Traveling in China is always an adventure for a foreigner. If you don't understand.. just ask, I have tons of stories. This weekend was a pretty special occurance though. I was going to Hangzhou as usual.. and I decide I'm going to save some money by taking the bus of the "yelling people" outside the station. I call them that because that's what they do.. they yell. Usually they see a foreigner and yell "Shanghai!".. and I say.. "Hangzhou." Then I bargain for a NON-foreigner price.. and continue to follow them through alley ways and shady places to a bus that is hidden. Well, this weekend it was a crowded street.. and basically a bus pulled up and the woman threw me on and the bus barely even stopped. haha. There were no seats.. so they tried to make a man get up for me, only have another woman take the seat. I didn't want to kick anyone out of their rightful seat.. so I sat on a stool. No problem. They charged me even less money.. which was nice, but they told me to stay hidden. haha.
When arriving in Hangzhou.. they just dropped me on the side of street. I am glad I know Hangzhou well. I knew where I was and how to get a taxi.
Coming back to Ningbo today was even better... I decide I am going to take the cheap way home.. because I never do. I bargained with a man for a long time.. he wanted 20 yuan more than the regular bus.. so I got him down and ended up saving about 20 yuan. Anyways.. he takes me to this little shack of a house. and sits me on the couch and gives me a piece of paper that he wrote Ningbo on. He told me it would be 15 minutes.. I said "hao de." Then I don't see anyone. I play with the little 2 year old girl for a while.. and talk to a random woman washing dishes. Then about 45 minutes later 2 girls come in and sit down. No English.. so I used me Chinese and asked when the bus would leave. They said in 50 minutes.......... more waiting around. I listened to my lesson podcasts and finally they usher us out to a minibus. It has no seats. Just these wooden stools that are basically 2 sticks glued together. I sit carefullly, to ensure that they stay in tact. I didn't want to be the "fat foreigner who broke the 2 stick stool." haha. When in fact one of the other girls broke her stool. Anyways. The minibus takes about 5KM and pulls over. He stands at the back of the van and a bus flashes it's lights. He opens the door and we all run out and jump on the bus. This one barely stopped either. Thankfully it was fairly empty so I got a row to myself. I got to sleep for the remainder of the trip. When arriving in Ningbo, the bus driver stops on a random road and tells me I have to get off now. I have no idea where I am.. I dont' know Ningbo too well. So I just start walking down random streets and looking for a familiar hotel, or landmark. Finally, these 5 girls say hello as I am passing.. so I ask in Chinese, "Nan Zhan zai nali?" and it turns out that's where they were going. So they walked with me. I really think they just wanted me to share the umbrella, because that was the first thing they did was just under my umbrella and latch on to my arms. haha.
Needless to say.. I made it home. I saved some money. I spoke Chinese. I learned a lot. I really love the random experiences I get to have in this amazing Country. If I were traveling in America.. I would have gotten in my car and driven. So boring and easy... never meet new people that way...
I am happy the TEM-4 is finished.. now I can have a life with my students and friends! Now if it would only stop raining.. The TEM-4 is the major English exam for sophomore English majors. It is a huge part of their schooling. My students have had morning and night classes/study time, and practice exams every weekend. I am so glad that is finished. We were all burnt out on TEM-4 talk..
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