Spring festival and sketchy times in Beijing

To preface this post, I would just like to take a moment to apologize. Apologize for not only neglecting this blog but for updating it quickly and without much thought. Since before Christmas, life has seemed slightly whirlwindish (more on that later). And, as I sit here in my bottom bunk of the Sunwest Guesthouse hostel in Thailand (I’ll get to that later), I can’t help but feel the pull to recount my tales to you, reader. Thank you for taking the time to read about mine and Greg’s life there and for taking an interest in us until we are back again.
Onto the happenings.

Spring Festival is a yearly holiday. It happens every year around Chinese New Year. Greg and I, being the lucky little foreigners we are, get a six week vacation during this time. Our last day of teaching was December 31st, and we are off of work until February 13th.

Our Spring Festival started off with New Years eve on Saturday. That morning all teachers from Beihei gathered in the cafeteria for lunch and some teacher appreciation (each staff member received a gift of 100 yuan). For the most part we just mingled, and ate and “gala-ed”. In the afternoon the teachers at Beihei (not including the foreign teachers) put on a show. It was hilarious (from what I saw). It was all in Chinese. I didn’t actually stay for the whole thing because I wasn’t feeling too well, but Greg did and said it was good… from what he could understand.

2012 started off great. The foreign teachers, Greg and I went out for dinner at the Mayflower restaurant. It’s a fancier restaurant in Weifang, but definitely worth the money. My mom and dad had sent Greg and I Christmas crackers from Canada that we hadn’t used yet, so I brought them along to the dinner. Of course, we followed dinner with a trip to SoHo, and ofcourse, I had the time of my life. Everyone seemed to have a great time actually. If you looked around at any of us, you would see a huge smile covering everyone’s faces. Everyone was dancing, and drinking, and singing and having a wonderful time. At one point just after midnight, I had a “my god! I can’t believe I live in China and this is my life”. I looked over at Greg’s smiley face, and looked at my new Chinese friends, Lizzie and Seth and felt so happy. It’s a shame that we could not also be surrounded by Ottawa friends, and have the ability to call our families at midnight. Never the less, the year started off on a good foot.
The beginning of Spring Festival was spent mostly hanging around with my new Chinese friends, Lizzie, Greg, and Seth. Our friends from SoHo were to be leaving soon and I wanted to get in as much time as possible with them as I could. All was well worth it, and goodbyes were said. I know I have made a good friend in Maymay, who happens to be one of the sweetest people I know. And, I don’t doubt that Greg and Slos will keep in contact. I regularly miss them along with Jerry and his hilarity, Rita and her loving demeanor, and Hyde’s coolness. Lizzie, Greg and I were most said to say goodbye I think. But, all three of us are so happy to have been able to be apart of their lives.

On Wednesday January 11th, I took the train to Beijing to pick up three (amazing) pals from the airport– arriving from Ottawa. Ryan, Dan, and Derek were to arrive between 5 and 11 that night. I could not be more excited. From when I arrived in Beijing things were not going quite as smoothly as they could have been. Lizzie (who accompanied me because she was flying to India from Beijing) and I took a cab from the train station to the airport. Which lasted over an hour long. We watched at the meter kept rising and rising. Ending in a 130+ yuan fee. Also, the driver tried not to give us our change. No matter, we went in, Lizzie found her gate and she was off. I was on a mission to find out which terminals the boys would be arriving in, which was simple enough. And, the wait started. Ryan and Dan were on the same delayed flight so I ended up waiting a little longer that I had anticipated, but it was worth it. Seeing Ryan’s Sens hat poke out behind the entrance and Dan’s smiling face made me feel so happy! Derek’s flight was coming in later so we found our way to his terminal and waited. Again, seeing Derek made me so happy! Familiar faces!!! Upon being with them for no longer than 10minutes I forgot I was in China. It was as if I had never been away at all. The jokes were the same. Felt good.

Here is where the “fun” begins.

We waiting in a taxi line at the airport for a cab. A woman working at the airport motions for us to go to a taxi. So, we do. The taxi, though looking different from the other taxi’s, has a “Taxi” sign on it. We get in, tell him where we are going (the train station in hopes of getting a train at our late hour) and we go. After about 25 minutes we arrive at Beijing South train station, the cab driver lifts a card covering the meter and displays the price, 460 yuan. This ride should have cost us no more than 80 yuan (at the absolute most). He shows an airport card with fees on it. In the words of Derek, we were fleeced! None of us were happy to have been obviously fooled. I was particularly angry because I knew for a fact that it should not be that price, and had been trying to catch a glimpse of the meter for part of the ride.

Trying to brush off the unfortunate cab price, we go into the train station. The deserted, bereft of warmth, very closed train station. I had asked my boss earlier in the day if train ran most of the night, he said yes. He was wrong. We walked around trying to figure out what to do. We would need to stay in a hotel because it felt sketchy to sleep in the station. Also, it would freezing. So, we tried to find an exit. An easy enough task. Wrong. We were locked in. Locked in the train station! Eventually we had found someone who worked there, a guard I presume, who walked us outside. We tried asking him for help to find a taxi or where we could get a hotel. But, despite his best efforts, he was of no real help. Luckily, a white dude happened to walk by us as we were pacing the outside of the station. The French native, immaculate speaking English guy, just so happened to also be fluent in Chinese. He helped us find a taxi AND a hotel, sort of.

A grey van on the cusp of breaking down drives up. Our ride. The four of us climb in. Derek and Ryan get actual seats in the back while Dan is left to sit on the floor. I took the front seat in hopes that my very small amount of Chinese could help (it didn’t). The driver and the white guy are chatting away in Chinese, both on their phones calling other people, talking in …. Chinese. The whole situation began to feel very uncomfortable, and all around sketchy. We all had our guard up. I had a death grip on my belongings, with my passport and money zipped tight in my  pocket, and cell phone in my hand. The white guy tells us that the driver will take us to a hotel not far from the station. We thank him a bunch of times and leave. All four of us thinking the same thing, are we about to live a scene out of the movie Taken? Am I going to die tonight? Where in the hell is this dude taking us?

We arrive at some sleezy hotel. And, of course are overcharged for two rooms (one room was not an option, and we were all hesitant to argue with the men handling our dealings at this point). We get our rooms; Dan and Derek in one, Ryan and I in another. The cab driver walks into mine and Ryans room, and holds out his hand for money. I assumed the ride would cost no more than maybe, maybeeeeee 30 yuan. In my mind I had planned to give him a little extra for taking us to the hotel at such a late hour and what not. he demands 200 yuan. 200! At this point, as a person who rarely feels scared, I felt highly uncomfortable. These men were dealing with us just did not make me feel as ease. We paid him the 200, and that was that. I called Greg who was in Weifang to help make me feel better. At this point it was almost 3 in the morning and we wanted to be awake at 6:30 to get a 7:45 train. I slept for a total of maybe 30minutes that night.

Thursday did not introduce an effortlessness. We woke up and scoured the streets for a taxi. After about 10 mins we get one, get inside and I type into my translator Beijing Train Station South. He says OK, and away we go. The night before we were all tired, but were awake enough to know that the ride to the station should take no more than 10 mins, which is why were were confused when it took us nearly half an hour to get there. BUT the main said yes when we told him where to go, so we were trusting him. We arrive at a train station, that doesn’t really look familiar, except for the sign that says “Beijing Railway”. At this point we’ve missed the 7:45 train to Weifang. This day is was freezing. The guys were saying it felt colder than Ottawa. After moving from line to line (outside), and waiting in various lines for nearly an hour we come to the obvious conclusion that we are probably at the wrong train station. Oh, and right we were. We got the name of the correct station written for us in Chinese and found a gypsy cab.

Another 50 yuan later, and we are at our destination. AND bought tickets to Weifang. I was honestly elated! The stress associated with the previous 12 hours was enough to make me feel like I had been away from home, and from Greg forever. I could not wait to get back, to introduce the guys to Weifang and get away from Beijing.

After a 4-5 hour train ride, we arrived.

More on Ryan, Derek and Dan’s visit to come.