Sometimes your day goes just as you planned it. You get up, get the kids off to school, figure out what needs to get done and then actually get it done. You accomplish your tasks before the magical hour of 4 pm, when the kids come home. Snacks are eaten, kids play with friends, after school activities happen and then dinner. Home work starts, and everyone winds down in order to go to bed, and get up the next morning to do it all over again.
But then….some days are referred to as “China Days”. These are days where plans are made but for some wacky Chinese reason, nothing actually happens. It isn’t for a lack of trying. People try as hard as they can and then they are forced to let it go.
As a person who thrives on getting 50 things done every day, it has taken some time to slow myself down to 2 or 3, if I’m lucky. Sometimes you can’t make chocolate chip cookies, because you get to the store and they don’t have chocolate chips. It really happens. Or sometimes you get in the car and find that the highway has been shut down. It really happens. And sometimes you can’t get into your bank account because the bank just decides not to open that day. It really happens.
I think this “China Day” actually started last night with the realization that 2 things needed to happen simultaneously. In China, that’s absurd, at best. While my older son was packing for his week long trip to Inner Mongolia, we discovered that he needs his passport with him. At the same time, the Chinese Government also needs his passport in order to renew our visas and residence permits for another year. It takes between 15 and 20 working days to do this. There is a week long holiday next week. (yes, another one) And we have 17 working days before our visas expire. I’ll keep you posted…..
But I digress….There are so many things that one must manage while here- correct paperwork and visas, making sure your phone card is full, paying utility bills before they shut off – one of the biggest headaches is the traffic. It is also one of the most forgivable infractions. Late? Traffic. Missed appointment? Traffic. Missed meetings? Traffic. All is forgiven.
I was called at 7 am this morning to teach. I was ready, packed and on the school bus at 7:30 am, heading towards the school and taking a breather for the 20 minute drive.
At 10 am, 40 elementary school kids and I finally got to school. I have never seen anything like this except for evening rush hour in Washington D.C. People block the intersections in both directions, so literally, everyone piles up on top of each other. No one moves. There are no stop signs. No stop lights and no police to direct traffic. What makes it even more fun here is that, in addition to the regular sized vehicles and trucks and buses, there are hundreds of strange little tiny modes of transportation, equally stuck in this huge quagmire of humanity, trying to get to their jobs. Scooters with 4 people riding and tuk-tuks being driven by ayis, trying to get kids to school, strange little electric 3-tired cars, and my favorite, the tiny bubble covered electric vehicle. These are all filled with people trying to get where they need to be. Zipping in and out of traffic- going the wrong way and even jumping to the sidewalk, if it is clear. It all makes mornings look like a strange cross between a Richard Scary book and Dr. Seuss.
Needless to say, 2 hours late to school is late. Even though “traffic” is forgivable, the tone was set for the day.
I made my way to the wrong class. Again, forgivable, as with this great school, teachers and assistants walk in and out of classrooms all day long. Everyone is happy to lend an extra hand.
By the time I got to the class that I was supposed to be in, it was nearing break.
I got a cup of coffee and pulled out my yummy sandwich to discover that the croissant was moldy. No snack for me.
As a side note, one thing I am not good with, is going to the market every other day. Fresh food has no preservatives in it. A good thing. But it doesn’t last more than 2 days. Bread gets moldy. Fruits and Vegetables rot quickly. It makes me wonder what is in the food at home. But again, I digress….
The rest of the day got back on track. I got some food, more coffee….the kids in my class were AMAZING and accomplished more than I thought they would. I caught the bus home and did get my 20 minute breather on the way. I’m now having a glass of champagne….
If nothing else, my life in China has taught me to live in the present, slow down and don’t sweat the small stuff. As the Buddhist proverb goes, “If you can do something about it, why worry? If you can’t do something about it, why worry?”
Why, indeed. 
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