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Published: September 14th 2014
Round and Round it goes... Fourteen hours on the airplane from Toronto and finally we arrived in Beijing, tired but in good spirits.
As we approached security, I remembered that I was carrying all of Erin’s homeopathic remedies in my knapsack. Placing my knapsack on the conveyor belt, I nervously awaited for the Chinese officials to see the dozens of remedies in their little yellow vials as they passed through the x-ray machine.
And then it happened… The conveyor belt stopped and I anxiously waited to be carried off to a Chinese prison where I would be interrogated – hour after hour – as to the content of these strange vials of small remedies.
Wait, my knapsack came out the other side and no one looked twice at me! Phew! From there, we cleared customs and security quickly and without an issue... so far so good!
Reaching the baggage carousel, we were excited to be spending the night in Beijing where we would catch up on some sleep before being whisked off again to our home base in Guangzhou. Erin’s baggage appeared almost immediately, and as the hour ticked on and we watched the carousel go round and round, I realized that my luggage had not made it. Being a very light packer, this was the first time I have ever checked-in luggage, and of course that was everything I had for the next ten months. What luck!
Speaking what sounded like gibberish to me, we tried to figure out what the airline officials were saying, eventually filing the necessary paperwork. They assured that they had
no record of my lost luggage. We were promptly sent on our way. Not quite what I was expecting.
Despite all, I went with the flow and figured if worse came to worse, I was insured and everything is ‘Made in China’, so it would simply mean a shopping spree!
With nothing but the clothes on my back and my laptop, we caught a cab to our room and rested.
The next morning we hopped on our next flight where I quickly dumped breakfast on my only clothes, a bright array of fruits splashed across my chest. I had already sweated through them anyway, so between my sweat drenched shirt clinging to my back and the rainbow stains covering my front, I was ready to face China!
Arriving at our new home, we dropped off Erin’s luggage and I told her I would treat her to dinner. “How would you like Chinese food?” I asked. Chinese it was.
Finding a great place where we could sit outside, we ordered fresh steamed fish, (killed on the spot), vegetables, and of course, rice.
“I am sorry”, said the lady in Chinese, “we are out of rice”.
“Out of rice?!” I responded amazed. “Where are we?” Well, for whatever reason, they were out of rice. I equated it to Tim Horton’s running out of coffee or Americans going on a nationwide diet. Nonetheless, the meal was fantastic.
The next day, it was time for a new wardrobe. Well, the only thing I despise more than shopping, is shopping for clothes, but Erin, feeling I should treat myself, took me to store after store, focusing on places that catered to more upscale shoppers. I am definitely not an upscale shopper.
Picking out a few styles I liked, I went to the change rooms to try on my carefully selected designer jeans and shirts. After squeezing into the jeans, only to find the circulation to my legs cut off, I realized that Chinese sizing is not synonymous to the obese bodies of North America. After managing to pry the jeans off, I looked at the price, 1500 RMB, or $300. I think even the Chinese clerks understood what I was saying at that point!
Half dressed in my old clothes, it took me less than a minute to shoo Erin out of the store as I angrily cursed the price of the clothes. “Where is Walmart”, I asked?
After a few hours of wandering the bargain stores, I managed to buy my entire year’s wardrobe: Two pairs of underwear, one pair of jeans, four t-shirts and a button down shirt. Good enough for me! Of course I still had quite a bit of money to spend, so rather than spending on clothes that I had no interest in buying, we found Erin some really nice shoes that would treat her feet well and quickly eat up the insurance money.
Erin got some great new shoes and I managed to avoid shopping for clothes! All worked out!
After enduring the long trip and torturous shopping excursion, it was time for a famous Chinese massage. Finding one not too far away, I plunged into the overstuffed armchair, was fed some wonderful tea and was ready to drift off to sleep as all the pains of my body were massaged away!
Or so I hoped...
It was about a minute into the hour long massage that the tears streamed down my face as I did everything I could not to scream in agony. The small Chinese woman who massaged my body managed to dance her entire weight across every pressure point, leaving me rigid and utterly scared. “Relax”, she kept saying in Chinese. “How the fuck am I suppose to relax when you are digging your concrete fingers into the arch of my foot?!” She replied, “The first time always hurts a little”. Touché.
Two days later... “Ring, ring”.
“Hello?” answered Erin. “Uh-huh. Oh good! Yep. Okay, got it.”
“Good news”, Erin said looking at me. “They found your luggage and will be sending it via Beijing. We can pick it up tonight!”
Looking at my sweat stained fruit infused shirt and one pair of torn jeans, I breathed a sigh knowing that in a few hours I would stand at the carousel as the bags went round and round once more... but this time mine would be there!
-S
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Cheri
non-member comment
2 pair of underwear
2 pairs of underwear for a whole 10 months- wow! Glad you got your luggage and if you want I'd be happy to send you some rice since there seems to be a shortage where you are- can't stop laughing!