Car 11 was filling up fast. There were 48 sweaty World Racers with obnoxiously large backpacks trying to find a space to stow it for the upcoming 19 hour trip across China. People jostled and pushed us as they scrambled to get to their seats and have a spot for their luggage. My seat among many others were taken by a Chinese family. As I stood on top of someone else’s pack, practically laying in a fellow World Racer’s lap, I thought to myself, “Welcome to the World Race.”
Not a day earlier we had just completed a 14 hour plane ride from Atlanta to Korea, and a 90 minute ride from Korea to Beijing. The thought of a 14 hour plane ride seems fun at first but put into practice it becomes something else entirely.
I didn’t realize my butt could be in so much pain.
I’m pretty sure my tailbone mutinied.
“Them’s some nice cankles you got there!”
After the plane ride was done I was certain that that was the worst it would get. I had survived and I was ready for another challenge. Bring it on train, you can’t bring me down.
Brian 0 Train 1.
After a process of pantomiming to the nice Chinese family that they were in our seats, and an hour long process of an incredibly sweaty conductor trying to make room for all our packs – his baby blue shirt turned a nice shade of dark blue within ten minutes – we were on our way.
I was actually excited to be on a train. There is something incredibly romantic about trains and the thought of seeing China countryside made me giddy. That being said I quickly learned two things;
1.There is nothing romantic about trains in China. Especially ones where there are so many people and packs jammed into one car that you have to practically lay on top of everyone else. I figured out the most comfortable sleeping position was putting my backpack in my lap and laying my head on top of my hard lap top inside. I was so exhausted I ended up sleeping for 6 hours straight though. Also, squatty potties are the worst. Imagine the most moist, wet floor filled with who knows what, the most ungodly smell, rivets for your feet, and a hand hold so you don’t fall in.
2.The Chinese countryside is not as pretty as you would think. If you think America is being overrun with industry and factories you haven’t seen anything yet. The smog is so bad that, at times, the sun is just a round haze in the sky. There is a reason China is the number 1 most polluted country in the world.
Once we made it to the province of Harbin (pronounced Har-bean, which I quickly found out as I tried to explain to an incredibly confused Chinese man where we were going; “We’re going to Harbin.” “No such place.”), we traveled in our group of almost 50 World Racers to a bus stop. Never in my life have I been stared at so much or had my picture taken so much. I feel like a celebrity here.
Harbin is the 35th biggest city in the world, something I could tell the moment I stepped off the train. There are people everywhere. Keeping up with my group wasn’t an easy task but we eventually all made it onto a city bus. Things were going way too smoothly though for us World Racers and lo and behold, within 15 minutes of driving down the incredibly congested streets our bus popped a lug nut and we were all forced to get off and change buses.
The cool thing is, is that despite all the sore behinds and the lack of sleep, we all remained in good spirits. The best stories don’t come from the moments when everything goes right, they come from the bad moments. The moments when nothing is going right and things can’t seem to get any worse. Those are the moments that draw our squad close together, and the moments that make you rely on God to get you through.
After all of this, God blessed us with the best sleeping arrangements we could ever ask for. We’re staying in apartments that have refrigerators, private showers, toilets, and kitchens. It is way more than we could ever ask for.
In less than a day we start our ministry; it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. But as we start we remember that God is guiding our every step and that He is in every bad situation and making it good. We are World Racers and we’re ready for anything.
