From Philipines to China, 3 bus
rides, 2 plane rides, one train ride, and a lot of walking… Man, I don’t know
how to put into words this travel day! I don’t actually know which was worse,
the 80 some hour bus ride from South Africa to Malawi or this 2 day venture
into the closed country of China! All I know is that I made it. I am here in
the Henan province, in a place called “Jiazou”. The train ride was, well, I
have no other word than “ridiculous” to describe it.
Blake got puked on twice, once by a
baby, the other time by that baby’s mother, then got scolding hot water poured
on him, so I think his train ride was worse than mine… I just kept getting
bumped by the 3 food carts that made their way up and down the aisle every hour
until 1am, and bumped around by people going out to smoke or head for the
squatty potty.
Let’s talk about squatty potties…
Squatty
Potty – A hole in the ground that you squat/hover above in hopes of taking care
of business.
As I stepped into the bathroom
aboard this train for the first time I found myself faced with a difficult
decision… Do I “go” or do I GO!! I found myself staring down at a small hole
cut in the floor of the train, the tracks visible below, pieces of toilet paper
and other gross things still stuck in the pipe, and here I am, looking down
knowing that I have another 19 hours on this train I truly was faced with an
ugly decision. Have you ever tried using a squatty potty while on a moving
train? NO! Probably not, and apparently neither had a lot of other Chinese people
before me, as urine, defecate, and other unmentionable things were lying on the
floor of the bathroom of this train. So, hesitantly I did what I needed to do,
and then dreamt of a shower.
Moving on.. Most Asians from what I
have seen are quite reserved, quiet, and hospitable. Except one! A lady on the
train had a small child with her, maybe 2 years old. The child loved to walk,
which meant so did mom. In fact, about 3 times an hour this lady liked to get
out of her seat and walk up and down the train car aisle while yelling and
laughing as her child stumbled back and forth. This went on from 5pm until 1:30
in the morning… It was cute the first 3 times, but seriously lady! Mean while I
have not slept and I woke up at 5:45…
About 1:30 things quieted down, my shoulders sore
from carrying 2 backpacks all day, one for another teammate who is sick and
unable to carry it, and my own, it is finally peaceful aboard the Asian
express. I lean back, my legs stuck somewhere between a sleeping Chinese mans
legs across the aisle from me and a pole, I close my eyes when suddenly, a head
falls onto my bruised, sore shoulder and proceeds to press down upon me causing
me to truly feel the weight of the day. 3:30, she finally rolls over to the
other side…
I’d like to take a moment to talk
about Chinese babies… Have you ever seen
one? I had not! Not until I got on the train. They are oddly large! Young
babies look far older than they truly are, but that is not what is important.
What is important is “Split Pants”! All the fad here in China. Think about the
Michelin man, then split his pants open. That is about what these kids look
like. You see, these kids don’t have crotches in their pants. They are designed
for ease of changing diapers, or in some cases they are used without diapers
allowing young children the ability to just squat and go… Great for a squatty
potty, not so great for the eyes of foreigners who had never been introduced to
the horrendous fad. Seriously, split pants need to go…
Back to the train, I don’t know
what else to say other than WOW! I made it! The team made it! The ride ended up
only being 18 hours instead of 20, but it was an intense 18 hours of my life
that I will never forget. It was the perfect introduction to the world known as
China. I now find myself working with an orphanage called “Eagles Wings”, but
more on that at a later date.
