Language barrier has nothing on me

It is in those times of desperation that we realize how far adrenaline can get us.

Yesterday I hung out with two friends (Isabella and Mike) after classes at school (yes we had classes on a Saturday- every Saturday, in fact).  We went to Mike’s host family’s apartment and played cards with his host brother and then braved the pouring rain in order to get dinner at the nearest food place, which happened to be McDonalds (ok I admit it, we all really wanted to go there. After three weeks of oily Chinese food, a burger and fries was a really welcome- and delicious- change of flavors).  We went back to Mike’s place and watched some episodes of Big Bang Theory.  By then it was about 10:30 at night and Izzy and I had to leave.  Mike helped me catch a taxi because he knows Chinese better than I do, and next thing I knew I was zipping off toward Sichuan University, because I had left my bike there. My plan was to get dropped off there, grab my bike, and ride home.

However, I had left my bike inside a gated courtyard and by that time the courtyard was locked up.  I didn’t let that phase me, though, and I just turned around and went back out the university to catch another taxi. However, the driver did not know where my address was, even though I showed him a card with it written in Chinese characters. So I let him drive off and decided I would just try walking.  After about twenty minutes of walking over slippery cobblestones that were still wet from the afternoon’s deluge, and dodging puddles, I had not gotten very far at all.  The whole trip between home and school takes about 20 minutes by bike, and I thought it would be about double walking. However, the distance I had covered in 20 minutes of walking I could cover in about 5 on my bike.  By this time I think it was after 11, and the Peace Corps asks us to be back home by 11 as a courtesy to our host families.  I wasn’t too tired but I realized the impossibility of my pedestrian pilgrimage and I really didn’t want my host family to get too worried. I also didn’t want to get home well after midnight.  I pulled out my Chinese dictionary and wrote down the words for left and right and hailed another taxi, determined that I would communicate my destination to him.  I said to the driver, in Chinese, “I don’t speak Chinese but I can tell you left and right.”  I guess that’s a pretty vague thing, and the driver did seem a little confused, but I could tell he wanted to help. I kept indicating my right and left hands and speaking as well as I could in the very limited Chinese I have in my arsenal, and finally he nodded and let me in. Ten minutes later I was walking up to my apartment complex, feeling very proud of myself.  Yes it was my fault that I had left my bike at school in a gate that would be locked late at night, but instead of panicking I rallied the little Chinese I had and was able to direct a taxi driver to my place.  As I write this, I realize it may not seem like a big deal, but I felt pretty victorious to not have had to walk over an hour on wet slippery ground late at night in a foreign country.  The main victory was the initial request of conveying to a taxi driver that I couldn’t speak his language or give him a final destination, but that I could direct him how to get where I wanted to go.

Now I just need to figure out how to say “Can you please pick me up at school” in Chinese so if this happens again I can just ask for help from my host parents.