长途汽车站

You know it's going to be a good day when you wake up singing Bon Jovi.

Sometimes I get so used to the ridiculosity* of things that I forget that they might seem strange to you normal folks.

Friday the 13th really lived up to its reputation last week. I got up early in anticipation of journeying home so that I would be able to do laundry, unpack, and plan my lessons before classes began on Monday. After dallying around the breakfast table for what I thought would be the last time with my friends in Enshi, we regretfully forced ourselves to head in the direction of the bus station. As soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk I remembered that I needed to go to the ATM before I could buy a bus ticket. Luckily there is one for my bank just down the street from the bus station. I went inside to discover that the machine was off, (not an uncommon event in China) so I trekked down the street, over the walking bridge, and around the corner to my bank, with poor Nate and Jes following me.

ATM number 2: insert card. View choices. Wrinkle brow in confusion. I had the option to deposit money, transfer money to another account, or check my balance. I was not; however, given the choice to withdraw my money, which I so desperately needed to do. I glanced over at Nate and Jess and shrugged apologetically for making them walk all over town and wait for ages while I tried to get money. There was another ATM next to the malfunctioning one so I waited in line behind the lady who was withdrawing thousand...after thousand...after thousand. After what seemed like ages I finally got the machine to myself. So I put my card in with my fingers crossed. It accepted it! There was a button for withdrawing money! I pushed the 500元 button. The machine froze. I tapped my foot, scratched my head, and counted minutes. When my hair had started turning grey, it finally came awake again and rudely spit my card back at me. Stupidly, I jammed it right back in and tried again. Bad idea. When it finally came alive the second time I took my card before it was lost to me forever, and went inside to torture the man at the desk with my poor Chinese in the hopes that he would be able decipher my money needs. Somehow he guessed what I was trying to say and gave me 1,000 without asking how much I wanted. I decided that was just fine as long as I could buy a bus ticket. Upon examining my receipt, I wished I could go ask him some more questions though, like why I was charged 10 kuai for withdrawing money at my own bank, and why I hadn't gotten paid yet, 3 days after pay day. Unfortunately that would be hard to charade. So I headed for the bus station instead deciding the questions could wait for another day.

The nearer we got to the bus station, the more worried we were. There was no usual line of honking buses pulling in and out. In fact when we walked past the parking lot there wasn't a single bus or person in it. That is not a good sign, I thought to myself. We walked inside and to our chagrin discovered the same was true in the waiting area. Other than the two ladies behind the ticket counter, it was the definition of a ghost town. I walked up to the counter and the lady (somewhat mockingly it seemed) asked me where I wanted to go. "YiChang...?" Was my answer that came out sounding more like a question. She grinned maliciously and said, "Meiyou" [which means 'we don't have any']. "What?!" I exclaimed. She proceeded to gleefully tell me that there were no tickets to YiChang either that day, or the next. I asked why and with her ever-widening smile she explained that they were sold out, not only at this bus station but the other two Enshi stations as well, dashing my hopes of getting home in time to prepare for classes in one fell swoop. I knew that a lot of people traveled during the Spring Festival, but there are buses going between our cities regularly, sometimes hourly. I was flabbergasted. Which is a great word incidentally.

We decided to try the bigger bus station anyway, just in case. Fighting our way through travelers trying to "jump the queue" (is that how you spell that strange word?), and swimming through cigarette smoke we made it to the front of the line after initiating a yelling match between the guard and the gentelman who thought he could cut in front of us. And that is when I decided that there is no way to say "meiyou" without sounding mocking. How can that word be so smug? Well the point is there really were no bus tickets for the next two days, and it would cost over 500 yuan to fly. So I extended my vacation by a few days, which I would have thoroughly enjoyed had it not been for the fact that the impending first day of class weighed heavy on my consciousness. I called Elizabeth and bribed her into picking up my schedule for me, getting it translated, and taking notes for me at the meeting I had to miss (oh darn!). After a grueling 9-hour bus ride with a numb bum and black lungs I arrived in time to plan a sketchy lesson and fall into bed. If you think I'm exaggerating about the black lungs, I dare you to ride that bus and blow your nose. If you see any color besides black I'll give you my next paycheck. It turned out to be a rather pleasant trip relatively. Only two strangers tried to initiate a conversation with me, and I only saw one dog carcass on a meat rack. Things are looking up for sure.

Honestly, it's things like that that make life fun. I know all of you who sit in a cubicle from 8-5 every day are jealous, as you should be. More to come on my lovely classes this week, I think that's enough nonsense for one post.

*I plagarized this word from Amy Pratt. Many thanks. It's really the only proper description.

"Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth."
-Gandhi again