if you can’t beat em’ join em’
Monday, April 27th, 2009Complete chaos again at the train station! Fudgeness. I’m not the type of person that would push, shove and cut in front of anyone though now I think I’m going to have to change my ways unfortunately, to “fit in” since I plan on being here for a while. In mere observation, people have very little concern for others in this populous country. The cutting in line, the shoving to get on the bus first, barging in an elevator before the people inside can step out, is an everyday thing, but simply because the Chinese are accustomed to it; same goes with the constant spitting in public. I don’t want to sound like I’m putting down the culture, because I’m not, its just plain observation. Plus, noting it will give others a heads up on these customs which can easily be mistaken for rudeness. Going on three months in China, I’m more used to it now. I learned to jostle my way through lines more aggressively now – go me! Although, I don’t think I’ll ever find myself horking up mucus and spitting publicly 🙂
Anyway, despite all the craziness at the station, this was by far the easiest ticket transaction yet, thanks to my friend Eunice. She was able to translate everything for me. No Chinese phrasebook needed here lol! It turned out that no trains ran to Guilin from Dalian. Sucks. I was so hyped on Guilin/Yanghsuo that I didn’t really think of a plan B – crap. For some reason, the next city that came to mind while I was standing at the ticket counter (while the ticket lady stared at us) was Nanjing, Jiangsu province – so I guess I’m heading to Nanjing for this May Day holiday, 1st-11th!! I love Chinese holidays!! I’ll start off in Nanjing and from there travel south to umm…. I’m not sure where yet…….but eventually ending up leaving China and crossing the border into Macau for my last visa run (hopefully). Getting this work visa is such a pain in the ass.
sdizon