TheBanyanTree: Transition 17

[Pat M]

Transition 17



       There were many decisions to make and things to prepare for my
upcoming move to Sanya.

       First, I needed to book a flight. Lintong, with a population of half
a million, was 'too small' to have a travel agent. That meant I'd need to go
to Xian and enlist Frank's help, which would take me the better part of a
day. Instead, I decided to reserve a flight online. I'm an independent
person and living in China has meant that more often than not, I need help
and have to depend on others. This time I wanted to 'do it myself.'

China Eastern airline's English website wasn't working properly so I used an
online travel agency to book. The travel agency's reservation system wasn't
like any in the west, and there were numerous contract loopholes. I was
hesitant but booked anyway, not knowing if I had actually reserved a flight
or if I had been a victim of an internet con.

When I received the email detailing my booking and tried to phone the
airline directly to confirm it, the phone number was out of service. Had I
just kissed $250 goodbye? I tried calling numerous times to no avail.
Finally, two days later, China Eastern's telephone number was operational
again and I breathed a sigh of relief when the airline representative who
answered my call confirmed my reservation. I would fly to Sanya on Tuesday,
January 29th.

I'm a traveler who prepares for every situation that 'could' occur which
means I don't travel light. (Some might say that's the understatement of the
year.) I'd brought over 20 kg of reference books and teaching materials to
China alone.

It occurred to me I should check the free luggage allowance for flights
within China. When I called China Eastern again, the phone number was again
out of service. Another day passed before it worked and I discovered that
the domestic luggage allowance is less than half of the international
allowance and it was going to cost me a small fortune (about $4.00 for every
kilo over 20 kg) if I took everything with me on the flight.

A trip to China Post with Amy to translate for me revealed their cheapest
(overland) rate for shipping to be around $.50 per kilo, so I decided to
mail the bulk of my stuff to Sanya.

       Meanwhile, I was staying up-to-date on Zhang Kang's progress and
keeping the sponsors informed. His heart operation was performed on January
14th and by January 17th he was out of ICU. The operation was a success, and
he was doing well.

       I also had ongoing correspondence with the family in Hong Kong. The
two boys in the family (aged five and seven) had been very moved by Zhang
Kang's situation and were eager to help him and befriend him. I received
word 5,000 yuan had been transferred to my Chinese bank account and should
arrive in a couple of days. The family also emailed some photos for me to
print and give to Zhang Kang when I delivered the money to his parents.

       I was pleased my story had prompted a large donation to reduce the
Zhang's debt, but I was also concerned that handing over 5,000 yuan in cash
to a poor family might not be a good idea. There would be no guarantee they
would apply it to their medical debts, and I wouldn't be able to make the
all-day trip to their village to pay the money lender myself. My time in
Lintong was quickly running out.

       About then I received several emails advising me that more donations
were forthcoming, some of them substantial. Something that started with a
desire to help one child had blossomed into the ability to help several. The
latest sponsors and I would be able to help fund one or more other
life-saving surgeries for children with congenital heart disease. I was
thrilled; I have always felt that my purpose in life is to help others and
now I was helping save lives; I was living my dream. Life couldn't get much
better.

       I sent an email to Jackie, China's Agape representative and asked him
for the name of a little girl with congenital heart disease or the child
most in need of a heart operation, as I had extra funds coming. He sent a
report and photos of a little girl named Wang Yani who was abandoned at
birth in Xian a year and a half ago. She is living with foster parents who
have been unable to have a baby of their own and hope to adopt her. Her
heart surgery will cost 31,000 yuan, more than Zhang Kang's because the
procedure is more complicated.
>From the photos, I thought Wang Yani might have Down Syndrome. Did it make a
difference? It might. While some donors were willing to leave it up to me to
decide which surgeries to support, others wanted a say in how the funds were
allocated. It was my duty then to inform them of all the facts about a
specific child and solicit their opinion on whether or not to help fund that
child's operation.
 I had to get to Xian prior to flying out on the 29th; I needed to change my
return flight to Canada from February 5th to late May (I'd made a verbal
contract to teach in Sanya until May 16th), I had to deliver the 5,000 yuan
to Zhang Kang's parents (when it arrived) and I wanted to visit Wang Yani's
home to see her and her living conditions.

The days passed swiftly now, miserable days of extremely cold weather. The
5,000 yuan had gone missing between Hong Kong and my bank account. My bank,
The Commercial and Industrial Bank of China told me there was nothing they
could do on this end; the funds simply hadn't arrived. The donor's bank in
Hong Kong said the funds had been transferred successfully. I could do
nothing except wait. Every day I went to the bank to check my account
balance, and every day it was unchanged. As soon as the money arrived, I
wanted to go to Xian to deliver it to the Zhangs before Zhang Kang was
discharged from the hospital.

Alice, realizing she was losing me, arranged for me to teach some special
classes to thirty government employees who worked for the traffic bureau,
only she didn't bother to tell me until the day before classes started. I
experienced a rush of anger that I hadn't been given sufficient notice, and
then panic, but managed to put together some highly successful classes. When
the government employees finished their last class, Alice came into the
classroom and spoke with them, most of whom were men.

"What is she saying?" I whispered to Amy.

"She's still trying to find you a boyfriend. She thinks you might change
your mind and stay if she does."
I gasped. I was ready to wring Alice's neck and I'm sure my sour expression
made that clear!
At the end of class, I handed out some Canadian flag pins to the students. I
heard one young man say to his friend, "Ask her how old she is." As I walked
past them, I muttered, "I'm *very* old."
When I caught a taxi home that evening, I happened to ride with 'Romeo'. My
driver was very talkative, and every time we stopped at a traffic light, he
stared at me. I knew enough Chinese to understand he was saying he wanted to
be my friend. He also said, "Ni mei li, (you're beautiful)."
I thought, yeah right. I was bundled up in a down coat and wore a toque
(stocking cap) on my head; I looked anything but. I pretended I didn't
understand him, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Ting bu dong (I'm listening
but I don't understand)" whenever he spoke. He was definitely coming on to
me and I felt a little nervous, so I was relieved that he took me directly
to my apartment. When I paid him, he grabbed my hand and kissed it
reverently. That was just too much excitement for this old girl; I made a
hasty exit and didn't look back.
Five days before I left Lintong, the roads were clear. Alice made an
unexpected trip to the college and was available to give me a ride to Xian.
I made a quick call to Jackie to confirm his availability and told him I'd
be there about noon. I had a lot to do and not much time to do it.

***

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/January2008To

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China3ZhangKangSStory

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China2

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/WangYani