little girl lost, part 1

once a week, i have to go to another town called Pu Hsin to teach a class. last week, another teacher gave me a ride on his scooter. i was told that i would also be shown how to take the train to get there. being told is different than being shown. so with my verbal instructions, i set out with plenty of time (my class wasn't until 6:45 and i left at 4:15!) and walked to the bus stop. i took a bus to the train station downtown and bought my ticket for Pu Hsin. i figured out enough to know that i had to walk under the tracks, through an underground bridge, to wait on the opposite side. all i had to go on was the time my train was arriving--everything else was in characters. when a train arrived at the exact minute that was printed on my ticket, i got on.

it was a lovely ride--a nice air-conditioned car and the scenery was gorgeous... mountains, lush green rice paddies, palm trees. then the conductor came around to punch everyone's ticket. when he got to me, he said "problem." and then launched into a speech about how i got on the wrong train and how did i not know that i was going to Hsinchu (HSINCHU! here is where i started to panic... that's like... really far away from where i live!) then he said that i was going to have to pay more because i paid for a "local" ticket and just got a free ride, basically. he whipped out his automatic ticket-maker and started punching things in. even though he spoke english, i couldn't think of anything to say. it's not like i wanted to cheat the system and get more than i paid for--i didn't want to go to Hsinchu! i just watched helplessly while he decided my financial punishment. but then he said, "uh-oh... machine... not working right--broken." and shrugged. and then he walked away, but over his shoulder said "very pretty girl." ha. that little ticket machine was definitely not broken!

when i got to hsinchu, i hurried to the desk and bought a ticket back to Jhongli--at the correct price. i was sure i'd be late to class... it was now 6:15. i decided against another train attempt and hacked off an arm for a cab ride. okay, it was about $6, but that's outrageous here. i have a piece of paper with the address of each school written in chinese characters, so i showed it to the driver and off we went, swerving around scooters and making left turns on red and other fun things. he pulled up to the school, i paid him, ran inside, and signed in, under a disapproving look from the secretary. (teachers are required to arrive at least 10 minutes early, or you lose your "attendance bonus") it was 6:43.

toward the end of class, one of the new words we were talking about was "arrive." so i told my students what i did and they laughed, but not at me; it was a sympathetic laugh. i told them how i feel like a small child here because i can't read anything or communicate with anyone, and they said "we will teach you!" they were so earnest--it was precious.

i will not be losing my attendance bonus. i talked to my boss about what happened and she felt bad and said they should have sent someone with me (obviously), but she thought i seemed like the type of person who likes to figure things out for themselves. *sigh*

it's interesting to feel so small and helpless. quite humbling, really. and every time you have a minor catastrophe, you learn what not to do next time. it won't be the last time i get lost, so i just have to look at the bright side... Hsinchu looked like a lovely place to visit. next time i go there, i'll stay longer than five minutes!