So I have been in China less than 24 hours, and already I can give you 10,000 reasons why learning Chinese is more essential than I first thought. The notion that people everywhere speak English? Absolute Bull! If you could have found me one person in that train station who spoke an ounce of English I would have paid you everything I had.
The Flights:
The 4hour flight to Russia was pleasant, I was sat with a guy who was also travelling alone. He had used all of his savings in order to travel around the world.
The 7 hour flight to Beijing however.. whole other ball game. I sat next to a 6ft Russian girl, who's idea of personal space appeared to be non-existent. The time went by so incredibly slowly, and every-time I was about to drift off to sleep she jabbed me with her giant elbows.
Bus:
After spending nearly 2 hours wandering around the airport in search of my bus to the train station (an hour was spent sat at the wrong bus stop!) I finally boarded the right bus. I sat next to a man, and using my Chinese phrase book, I pointed to the words 'west station', he nodded, and I was able to relax and sit back uncomfortably in my chair, with about as much leg room for a mouse.
This was of course, until I realised that as passengers got off of the bus at their stop they were made to show their ticket. I remembered that as I got on the bus the ticket officer did not give me mine back, I panicked, and began to ponder the penalty for not having a ticket; Prison? Deportation?
I tried to ask the guy next to me what I should do, again using my phrase book, but I do not think that he could grasp what I was saying and just babbled to me in Chinese.
As mine was the final stop, the bus conductor came down the aisle asking for tickets, I pretended to dig through my rucksack and avoided eye contact, he stood for a moment and then continued down the aisle. I thought for sure he would come back for me, but he didn't, and so as soon as the bus stopped, I dashed off the bus and grabbed my luggage as quick as possible.
- About 5 minutes before writing this, I found my ticket slotted in the back of my phrase book! FML.
At the Station (HELP!):
With the wiFi access written in Chinese characters I was unable to contact the school and tell them what time my train is, so to pick me up from the station. Furthermore, Beijing West train station is HUGE, two storey's high, and at least 5 times the size of Doncaster rail station; I have two 23kg suitcases, a backpack, a handbag, and absolutely no idea what platform to be on.
Actually on the verge of tears, my saving Grace arrived. She spoke no English other than hello, but allowed me to use her phone, in addition to this she helped me with my cases and showed me to my platform. I could not have thanked her enough, definitely a blessing from God, truly genuine and humble in her good deed.
With a two hour wait for the train, I decided to head to the 'Cesuo' (toilet), and had my very first experience of the... *ahem*.... 'squatting toilet'. Without going into TOO much detail, they are not as bad as they sound; they are more hygienic for starters, and I can imagine they work wonders on the thighs after a visit or two. Having said this, I still hope that my new apartment has a toilet seat!
My travelling freight was not over yet however, as I was unaware that my train had a different destination, and my stop was just along the way. And so when the board at my platform said 'Wehan', I thought I had been taken to the wrong place. In addition to that, I was also blissfully unaware that the train had been delayed by half an hour, and so I thought for sure that 'Wehan - 17.00' was definitely the wrong train. I showed my ticket to a stranger, and they pointed to the Wehan platform. I wasn't convinced, and decided to ask another person to double check, who to my dismay shook their head when I pointed to the platform and then to my ticket. Very confused, I approached a train worker and did the same again, they too pointed to 'Wehan'. I reluctantly boarded the train when it arrived, and decided to ask one last time, horrifyingly the man shook his head and laughed, just as the train began to move. With my heart pounding I showed my ticket to the train hostess, who smiled and nodded, even showing me what time the train would arrive there. *phew*.
Long story short. I am not doing anymore travelling in China until I am fluent in the bastard!
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