Sep 10: Cultural Immersion Day #6
From the temple we took a cab to a pedestrian shopping street, but got disoriented when we exited the taxi and started walking the wrong way. Seeing that we were lost, a woman on the street started talking to us in Chinese, and we pointed on our map hoping she'd show us where we were going.
Clearly not understanding what we wanted, and unable to make us understand her, she raised a finger to gesture that we should wait a moment, and then grabbed a pen from an enormous bag of clothes she had with her -- the first clue that this clean, orderly woman perhaps lived on the street -- and pulled out a pen. She then began to write Chinese characters on her hand in an effort to communicate with us that way.
Figuring this was useless, Eleni and I tried to start walking again, but she packed up her bag, and began walking with us, we assumed in an attempt to show us where we wanted to go, as others had done for us before. Though we tried to tell her she didn't have to, she insisted.
We followed her for two blocks, increasingly confused, until she stopped again, and began rifling through her bag. She pulled out three or four sheafs of paper, all covered in cramped Chinese handwriting. She picked one and then began writing on it, copying over something that was written in a book she had. Carefully, slowly, she was writing, but she was clearly doing this for us, so we couldn't bring ourselves to leave her. Then she handed the whole shebang to us -- a 20-page treatise, and a cover letter.
As she spoke, I made out the word Beijing, and suddenly realized she wanted us to get this to an address in Beijing. "Beijing?" I asked. She nodded vigorously and started thrusting crumpled bills at us.
We refused the money but took the paper, and walked away trying to figure out what on earth the pages were, not to mention why she needed foreigners to deliver it for her. A manuscript? A manifesto? Secret documents from her life as a spy? We have decided not to ask anyone at a hotel to help us read it, but are going to bring it with us to Hangzhou to ask one of the Melton Fellows to read it for us. Then I will get it to Beijing after that.
Part of me kinda keeps looking over my shoulder though . . . I mean, I've seen Gotcha and I watch Alias. I'm no dummy. Who knows what I could be carrying.
Clearly not understanding what we wanted, and unable to make us understand her, she raised a finger to gesture that we should wait a moment, and then grabbed a pen from an enormous bag of clothes she had with her -- the first clue that this clean, orderly woman perhaps lived on the street -- and pulled out a pen. She then began to write Chinese characters on her hand in an effort to communicate with us that way.
Figuring this was useless, Eleni and I tried to start walking again, but she packed up her bag, and began walking with us, we assumed in an attempt to show us where we wanted to go, as others had done for us before. Though we tried to tell her she didn't have to, she insisted.
We followed her for two blocks, increasingly confused, until she stopped again, and began rifling through her bag. She pulled out three or four sheafs of paper, all covered in cramped Chinese handwriting. She picked one and then began writing on it, copying over something that was written in a book she had. Carefully, slowly, she was writing, but she was clearly doing this for us, so we couldn't bring ourselves to leave her. Then she handed the whole shebang to us -- a 20-page treatise, and a cover letter.
As she spoke, I made out the word Beijing, and suddenly realized she wanted us to get this to an address in Beijing. "Beijing?" I asked. She nodded vigorously and started thrusting crumpled bills at us.
We refused the money but took the paper, and walked away trying to figure out what on earth the pages were, not to mention why she needed foreigners to deliver it for her. A manuscript? A manifesto? Secret documents from her life as a spy? We have decided not to ask anyone at a hotel to help us read it, but are going to bring it with us to Hangzhou to ask one of the Melton Fellows to read it for us. Then I will get it to Beijing after that.
Part of me kinda keeps looking over my shoulder though . . . I mean, I've seen Gotcha and I watch Alias. I'm no dummy. Who knows what I could be carrying.
posted by Karen at 5:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home