TheBanyanTree: Transition 19, part 2

[Pat M]

Monday, January 28





My last day in Lintong had arrived. I awoke early and immediately pushed
aside my bedroom curtains to check the weather. It was a relief to see that
much of the snow from the previous evening had disappeared, and there
wouldn't be any problem getting to Xian.

I packed my pajamas (long underwear) into the small suitcase that would
accompany me. I'd be sleeping in Xian and needed them that evening; tomorrow
I'd give them away to one of the beggars on the street.

Three large cardboard boxes (each of which weighed close to 20 kg.)
containing teaching materials, house wares, my backpack and clothing, sat
near the door. They would be mailed to Sanya at my new employer's expense.

A fourth box also sat ready for the Post Office. While in Lintong, I'd
crocheted a beautiful double-size quilt of granny squares. Assembling it had
taken twice as long as usual because a needle with a large eye was nowhere
to be found and I'd had to use a bobby pin to sew the squares together. My
original plan had been to raffle it off and use the money to help the poor.
When I'd suggested selling tickets outside the supermarket, Amy and Mrs.
Zhang told me that such things aren't done in China and I could end up in
trouble with the police. I tossed that idea out and asked if they knew
anyone who might be interested in buying it, but the price tag of 500 yuan
(or $70) made it unaffordable for most.  Mrs. Zhang had suggested I take it
to the Terracotta Warriors site to sell to a foreigner, but I hadn't had the
time or the inclination for that.

I'd have liked to give it to Amy or Mrs. Zhang but I couldn't give it to one
and not the other so had packaged it up to send to my friend, Mao, in
Taiyuan who was so kind to me when I first arrived in China. She, her
husband and friends had organized and accompanied me on a trip to Wutai Shan
and had also insisted on paying for most of it.  I liked the idea of her
receiving a surprise package in the mail and knew she'd love the quilt; it
truly was a beauty with two shades of red bordered with deep burgundy.

Also ready to go was an old suitcase filled with things I wasn't taking with
me: winter clothing, shoes, toiletries, and much more. Amy and Mrs.
Zhang would have first pick and could then give the rest away. They only
needed to put anything they didn't want near one of the garbage receptacles
on the street and it would quickly disappear. Numerous people's livelihoods
came from rummaging through the bins.

I had a near-new electric heater that I'd used in the computer room, an
almost new double electric blanket, and a handy clothing stand on wheels to
give away, too. I'd already discussed with Amy and Mrs. Zhang who should
have what in order to make it 'fair'.

      At 10:00 am there was no sign of my friends but I didn't worry. At
10:20 I picked up my mobile and called.

            "We're on the way right now," Amy said, and a few minutes later
they arrived—with an armload of gifts for me.

            "Oh, thank you. Thank you very much," I said. "But I'll wait to
open them until after our trip to the Post Office."

I was glad of Mrs. Zhang's husband's help, as we had to carry the 20 kg
boxes down six flights of stairs and out past the gate to the road. When
everything was down, we hailed a taxi. Some boxes went in the trunk and the
others sat on our laps. It was a heavy load for the little car.

When we arrived at the Post Office, we carried everything inside, and Amy
spoke to the clerk for the shipping forms. He said something in Chinese to
her and she turned to me and said, "He wants to open up all of the boxes."
(Standard procedure is to take your things to the post office and the postal
workers pack them in boxes for you.)

"Oh no! Tell him that we spoke with a postal worker here last week who told
us we could pack our own boxes."

After some discussion, Amy turned to me and said, "It's okay, we don't have
to unpack everything."

What a relief! We would have been there for hours.

Amy translated, "How do you want to ship them?"

"The cheapest way."

"He said it might take 20 days instead of the usual 10 for your boxes to
arrive in Sanya. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I won't start teaching for a month. Is it because of Chinese New
Years?"

"No, because of the weather."

We were at the post office for close to an hour. A lengthy form needed to be
filled in for each box and then the postal worker weighed the boxes and
applied copious amounts of extra-strength tape.

Finally, we were finished. When we left the post office, I said, "I'd like
to take all of you out for lunch now. Where would you like to go?"

"How about the pancake restaurant?" Amy suggested.

"Pancake restaurant? I didn't know there was one," I said. "Sure!"

Before going, we went into China Mobile. I thought Amy was adding money to
her mobile phone, instead she returned with Sun, the young man I'd recently
bought my mobile phone from (the school I was going to didn't provide one).

Our group required two taxis and we arrived outside the restaurant just as a
van slipped on the icy road and hit a motorcycle. The motorcycle went down
but its driver was lucky; he wasn't seriously hurt.

The lunch was delicious and I wished I'd known of the restaurant earlier as
I'd have visited it often. The vegetables and meats came on platters. As
soon as the baskets of hot crepes were empty, the waitress immediately
refilled them. Sun got up to pay and I went running after him.

"I'm taking everyone out for lunch," I said.

"No, no, no, I will pay."

When I returned to the table I said, "He wouldn't let me pay!"

"It's probably the only time in his life he will have a meal with a
foreigner. This time with you is very special to him and he wants to pay;
you must let him," said Amy.

When Sun sat down, I said, "Thank you very much. You are very generous."

Then, it was back to the apartment where I opened my gifts: a pair of warm
winter gloves, a red scarf and a cute, tiger cushion that unzipped to become
a light-weight blanket.

            After taking one last look around, I handed my apartment and
school keys to Amy. We carried down my small suitcase and my small leather
backpack/purse as well as the suitcase of things for Amy and Mrs. Zhang and
caught a taxi to the school.

            Amy, Mrs. Zhang and I didn't know what to do with ourselves as
we waited for the taxi to arrive—all of us were trying to keep a lid on our
emotions. We hung out near the coal stove in Amy's room to keep warm.
Whenever I looked at my hands, now covered in purple blotches, I knew I'd
made the right decision to leave. My health simply couldn't take being cold
all the time, but I felt guilty leaving Amy and Mrs. Zhang knowing how much
they wanted me to stay. Both had declared that they would have stayed at the
college 'forever' as long as I was there but now they, too, planned to leave
the school.
            Just before the taxi arrived, I pressed 300 yuan into each of
their hands.

            "We don't want your money," Amy said and tried to give it back
to me.

            I put my hands behind me and backed away. "No, you keep it. You
aren't paid enough. Buy something that you need with it."
            The taxi arrived. Alice had invited Amy to Xian to attend a
farewell diner for me but Mrs. Zhang was not invited because of her low
'status' as college cook. It wasn't fair!
         Mrs. Zhang and I managed to remain dry-eyed as we hugged and said
goodbye. Neither of us wanted the flood gates of emotion to open. I gave her
a final wave as the taxi pulled away and wondered if I'd ever see her again.
        An hour later we arrived at the Bell Tower Youth Hostel where I
checked in. Next stop was the bank where I collected the money from Hong
Kong and deposited it into my Chinese bank account.
          Afterwards, Amy and I returned to the hostel's restaurant where we
had a cup of tea and a good, long chat.
         Later, we met Alice and Frank for dinner at very nice restaurant
that served western food near the youth hostel. Alice ordered a bottle of
red wine.
        "I'm very sad that you're leaving," she said. When I looked at her,
she said, "Don't look at me or I'm going to cry." Then she consumed glass
after glass of wine and quickly got very drunk. "I hope you will come back
in the spring," she said. "You are welcome to come back to teach for me
anytime."

            After dinner Alice, Frank and Amy accompanied me back to my room
where I would receive my final pay in cash. Alice was having trouble walking
and when we got to my room, she threw herself on the bed and lay there with
a silly grin on her face.

Meanwhile, Frank withdrew two thick bundles of bank notes and handed them to
me to count. I received close to 10,000 yuan, which included my travel
bonus. Many Chinese work for two years for that sum.

The time had come to say goodbye.  I gave Amy a look. Amy knew that I found
Frank attractive, not so much for his physical appearance but because he is
a good man and I'd enjoyed talking to him. He'd shared some of his feelings
and 'secrets' with me and we'd formed a bond.

I said to Frank, "Can I give you a goodbye hug?"
Frank suddenly looked very shy.
I said, "Oh Frank, if I was twenty years younger, you'd be in trouble."

"Me, too," he said, and we hugged.
"I've enjoyed our talks," I said. "Thanks for all your help."
"Maybe you will come back," he said. "I hope you do."

Alice and I hugged briefly and I said, "I feel like I don't know you very
well. I wish I'd had the opportunity to get to know you better."  She gave
me a silly, drunken grin and wavered on her feet.

And then it was time to say goodbye to my dear friend, Amy. When we hugged,
she burst into tears and clung to me tightly, burying her face against my
shoulder. She sobbed for several minutes before loosening her grip and
looking up at me.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."  I kissed her forehead.

"Maybe I'll see you again in the future, maybe when you get married." To
lighten the mood I said, "We need to find Amy a boyfriend. Then, I'll come
back to attend the wedding."

 It was a private joke. Amy 'wasn't allowed' to have a boyfriend if she
worked for Alice, but unbeknownst to Alice and Amy's parents (who demanded
she marry a rich man) she had a boyfriend she was serious about and hoped to
marry in a couple of years.  She'd already said she wanted me to come to her
wedding and I'd told her that if I possibly could, I would.

When Amy regained control, she slipped out of my arms and joined Frank and
Alice who now waited in the hallway outside.

"Goodbye. Thanks for everything," I said and watched them walk away. A
hollow ache had formed in my stomach. It hurt to say goodbye.



***
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