coming both ways and there was single police man attempting to direct it. Sadly his efforts were rather useless. The bus inched forward and I slowly began to realize that my hopes of being on time were not going to be realized. So I texted my teacher to let her know that I would be late.
A few people stood up and got off the bus. But you see at this point in the story I was still naively thinking that the bus would be able to push through the traffic and continue on its way with little worse for the wear. It was too late for me to get off and ride my bike, so I figured I would just stay on the bus, enjoy the ride and get there eventually.
At last the bus got to the narrowest part of the funnel. There were two rows of oncoming cars and there should have been just enough room for the bus to fit going the other way. However, as the bus attempted to make the curve around the wall the driver found that he couldn’t fit. There was about a 6 inch gap between the bus and the corner of the cement wall. I watched as bikes and pedestrians kept attempting to navigate their way through the space to the freedom on the other side. Many of the smaller individuals we able to fit but the bus driver was becoming more and more irritated yelling out of the window for people to back away so that he could safely pull forward. However people kept coming from both directions. At this point it is almost 8 o’clock. A few more people got off the bus but I could see the freedom on the open road ahead, surely it wouldn’t be long now. I could still make it to class by 8:30.
Finally the driver was able to pull forward enough so that the corner is past and we are now straight, however there is not quite enough room for the bus and all the cars going the other direction. He kept lurching forward but there was simply no space. So we waited again. Then, as though the red sea waters receded the street was suddenly full of bikes and people. The moment before I was looking at the grey cement of the road and now it was full of old women carrying balloon cartoon characters, men with carts full of recyclables and those who were just simply trying to get to work. There were masses of people everywhere and none of them were moving. Everyone was fighting to fit into the same 2 feet of space and since no one else was willing to let someone else go first we all waited intertwined in a vehicle, pedestrian tapestry. In Chinese there is a saying to describe this situation: Ren Shan Ren Hai (literally meaning: People mountain, people sea) Now I finally understand what this means.
I now had given up hope on the bus, I was ready to get off and admit defeat. Apparently my fellow riders were thinking the same thing. They stood up to get off, but we had a problem. The bus was now so close to the wall that the swinging door couldn’t be opened. The bus driver tried to pull forward but there were too many people. We were trapped. The Driver tried, inching forward little by little, until after about 15 minutes he was able to open the door. He yelled back to us that he would see if he could fit out, but there was not enough space. So another 10 minutes went by until we went forward enough that we could get out.
I exited the bus but there was no way for me to return back home the way I came, so I walked onward past the construction and ducked into an alley-way to return home by a different route. It was now almost 9 o’clock. Even if I took a taxi I would only barely make it for the last half of my class. I decided to forget it all. I would walk by one of the little breakfast carts and treat myself to a 30 cent egg pan cake. (a Tianjin specialty similar to a crepe with an egg and green onions cooked on top and wrapped around a tasty fried bread piece with several salty sauces). I called my school and told them I would not be there.
As crazy as this place is, I have to admit, it is good to be home.
It was then 7:25; just enough time to catch the bus. Normally I ride my bike, but seeing as it is a Monday my legs found the idea of riding the bus quite appealing. I descended my stairs, checking at each floor to make sure I didn’t see the bus drive by. This particular route only comes every 15 minutes so missing one makes all the difference between being on time or being late. But no bus came, my timing was impeccable - or so I thought.
The 608 bus was the third of three buses that arrived at the same time. I hurried along with several Chinese riders to board the bus. As the bus pulled forward I was feeling quite pleased with myself, I would be on time and ride in comfort. Yes, it was a good start to the week. Then the bus stopped. We had only gone about 200 yards, and there we were in a sea of traffic with no end in sight.
There is a major construction project along this road where they are building a subway station. The road has been narrowed to about two lanes but with the Chinese’s expert driving this usually means 3 or 4 cars and at least 3 bicycles can fit at once. The construction project has a cement wall built up around it about 7 feet high. While the wall may seem slightly excessive, I am grateful for it! That wall means that you can’t get pushed into the very large ditch on the other side.
The bus was about 50 feet from the wall and narrowing road which looked like a human funnel. Traffic was coming both ways and there was single police man attempting to direct it. Sadly his efforts were rather useless. The bus inched forward and I slowly began to realize that my hopes of being on time were not going to be realized. So I texted my teacher to let her know that I would be late.
A few people stood up and got off the bus. But you see at this point in the story I was still naively thinking that the bus would be able to push through the traffic and continue on its way with little worse for the wear. It was too late for me to get off and ride my bike, so I figured I would just stay on the bus, enjoy the ride and get there eventually.
At last the bus got to the narrowest part of the funnel. There were two rows of oncoming cars and there should have been just enough room for the bus to fit going the other way. However, as the bus attempted to make the curve around the wall the driver found that he couldn’t fit. There was about a 6 inch gap between the bus and the corner of the cement wall. I watched as bikes and pedestrians kept attempting to navigate their way through the space to the freedom on the other side. Many of the smaller individuals we able to fit but the bus driver was becoming more and more irritated yelling out of the window for people to back away so that he could safely pull forward. However people kept coming from both directions. At this point it is almost 8 o’clock. A few more people got off the bus but I could see the freedom on the open road ahead, surely it wouldn’t be long now. I could still make it to class by 8:30.
Finally the driver was able to pull forward enough so that the corner is past and we are now straight, however there is not quite enough room for the bus and all the cars going the other direction. He kept lurching forward but there was simply no space. So we waited again. Then, as though the red sea waters receded the street was suddenly full of bikes and people. The moment before I was looking at the grey cement of the road and now it was full of old women carrying balloon cartoon characters, men with carts full of recyclables and those who were just simply trying to get to work. There were masses of people everywhere and none of them were moving. Everyone was fighting to fit into the same 2 feet of space and since no one else was willing to let someone else go first we all waited intertwined in a vehicle, pedestrian tapestry. In Chinese there is a saying to describe this situation: Ren Shan Ren Hai (literally meaning: People mountain, people sea) Now I finally understand what this means.
I now had given up hope on the bus, I was ready to get off and admit defeat. Apparently my fellow riders were thinking the same thing. They stood up to get off, but we had a problem. The bus was now so close to the wall that the swinging door couldn’t be opened. The bus driver tried to pull forward but there were too many people. We were trapped. The Driver tried, inching forward little by little, until after about 15 minutes he was able to open the door. He yelled back to us that he would see if he could fit out, but there was not enough space. So another 10 minutes went by until we went forward enough that we could get out.
I exited the bus but there was no way for me to return back home the way I came, so I walked onward past the construction and ducked into an alley-way to return home by a different route. It was now almost 9 o’clock. Even if I took a taxi I would only barely make it for the last half of my class. I decided to forget it all. I would walk by one of the little breakfast carts and treat myself to a 30 cent egg pan cake. (a Tianjin specialty similar to a crepe with an egg and green onions cooked on top and wrapped around a tasty fried bread piece with several salty sauces). I called my school and told them I would not be there.
As crazy as this place is, I have to admit, it is good to be home.
No comments:
Post a Comment