The Train Ride from Hell - but the scenery was priceless!

My view.

I knew we'd be sharing a room. Room - "hard sleeper" means 6 bunks in a small cabin without a door. About 12 cabins per train car, with a tiny table-ette in the hall outside each open doorway. That's a lot of people sharing space.

...If you're reading this, you might want to use the toilet, pour yourself a beverage and settle in.

I knew prior to moving to China that Chinese people in general are less protective of their personal space than Americans. It's fine! Not like we expected to travel in luxury, and this is how you meet people.

Sort of.
Through grunts and pointing, since I don't know the language.
For 24 hours.

Beijing West railway station.

We were headed to Hong Kong to re-validate our tourist visas. One stamp showing we left the country. One stamp showing the date of our "second" trip to China.

China is almost the same size as the U.S. Imagine boarding a train in Minnesota and exiting in Houston. Not getting off the train even once until Houston. One night in Houston (Hong Kong) and returning the same way. For two days after our return, it felt like I was swaying when I walked. I was afraid I'd fall off my chair during Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night!

The trip.

We started out from frigid Beijing at about 9pm. Easy enough, just in time to settle in for the night. Brett and I each had the two top bunks, about 8 feet above the floor and about 18 inches below the ceiling. Have I ever mentioned my claustrophobia? It's usually dormant except in low-ceiling situations. I took ginger (against motion-sickness) and melatonin (sleep-aid), and woke a few hours later, then every time the train stopped. 

We were in the party car. A pair of guys were settled in at the table right outside our cabin, and two cabins down from us were enjoying each others company. During the wee hours, I started hearing all their voices again. 

In the morning, we needed to stretch our legs, so decided to search out a dining car. When we found it, it was empty (an hour before lunch service), and they didn't want us there, but with the language barrier I think they found it easier to just let us sit and charge our phones. Eventually we ordered some lunch, and two Chinese men were seated with us near the end of our meal, extending our time in the comfort of the dining booth.

We were due to arrive around 6:30 p.m., and in the afternoon I got engrossed in watching a group in the next cabin gambling over some poker-ish type card game. I didn't understand it at all because of the language, but a wife of one of the players made great company watching with me from the aisle. We watched the scenery and the game, and I looked up how to say "beautiful": Mei-li-de. 

Honestly, much of the mountainous scenery we went through made me think of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but maybe that was because it was so cloudy and grey - you know, like the scenes near the end of the movie?

Sorry. I digress.

We were running about an hour late. My first inclination of that was when we started getting all our stuff together and packed back up, and the group next door brought out the snack food and cracked open some beers! They shared, graciously, I think amused at the pair of "Meigworens" in their midst. I'd walked the length of the train. We were the only non-Chinese.

We arrived in Shenzhen, where we passed through customs and had to hop a subway to Hong Kong! About an hour later we popped out in the heart of the city, with no hotel reservation and no idea where we were. 

Hong Kong! And palm trees!

We quickly realized we'd picked the wrong subway stop as all the stores and businesses were EXTREMELY high end. In the end, we paid more than double our "highest" price we had hoped to pay for a hotel, dropped off our bag and immediately went out for food. At nearly 10 pm.

We found the best pizza we'd had since moving to China, a couple good beers, and some delightfully ENGLISH conversation - with a native from Nepal. Seriously, everyone speaks English in Hong Kong. It was so relaxing. We headed back to bed - to our expensive room with two twins because the hotel was so full they had no queen rooms left! My Chinese insomnia that has plagued me since moving here was cured in that tiny, expensive bed.

Return Trip.

There was some early talk about things we might be able to purchase in Hong Kong that are difficult to find in China, but after blowing our wad on a bed and some pizza, and with the extremely long subway trip between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, we just took a slow, window-shopping walk toward the subway station.

The subway back to Shenzhen, at 10 in the morning, was not bad at all. Apparently rush-hour is a thing everywhere! (and we missed it) Our passports stamped for our return, we had... three hours to wait before boarding the next 24-hour train.

It was sunny, and gorgeous. And not crowded like the Beijing station. And we had time to relax! In the sun. 
So we did. 
It was glorious. 
I love the sun.

This time, the train left around 2pm. No settling into our bunks for the night. Actually, it was horrible. There was a young couple in our cabin - I'll call them Princess and The Stooge. They were all up in our business, being sure we were in the correct bunks - we had planned to switch bunks because Brett perferred the privacy of the top bunk and we had one high and one low bunk this time. But no. The Stooge assured that I was in the top and Brett was in the bottom.

It was horrible. Princess and The Stooge commandeered the entire cabin, even bringing in the trash-tray that belonged with the aisle table, so Princess didn't have to leave to throw her... I dunno, pumpkin seed hulls? Ramen wrappers? I did not like that couple. AND since Brett is more social than I and often was away from his bunk, The Stooge kept settling into Brett's bunk like he owned the place. He is my permanent arch-nemesis.

Brett made friends with an English-speaking grad student from the next cabin. They talked the whole time until a late goodnight.

He makes everything better.

I think what saved me the first trip was Brett's presence in the high bunk across from me. There was a quiet young lady up there this time, and as I was taking ginger and melatonin again - because it sort of worked on the way down - she got a phone call. She tried to talk quietly, which was considerate. Then a few minutes later I kept hearing sniffling and gradually realized she was crying. I reached over and offered her a tissue, and she thanked me, and that was it. I decided that, in the morning I'd try to break through the language barrier and see if she was okay, or maybe needed a friend? She was on my mind, poor girl.

I awoke when the train was still. Breathing was hard. The stillness was the worst. It was midnight. I looked down toward my husband, listened to the dark stillness, and focused on my breathing. We started moving, but I couldn't sleep. Each time we stopped, the ceiling felt too close. At one stop, there was someone walking above my head. After 3 or 4 stops and panicked breathing, I was dressed, my shoes were on, and I was ready to climb down, but didn't want to wake people, so I held back. Finally it was too much, so I climbed down, with my phone and charger. There weren't many outlets for charging, but in the middle of the night, they were available!

I spent 5 hours in the aisle at a tiny table-ette, phone plugged in, knocking out sudokus and word puzzles - no wi-fi. Staff occasionally passed through as we neared a stop, ensuring that passengers didn't miss their stops. It kept getting colder the further north we passed, so at some point I climbed just high enough to get my coat and be warmer in the aisle. I cuddled up against the outer wall of the train, but was still cold. I stood leaning against the wall of the cabin, feet propped against the outer wall so I wouldn't fall, but finally around 5am I decided I was exhausted enough to climb back up to my claustrophobic tomb and pass out.

I did. Two hours later I was up. It was light out but still cold.
The girl with the tears the night before was gone.
I hope she's okay.

Thanksgiving feast!

When Brett got up, we ate some snack food items I'd picked up in Shenzhen and watched The Stooge dote on Princess. When the grad student got up, he offered new snack foods we'd never tried, and we had some lively conversation to pass the last few hours up to Beijing.

Four subways after arriving in Beijing, we were FINALLY home. But not done.

Brett took our newly stamped passports to update our residence permit while I hopped in the shower to start getting ready for A FORMAL THANKSGIVING DINNER we had that night.

I was so tired I could cry. I desperately wanted someone to tell me to just stay home and sleep. No one did. The bags and circles under my eyes took some work to make photo-ready. But we got ready and headed out to a fancy hotel to explain the significance of turkey to this American holiday! And ultimately, I'm glad I didn't stay home and sleep, because it was a good evening and a fun event.

But when we finally got home, I crashed. Hard.

End of story.

Thankful for Randomness

The most random Thanksgiving ever. (With all apologies to my non-American readers. You must be tired of the subject already.)

I have a lot to be thankful for, but I'd be lying a big "liar, liar, pants on fire" lie if I didn't say that this year I am overwhelmingly grateful for Brett Minor's role in my life.

Thanksgiving with Brett. Aha! A first holiday. Such anticipation! Such hype! Such an opportunity to start new traditions! Well, we got one.

Months ago, in talking to Brett, I mentioned that I'd always wanted to help at a Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless/disadvantaged/community...something. His response? "Done. I know a couple places." He's working nights now, so if it weren't for this opportunity, I don't know that I'd have come out here. (Yes, I'm writing this from Brett's house, while he sleeps after a long night's work.)

...Well, probably, I'd still come, maybe just not ON the day, since my mom seemed to really wish I'd stayed there...

Brett signed me up at a huge Thanksgiving community dinner at a large church, where anyone can come, and they send out packaged meals to shut-ins, and to the fire and police departments - you know, community services that have to operate holiday or not. The deal was I'd come down, do my thing there while he slept, go to his house, start some kind of meal, and wake him early in the afternoon. Yep. It was a plan.

~~~
I'm a planner. Brett prefers to let things happen as they will. This is a marvelous blend. Because I CAN let go of the plan when things happen - I just like to have a jumping off point.
~~~

I had a great, unique, feast for two devised:
1. salad, crescent-rolls
2. cajun turkey breast, steamed winter veggies, cheesy potato bake
3. pumpkin pie (boring), a fantastic unique treat (exciting and adventurous)

What actually happened was...
9:15am - I arrive at Brett's house and unload a bunch of groceries into his fridge. I have time, so just peek in, see he's awake, and say "hi - see you later".
9:45am - I arrive at the church to check in and see where I'll be working. Prayer time starts at 10, so meanwhile I start taking trays of desserts into the main hall to set up.
10:15 - Working in the set up area, preparing to-go boxes.
11:30 - We are done with all the pre-orders, and the random drop-ins have trickled down, so they close the back area and I'm told I can get a tray of food.

...WHAT? I didn't know I was eating too, I thought I was just there to work! Weird. It's not my church; I've met one person so far who I know through Brett. But I have new friends among the baggers, so I do as I'm told, get a tray of food, and sit with Ralph. I am a fish out of water. Eventually, Brett's brother and his family show up and join us, so that was cool. Much easier, since I know them.

12:30 - Back to Brett's. I was going to start on the cajun turkey breast - slow-cooked, for choice - but I see that it takes 4 hours. It seems more reasonable to schedule a meal for 6-ish than 4:30, so I go to my computer.
...darn tryptophan. I nap.
2:00 - Okay, NOW I can put the turkey in the crockpot. Getting it out of its wrappings, I read through the instructions in detail. Wait..."check on turkey after 4 hours"...what? OOPS! Cook time is 7.5 hours! DUDE! Turkey won't be ready until 9:30! 

LOL. So much for planning.

I had brought along a nice bottle of white wine. Brett's not much of a drinker, so I looked through his silverware drawer for a corkscrew. No dice. I wondered.

Thank GOD that Brett is a flexible sort, and had even said he didn't care what we ate. So I wake him up and we have a big laugh over my mistake about the cook-time. And he agrees he probably doesn't have a corkscrew so we walk in the direction of Kroger to try to find one before they close. (I hate going to stores on holidays, but...) On the way there, we pass a liquor store with a neon "open" sign. Jackpot! ...plus we got a nice walk on a nice day.

Brett's daughter and her boyfriend come over in the afternoon to grab a boardgame and discuss their gastronomic adventures before moving on to the next feast. When they leave, probably around...

4:00? - Brett and I start working on the cheesy potatoes. (Frankly, I was so glad Brett mentioned this idea when I asked him how he prefers his potatoes. I don't think he expected me to take him seriously, because it's so "non-Thanksgiving", but I love it.) This was fun to do together, mixing up the ingredients, picking the right baking dish... and OOPS - the cornflakes were supposed to be crushed before sauteed. Oh well. Not like we're trying to deceive anyone into thinking they aren't cornflakes! 

5:00 - We sit down to salad, cheesy potatoes, and chips and salsa (courtesy of Kirsten's boyfriend). It felt kind of Charlie Brown-y. Oh, and wine.

Keep in mind, Brett still has to work at midnight. And we both are going back to my parents ...today (Friday), so he wants to be rested. Although he says he doesn't want to spend my visit sleeping, he clearly is very tired, and knows that the turkey will be ready at the awkward time of 9:30. I gamely suggest that perhaps I should nap with him. (AWWW...) Of course, we talk too much for an hour before I remind him that he needs to sleep (I'm SO good!) and shut up until I hear snoring, and I doze too.

In a waking moment, it occurred to me that hey! The turkey's in a crockpot. It's not going to burn if we leave it in too long! Why not let Brett sleep longer and wake him at a practical time for getting ready for work?

10:30 - Turkey time! WOW - that cajun flavor is tasty. Even Brett says it's worth the wait. I grab some more cheesy potatoes, just because.

By now, Kirsten is home for the night, but too stuffed to take part in our delicious dinner. Not even PIE! (which I made - boring old un-jazzed-up pumpkin - because I was informed it was her favorite.) Oh well, Brett and I enjoyed it.

Time-out. Let's check the score:
1. salad and crescent rolls [EAH>buzzer<] forgot to make the crescents! (and the salad was limp. My bad.) -2points.
2. cajun turkey breast, steamed winter veggies, cheesy potato bake [EAH>buzzer<] No turkey yet, and forgot the winter veggies! (but the potato dish was excellent, and is our new tradition)  -2 points, but +1 on the potatoes.
3. pumpkin pie (boring), a fantastic unique treat (exciting and adventurous) [EAH>buzzer<] turkey is finally excellent, but too late, pie is excellent, but forgot the surprise treat! (I'll make it sometime, and tell you all about it.) +1-1 on the turkey, +1-1 on dessert. So, ZERO.

By my count, the planned meal sits at -3.

But the unplanned reality was just great. Everything we had - well maybe not the salad - tasted good, and I have to say Brett is very gracious about just rolling with the weirdness. That makes it so easy. It wasn't even chaos, just... unforeseen.  AND we ate well, we ate to fullness, but we were not stuffed to discomfort by the end.

For that, I am truly grateful.
(and Brett now has a fridge-full of yummy leftovers...)