Grace Sandwich- 11/25/09

It all started in CLS (content language support). I was having my second grade students make Thank You notes to someone. I decided to make one with them. I had one student absent, so I was able to sit down with the students at their desks and work along-side them. As I was decorating my card, I was trying to think of who I could write it to. I decided on Grace Li. She is the first grade teacher’s assistant. She is a wonderful believer, who daily gives great hugs and good encouragement/ advice. I’m very thankful that the Father has brought us together and that we get to work together so closely.

I gave her my note at our Elementary staff meeting after school. Afterwards, she asked me if I would like to get some dinner. It was a little chilly, so I had kind of decided that I would just grab something and go home. I didn’t really want to be out in the weather. After her continual pursuit, I budged. I was excited to have been invited to go to her house to have dinner. She told me I could ride on the back of her moped (termed motor bikes here). I thought that would be kind of fun, but I was not really dressed for the cold. I told her that I’d catch a bus and be at her house between 6 and 6:30 pm. She told me to invite a friend so that I wouldn’t have to ride along. I liked that idea, so I asked my other friend/ roommate Grace. She also willingly came!

I would like to say that the food was really good. Pumpkin, broccoli, corn with ham, potatoes, crunchy sweet chips, and lots of pepper were on the menu. Oh and rice…the staple for all meals! It was delicious. We had a great time of fellowship, talking about life. However, it was quite an adventure traveling!

We left school around 5:30. I stopped by the convenience store on the way out of the Xiao Qu (neighborhood) to return the electric blanket that did not work. Then, Grace and I made the journey out to Guang Fu Lu (the main street on the south side of town that we live on…it’s the one our Xiao Qu is off of). As we were waiting to cross the street to get to the bus stop, we see the 181 pull away. BOO! These buses are few and far between. We sat and talked for about 30 minutes. I got a call from Grace Li, asking where we were. It was already 6, and she was expecting us any minute. We were still a good 30 minute ride from her. We decided to wait it out and sat expectantly at the bus stop. As the next 181 finally pulls up (after waiting about 45 minutes), it is jam packed and people are pushed up against the doors. There were also about 10-15 people at the bus stop that wanted to make it on the bus. We both quit (sorry, for all of you that wanted to hear that we pushed and shoved) and caught a cab.

I got in first and told him our destination: Chun Yuan Xiao Qu… (that is, Chun Yuan neighborhood). I said it with the right tones and everything. He didn’t understand though and said, “shen me?” which means “what?” I repeated myself. Then he repeated me. I said, “dui,” or correct. Grace and I are finally on our way…at this point it’s about 6:15. I call Grace and tell her we’re in a cab. She was fine with that, but didn’t want to start making food and have it be cold, so she asked me to call when we got close. I agreed. Well…our little adventure does not end there!
The cab driver turns his radio up, and when I realize that we’ve missed our turn, I politely say, “Ni hao” (hello) to get his attention. He can’t hear me, so I say, “dui bu qi” (excuse me)….then I start banging on the window separating us. He is still driving…farther and farther away from our destination. Grace and I start thinking he’s doing it on purpose. We start calling people that we can have talk to him. After calling four people Curt answers and talks to the cab driver. He tells him the correct destination, and the cab driver responds with, “eh! Chun Yuan Xiao Qu? Ohh ohh! Zai Jian.” Then he starts murmuring to himself as we turn around. Grace looks at me and says, “You said it just like that!” WHATEVER!

35 kuai later, we arrive. (It should have been about half that…). Only, we arrive in a part of the Xiao Qu that I am unfamiliar with. I’m not sure which way to walk. All the buildings look the same. OH GEEZE! …oh and it’s getting colder. AWESOME! Grace and I walked to what looked like a gate to a main street, and we recognized the street. It’s the one the 181 would have dropped us off at. And…just to add to our comical outing, a 181 passes by, a little less crowded. I figure out where we need to walk to, and we arrive hungry and ready to eat.

Like I said, the food was great, the fellowship was much needed. We left Grace’s apartment at 9:15 and arrived at the 181 bus stop at 9:20. The sign says the last bus came at 21:00. GRR.. So I have this great idea of walking around the corner to catch the 120 that will also take us home. So we walk down the street and around the corner, passing dogs (hungry ones), and many people…lots of markets, police standing at the corner, bikes, cars, buses… We get to the stop and the 120 doesn’t go to that one. Then I realize that it doesn’t come this far up the street, so we decide to walk down further so we can catch it. We walked and walked at a nice brisk pace. We were stopped at one stop light, and we hear this growl/ low shout. We scream and look over, and it’s our other roommate Tonya. She had been at English Corner with another teacher and was riding on her bike. It freaked both of us out though. We were already a bit skittish…from all the hungry dogs and men in black jackets.

Grace and I trekked down Xi Yuan Lu (Xi Yuan Street) and passed one of the turns we could have made to go home. I told her that it should be the next stop. About the time when we begin to see the next big road (Dian Chi Lu), I realize that we’re one block South of the street that the 120 runs along! We had been walking for about 40 minutes. We finally caught up with the 120 route at 10:03. The sign says that the last bus comes at 22:00. We’re thinking that it has not come yet (and hoping, so that we don’t have to have another eventful taxi ride…not like we hadn’t already had enough). There were still about 10-15 people at the bus stop waiting, and buses were still running. Our rest time at the bus stop was quick. We took the last bus of the night home. All I have to say is, “WHAT A NIGHT!” Oh and, “man, it was so convenient to just get in the car and go!” Be thankful for that today.