Guilin - Part 1 - Little Sister

Colorless wisps of unconsumed pleasure rise in lazy vertical columns from the glowing ends of too many cigarettes. An old man coughs, a young man spits, a slender woman frets with the hem of her unraveling sweater while her child nonchalantly walks in circles and talks to someone I can not see in a language only the child and his invisible friend can understand. A shouting match erupts somewhere in room, I don’t look up. It’s China… people yell.

There are 2,300 ceiling tiles in Guilin station and 400 flickering fluorescent lights, all humming a tune, not quite pleasant, not quite harmonious, but a tune none the less. The hard bench is forcing my spine into an unpleasant therapeutic alignment, the clothes in my pack provide a makeshift pillow, the 400 member fluorescent choir continues humming somewhere above. I’m such a baby when I’m sick. “Hey China, Shut up and let me rest!” My train will be here in two more hours, 18 hrs later I’ll be back in my dorm, eating chicken soup and reflecting on the events of the past few days…

3 days earlier..

My final exams are finished, I’m bored. I pack a change of cloths, my camera and my passport. A Google search and a few clicks tell me there is an overnight train to Guilin leaving from Shenzhen at 6:00. Shenzhen.. hmm.. nice, maybe I’ll find a stall where I can buy a used Ipod and wallet. (ref: Shenzhen of Thieves)

There are generally three options for traveling by train in China; hard seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers. Hard seats are exactly what they sound like. These cars are equipped for sitting only. The hard sleepers are actually quite comfortable rooms with 6 bunks, three on each side. The soft sleepers are more expensive. The rooms have doors and there are only four bunks.

This train should be an uneventful ride, but as luck would have it, I’m sharing the hard sleeper with 4 generations of Chinese women; Granddaughter, Mother, Grandma and, if my perceptions are accurate, Mother Time. They are very excited when I respond to them in Chinese and equally excited when 10 min later, I exhaust my vocabulary.

I’m laying on the middle bunk, Granddaughter and Grandmother are below me and the other two are on adjacent bunks. Not long after the train starts and the car grows quiet, a little hand snakes up from below and pokes my arm.. “Ge Ge…..Ge Ge.." Older brother… Older Brother, says a small little voice from below… then the hand is back again. This time, the poking finger has been replaced by a small stuffed piggy.. I take the piggy.. and granddaughter shrieks with laughter and starts clapping. (I think she was around 4 years old)

10 minutes later, I’m finding it difficult to move, as my bunk is littered with the child’s toys. I’m not sure about the proper etiquette with regards to playing with Chinese children, but across the way, Mother Time is smiling warmly (as a Jack-o-lantern might, if it did not want to scare the children) , so I continued to enjoy playing “trade the toy” with Mei Mei (little sister). Not having any toys, I give her a couple dollar coins to play with.

I’m hungry, I ask the train attendant where the dining car is, she tells me it’s car 10. A meal of rice, broccoli and chicken satiate my pallet, so I returned to my room to call it a night. Mei Mei, however, had other plans. Mom had purchased a toy stick helicopter from one of the vendors and Mei Mei is not going to sleep until I fly it with her a few thousand times.

We are flying the copter in the narrow hallway trying to set distance records when she suddenly decides it would be fun to take off running.. Mom and crew are not in sight so I give chase. A train attendant catches her before I do. I take her hand and turn around to go back down the aisle and notice that little Asian heads are poking out of every room on the narrow corridor. Apparently it’s not every day you see a lumbering American chasing a 4 year old Chinese girl through the train shouting “Bu Hao! Bu Hao!” Not Good! Not Good! I haven’t done anything wrong, so why do I suddenly feel like a kidnapper… I begin to fear for my life.. must get this child back to mom!

Mom thanks me, or scolds me, I’m not sure which. I’m winded from my chase, time to go to sleep. Just before my eyes close, the hand is back. This time it’s giving me a little piggy pillow.. Then the lil’ hand takes mine and pulls my arm over the side of the bunk. She plays with my “fat fingers” until she falls asleep.

6:00 am.. the train is at one of many stops, a little hand pokes me awake.. “Ci Jian, Ge Ge.. Wo eye ni!” Goodbye older brother, I love you!

I awake two hours later; my room is empty, save two dollar coins sitting on the table. I suddenly feel very lonely. I’ll miss my little sister.