Tuesday, January 23, 2002

From: Meg Thomsen meginchina@yahoo.com
Subject: Keyi

Hello Friends and Family,

When you come to China, one of the first phrases that you learn is "Bu xing." Basically, "bu xing" means you can't, no way, don't even think about it, and it's the answer to many questions that you might have. May I have some soymilk? Bu xing. We've run out. Can I take this bus to Yibin? Bu xing. It goes to Xichang. Why can't I pay 30 yuan for this hotel room like the sign says? Bu xing. You are not "Putong-ren" (the common man). Bu xing is one of words that I've gotten used to since being in China, and I hate the sound of it. You can't argue with bu xing. Asking why never works, arguing almost never works. Bu xing.

The word that can soothe the bitter sting of bu xing is keyi. Keyi means you can, all right, sure, no problem. Working from bu xing to keyi is one of the challenges of living in China, and one that seemed especially apparent this week.

Neither Erin nor I had school this week, so we decided that it was time to commune with our feathered friends. Birds from all over the north-Siberia, Mongolia, northern China and Qinghai come to Caohai Lake to spend the winter. This wonderful spot being a mere 25-hour journey away, we decided to visit. We hoped for sunshine, warmth (after all, we were heading twenty-five hours south-east!) and a little time in pristine nature. Well, getting to Caohai Lake was an adventure. We scrambled onto the overnight Guiyang train, and awoke the next morning hoping for sunshine.

Well, we had travelled south quite aways, but we had also travelled about 9,000 feet up, so Guizhou province was even colder than Sichuan! There was snow, there was frost, we were cold. We needed breakfast. May we have some soymilk and fried dough? Bu xing. Bu xing. We heard it over and over. Finally, we found a little place by the river that soothed our spirits with breakfast, and even had a late lunch in a Buddhist restaurant that promised food that was "free of worldly dust." Keyi.

That afternoon, we went to Liupanshui, our last stop-off before Caohai Lake. We arrived in a dirty, grey city. Folks in Guizhou are covered in coal dust, from their habit of constantly sitting around buckets of burning coal. Hey, I don't blame them. It was freezing, and no one has heat. That's what Erin and I spent a lot of time doing, too. We know that it's a terrible source of air pollution, and now I'm hacking like a pack-a-day smoker, but when one is really cold... We had made some friends on the train, and they guided us to the "soulless" Zhongshan Hotel (no, I'm not making up that description, this was in Erin's guidebook) where the rude woman at the desk told us "Bu xing" when we wanted to pay Chinese prices, and not foreigner prices. Bu xing faded to Keyi as we waved our green cards and said, "But we are Chinese!" over and over again.

Getting to Caohai was another "bu xing" as the roads were frozen all morning. We took a bus out, it turned back, we spent all day waiting for a bus or another train that went anywhere else but Liupanshui. Finally, keyi. We got to Weining, the town where Caohai Lake is. Can we stay in a hotel with heat? Bu xing. Will you put a lightbulb in? Bu xing. May we have some hot water? Bu xing.

Caohai itself? Keyi. After some fierce bargaining, Erin and I got a local man to take us out on his punt for two days. We saw grey wagtails, an imperial eagle, bar-headed geese, tons of ducks, even the elusive black-necked crane. It felt good to learn and understand something new about this country in which I live. The second day, the fog descended on our little punt so that we couldn't see, the local got completely lost, and we floated in the fog for three hours not seeing a thing, thinking that this was going to turn into a one-way trip to Davey Jones' locker. You can't win 'em all.

After all of these events, Erin and I needed a beer. We walked across the street to a karaoke bar, walked in, and...it was a brothel! We were spotted at the door, and ushered in for a drink. Now this place was sketchy. Really sketchy. But we figured we should have a drink there, and be as inconspicuous as possible. Not possible, being a laowai in this country. Instantly, the people of ill repute whipped out an English karaoke CD, and started yelling, "Changge!" (Sing!). "Bu xing" we said. This changed to "keyi", as drunk Chinese folks are pretty persuasive. We sang "Take My Breath Away" (remember from Top Gun?) and "Without You" by Mariah Carey. We didn't know the words, and the karaoke screen didn't have English, so we were making stuff up like, "That guy in the leather blazer is checking you out, better watch your wallet" and singing it to the tune of these lovely songs, and we got quite an ovation, which lead to us playing a few rounds of "Shiwu Ershi" (a Chinese drinking game) which these sketchy folks and then we beat it out of there as fast as we could to the relative safety of our hotel. These are the things that never happened in the States! And the unexpected is what can make China such a bizarre, and interesting place to live. Keyi.

You know, not a lot of people travel to Guizhou Province. It's not on "the beaten path". We learned that sometimes there's a reason why no travellers go to a place! Most Peace Corps volunteers travel to Xishuangbanna or Kunming, beautiful places where the sun shines and you can eat sticky rice out of a coconut. We took the path "less travelled by". Now I know why the path is there, but Guizhou felt like an adventure. There is beauty in its coal dust and mountains. Beauty in the people who've never seen the face of a foreigner and stare openly. Beauty in your feet being so cold it's like they're going to fall off, and even beauty in being completely lost in a foggy lake as desolate as the River Styx.

We had a long and hair-raising ride through the frozen mountain passes today, complete with a "bu xing, the road's frozen" stop in the middle of nowhere, and a police search. Now, we're here in Zhaotong, Yunnan, and I'd better go if I'm going to catch the last bus out of here that will take us home. I hope that all of you are well. Smile, and enjoy your day. Keyi.

Love, Meg