Several items have been on my “To Do List” (see “Add it to the List” blog post to understand my obsession with lists) since I first arrived in China. One such thing was to buy a desk for my room. I had been putting it off because I didn’t feel confident enough to barter with a salesman at the used furniture store. I knew I would end up paying way over value for a desk, which is like blasphemy in the Heins family. (Mom taught my sisters and I many things – one of the most important is bargain shopping!) Luckily, my CWEF colleague offered me a desk from the office. The catch was I had to transport it to my apartment.
My initial thought was, “Oh, no problem! I’ll just shove it in the backseat of a taxi.” (For the record: I have terrible spatial recognition and always think there is a way to shove furniture into a car. Even better, I’m completely shameless about the measures necessary to transport a piece of furniture. Case in point: I once shoved a recliner from a Goodwill store into the trunk of my car. The trunk wouldn’t shut, so the recliner was left half hanging out of my car all day long because I didn’t have time to go home and unload it. But it was totally worth it!)
Anyways, my coworkers quickly shot down the taxi idea, saying the cab driver would refuse to take me anywhere. Instead, they suggested that I get a san lun che, which is a person with a bike that pulls a small cart behind it. Anna (my roommate and coworker) was so sweet to find an available san lun che for me. The lady was a 30-year-old woman who was so nice and helpful. Anna arranged all of the details in Chinese, and then filled me in on the plan: the lady knew where my apartment complex was, but she wanted to go a different route home than we normally walk. Anna told me to just walk alongside her as she rode the bike to our apartment. We strapped the desk onto the cart (see picture) and my new Chinese friend started riding towards my apartment. I strolled along next to her, enjoying the beautiful day. Everything was great for a couple of blocks, until we reached a busy intersection. There were 4 lanes of traffic and a railroad to cross. Literally, cars and buses were speeding by every direction; they were honking and slamming on their breaks and passing people, par usual. I looked at the lady with pure terror as she got off the bike and marched deliberately into the oncoming traffic. My only thought was, “Now I know how the chicken felt when he crossed the road… he had no choice to get to the other side.” Haha. We made it across safely, barely.
The next obstacle included a large hill that a bike could not be ridden up. The only way up the hill was to push. The lady grabbed the handlebars to push and steer, and I got behind the cart to push from the back. With lots of pushing and hard work, we eventually made it up the hill. Once on level ground, she hopped on the bike and started pedaling. I once again strolled beside her. As I was busy daydreaming, she managed to get about a block ahead of me. My initial thought was, “oh that’s nice, she can ride ahead, and I’ll just meet her at home.” I continued walking and singing along to my ipod, when all of a sudden I realized that I didn’t know how to get home because we were taking a different route! Not only that, but my bag and cell phone were in the cart. If I got lost, I didn’t have any money or a cell phone! AH!!! I started off in a dead sprint to catch up. I was pumping my arms, trying not to lose my flip flops and looking like a giant fool. Thankfully, I was a trackstar in my former life so I was able to catch her. (haha- I know Mrs. Kammeyer will laugh at that statement. Dev seems to have gotten the track genes in our family).
Well after I caught up, I think the lady felt sorry for me because I was so winded and could hardly breathe – definitely a result of the pollution, not me being out of shape. As a reward, the lady insisted that I climb in the back of the cart to ride the rest of the way (see picture). We couldn’t communicate, but she wouldn’t start pedaling until I sat down. The next thing I know, I’m sitting in the cart, straddling the desk that is strapped to the top, as my new Chinese friend is pulling me with her bike while simultaneously weaving in and out of traffic. She was working this bike! I mean, we were flying down the street. All I could think was, “Where’s my seatbelt?!?” To give her credit though, we did make it home in record time, with myself and the desk safely in tow. And I’m happy to report, the desk looks GREAT in my room! (I’ll post pictures once my room is completely decorated).
I think the desk transportation story highlights several things: A. Life in China is an adventure. You never know what will happen next (running down the city street terrified of getting lost, or riding in the back of cart narrowly dodging the oncoming buses and cars). B. Every task here is a challenge that forces you out of your comfort zone and requires much thinking. Nothing here is easy because it is all so new… No wonder I’ve been going to bed exhausted at 9pm! and C. Even in China, I love marking things off of my To Do List! … Item #3: Buy a desk --- Check! : )
