 |
| In a waiting room at the Huizhou Railway Station (photo doesn't include the children mentioned in this post) |
As I approached my seat after boarding the train in Huizhou, the 8-year-old boy who would be sitting across from me excitedly announced to his mother and younger sister, "A European!"
Before I could helpfully correct him, I heard him less certainly suggested another possibility. I then decided it was now best not to correct him.
After all, I'm not identified as an African every day.
The train's seats were sold out, and there were a number of people who had bought standing-only tickets. It had been a while since I had taken a non-high-speed train like this one, but most things seemed the same. So much life.
As the train began moving, I found it hard to get excited about being on the train for another five hours. Yet I knew most people were likely in for a longer ride. Anybody there for the final destination still had more than 27 hours to go. Five hours now seems pretty good. Did I mention my ticket cost less than eight American dollars?
It took some time, but eventually I entered a train-Zen state of mind. There was so much to take in. The 8-year-old boy and his sister carried on at times, but, unlike their mother, I soon appreciated the entertainment. For what it is worth, my brother and I at that age would have been far less peaceful under such conditions.
Now I am in Ganzhou. No, that's not a typo for Guangzhou. I could've made it there in much less time. I'm out of Guangdong province and now in Jiangxi province.
This is my second time in Ganzhou, but it has been a while. More about this place, so far from Africa, another time.
Oh, that boy and his sister . . . they still had more than 4 hours to go after I disembarked the train. I'm guessing mostly all went fine.
Could it be possible that he accidentally said "African" instead of "American"? If, of course, he said it in English. I seriously doubt it is likely he mixed up 非洲人 and 美国人. (If, of course, Google Translate was correct in translating African and American)
ReplyDeleteGood idea, but the boy was speaking in Mandarin Chinese. There was another time I've been identified as an African, though by an older man (fwiw, a friend local to the area heard it as well). I've also heard some children identify me as South Korean. There's more . . .
Delete