I’m Not A Native Yet

I’m waiting for my bus again and however embarrassing it may have been, I feel like I should mention my bus related panic that occurred yesterday afternoon.

I’m thinking that Monday afternoon’s successful bus ride was beginner’s luck because yesterday I completely forgot which stop to get off at! And did I mention I forgot my cell phone at home that morning as well? (When I told my Ma what happened she laughed and said, “Aiyaa, ni duo san la si de!” Which means, “You’re so scatterbrained!”)

Basically, I was on a bus with no phone, freaking out because I can’t remember if I’m supposed to get off after the tunnel, the weird hair salon where everyone’s hair is a crazy color, or the Chinese KFC. Naturally, I showed the lady sitting next to me the address card that my Ma gave me and she said at the next stop I needed to get off. Relieved, I turned my music back on and got ready to get off. Little did I know that this was just the beginning.

She had given my incorrect directions and I had no idea which bus I should get on to get back or where I was. Turns out I was only three stops away from my correct one, but it’s paralyzingly frightening to be in a foreign city where everyone speaks a language that has no resemblance to English, whereas in a place like France or Spain you could probably figure out what someone is saying even if you don’t know the language.

Luckily, with a lot of Chinglish and pointing I made it onto another bus, which I got off too early again, but by then I was able to see the Rainbow Shopping Center (which has a Hagen Dazs) by my apartment in the distance and I trekked through the rain towards what at the time seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world.

After all the excitement, I treated myself to some ice cream. If there’s anything I know how to say in Chinese, it’s “chocolate”.

The bright side of the story is that I now know how to get to my house from multiple bus stops. Progress!