Which stop?

So another funny thing happened on the bus today. I was coming home from a friend's house and was trying to see if a direct bus went from there to our house. I read the sign and thought that it said that the 33 stopped at the stop by our neighborhood. When the bus pulled up, I asked the driver if he went to that stop. He said that he did, and I got on. But then as we are getting close, maybe 3 or 4 stops away, he hollers (of course in Chinese): "Foreigner, are you getting off?" He proceeded to do this at each stop, until I did get off. Funny stuff. I felt like he was worried about me. That I was lost or something. I wonder does this stuff happen to other foreigners?

Bus misadventures

Part of my daily routine is taking the bus (mostly to and from the university). And there is nothing like public transportation to get a window into Chinese culture. Friday seemed to be a day full of adventures and misadventures on the bus. To start the morning off, I was almost to the stop when I saw my bus pull up at the stop and pull away. (sigh) Maybe that should have told me how the rest of day was going to follow. Shortly after, another bus pulls up, I endure the jam-packed bus and transfer like normal. But on my second bus, I was able to snag a seat (always a rarity in the mornings). When we were almost to my stop, an elderly woman got on. I motioned to her and told her that I would give her my seat. We argued about it -- this always happens, it is really a courtesy thing. I have heard it said that in Chinese culture you need to offer something 3 times and if it is still declined then it was truly not wanted. I have never had to insist more than twice to get someone to take my seat. As we were arguing, I was getting up and moving down the stairs, but as I stepped down the first step the bus lurched forward and I fell. Now I was not hurt, just seriously embarassed. Ah, well. Then after class, I stopped on my way to the bus stop to get fruit. When I was still some distance away, I saw my bus pull up to the stop. I sprinted down the bike lane waving my arms wildly. (Mind you, I am carrying a bunch of fruit and my bag filled with my textbooks) But it worked and the driver waited for me! I climbed onto the bus and driver laughingly asked me if I ran all the way from the uni. Smiling I answered that I did. I got a seat in the back and tried to catch my breath. Midway through my ride home, I once again gave up my seat (this time without falling). I moved closer to the back door. This older woman, usually called a nainai (grandmother) began a conversation with me. She started out by noticing my fruit and asking how much I paid for each thing. Then she proceeded to tell me that the oranges I bought weren’t any good. Though she did approve of the strawberries and the price that I paid for them. Next we transitioned into the normal: where are you from? why are you here in China? Then she asked me to guess how old she was. I paused. I mean, what if I guessed wrong (especially too high) and offended her? So I guessed 60, and it turns out she was in her 70s. She laughed and said that I was close. She proceeded to guess that I was 25. I corrected her though I am not sure that she believed me until I told her that I have 3 children. But the craziest thing is that throughout our conversation she kept telling me: "您是我们的客人- Ni shi womende keren." (You are our guest -- meaning here in China) And that I should not give up my seat since I was their guest. Finally, as she got off the bus she insisted that I take her seat and told the ENTIRE BUS that I was their guest and should have a seat. So, I did the only thing I could and sat down. What an experience!

Packed in

I have become used to taking the bus. So much so, that I really don't think about the crowds or other quirks of public transportation here in Suzhou. But like my other recent attempts to show you more of a complete picture of our life here, I thought I would show you a fairly normal sight on my morning commute:

While I am not the only foreigner on the bus, you can see that I am definitely in the minority. Today it was raining and so the bus was particularly crowded (some who might normally use a bike or e-bike in nicer weather opt for the bus in the rain). But there is a saying in Chinese that is commonly heard:

中囯人太多了.没办法.

(Zhongguoren tai dou le, Mei banfa. MEANING: The Chinese people are too many. There is no solution.) I think that pretty much sums it up!

Seen on the Bus

I am rather used to seeing unusual things on the bus. People who sell things on the street get on with large baskets and the poles they carry them with. People traveling get on with luggage. I have even seem live animals (though that is not a usual sight). Today I saw an amusing sight . . . a man got on carrying a flat screen monitor. Not in a box. Not even in a bag. Just carrying the monitor. And the bus was PACKED! Not a seat to be had. So there he was standing, holding on, and carrying his monitor. Finally, a seat opened up near where we were standing. I offered it to him and he turned me down. Didn't see when he got off. Hope the monitor made it to its destination safely!

Level 2

After a two month break, I am back in classes. With just a week finished, things are going well and I am getting back into the routine. Though I have been incredibly tired each night as my brain gets used to working again! :-) Both of my teachers seem really good. But I must confess that I find my grammar/character teacher just a little scary. She is an incredible teacher, but just on the strict side (from the old school of teaching in China). And can I just say for the record, that I think level 2 is going to be hard!? But I will attempt to prevail in this ongoing battle against Chinese....

One change this term is that I am riding the bus every day (last term I was fortunate enough to get a ride with a friend on the way to school). Just a week down, and I have already had bus adventures. One day there was an accident further up the road fairly closer to where I get off. Traffic was just stopped. In fact, the bus driver had turned off the bus. After sitting there for several minutes, I knew that I was going to be late for class if I didn't get out and just walk it. So I went up and asked the driver if I could get off. He wasn't happy about it (we were not at a stop) and grumbled for a few minutes but let me off. I had this suspicion that I would start walking only for the bus to pass me a few minutes later. Thankfully I was proved wrong on that count and the bus never did catch up to me. Another day I was humored to hear two people talking about me as they sat behind me. Just as a side note, this happens ALL the time. Many laowi (a slang word for "foreigners") who live here can't speak Chinese, so most Chinese assume that they are safe discussing the laowi right in their presence. Sometimes as people are discussing me, I join in the discussion (and often shock them speechless) and sometimes I just let it go and eavesdrop. This time I opted for the second route. A little girl was sitting with her grandpa and the conversation went something like this:

Girl: Yeye (grandpa), why does that foreigner have golden hair?

Yeye: Why do you have black hair?

Girl: I don't know. I have never seen hair like that. How did it get like that?

Yeye: It just is.

I must say that I really like the yeye's response. Cause after all, we are each just people -- individually and wonderfully created. Though it can be hard to see that diversity in a country of 1.something billion people who look very much like you do.

The Seat Game

Each day as I have ridden home I watch people choose their seats. People get on and seriously scan to find just the right seat. I find humor that something so small is a big decision. But as I thought more about it, I also have preferred seats. My faves are the middle section. I am back far enough that I don't immediately have to give my seat up, but can still study. The danger of these is that as the bus fills up (which it often does), there is a great risk that I will need to give up my seat. Now not everyone gives up their seat but I feel incredibly guilty as I sit there and people much older than me stand. I rarely if ever sit in the front because even though there are no signs, these seats seemed to be reserved for the older, disabled, and people with small children. The back is my next choice as I rarely have to give up my seat. But the risk of these seats is that I can only study for about 15 minutes (of my 40 minute ride) before I start to feel slightly carsick. On the way to school I never have to make this decision as I usually stand most of the way. Because the bus is PACKED in the mornings. My decision is pretty straight forward, but others will move to a different seat within the bus as more preferred seats open up. It seems that the middle seats are the most preferred, followed by those in the first row of the back section. Then if it is a warm and sunny day, the seats that are in the sun will fill up last and people will quickly move out of those as others become available. Who knew choosing your seat on the bus had so many factors? And these are only the ones I can observe, I am sure there are more that I am unaware of!

Adventures on the Bus

Each day when I return home from school, I take the bus and occasionally I take the bus to school as well. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a window into Chinese culture than public transportation. And often I have such interesting things happen.... so much so that I going to start a new category dedicated to my adventures on the bus. This week I had two amusing happenings. Early in the week as took the bus home, I had my textbook out and was practicing writing characters. I was covering up the characters to see if I could write each one correctly. As I was writing, I noticed there were several Chinese standing near me watching me write. Now I must mention as an aside that many Chinese find it humorous and intriguing to see a foreigner writing characters. So as these people were watching me, one of the men pointed to one of the characters and told me that I had it slightly wrong. After closer inspection, I spotted my mistake. I thanked him and kept practicing. A little while later, he leaned over and showed me another mistake. I again thanked him and kept studying. When I looked up he was getting off the bus and I bade him goodbye. A few moments later, a women leaned over and showed me a small mistake. This continued for the rest of the bus ride home. I think a total of 4 different individuals helped me study. :-)

Another day as I was coming home, I got a seat in the back of the bus. I sat down by the window and since I was not really in the mood to talk (after just finishing one of my tests), I plugged in my iPod. Pretty soon the bus began to fill up, but even as the bus got full no one sat down beside me. Granted I am often the only foreigner on the bus and people have told me that I am the first foreigner they have ever seen ride the bus. But I was humored as there were people standing and no one wanted to brave sitting by the foreigner. I guess I have been known to do scary things like speak English. One man finally sat down next to me and then promptly fell asleep. Well, he at least appeared to be sleeping, but every few minutes he would peek at me from the corners of his eyes. It was all I could do NOT to laugh. I was talking about it later to some Chinese friends and one of the women confessed to me that if she got on the bus and saw a foreigner she would stand rather than sit next to them. But really, aren't we all suspicious or uncertain of people who are different than us? Just makes me think how I have reacted that way to someone in the US. And what a humbling realization that is.