July 1, 2006
The overnight train from Qiqihar was great! Neither of us slept very well, crammed into the top bunks on each side of our 'compartment' but we shared the space with a very nice family going to Beijing for a 10-day holiday. The family consisted of a son (who's name I can't in the least pronounce, so won't embarrass myself by butchering the romanization), his parents and grandmother. He's 17 by Chinese age, which, like many East Asian cultures counts the 10 months in the womb as the first year so you're 1 when you're born. He just finished his fourth year of middle school and will being high school in September.
Unbeknownst to him, one of his friend's, Ding Yi, was also on the train with her mother, also on the way to Beijing for a holiday. They found each other when Ding Yi was walking past our compartment to the bathroom and instant excitement commenced. Neither of them has been to Beijing before and they were both really excited. They also both spoke English, which facilitated the conversation (with us). They've been studying for 3 years and will continue the language next year in high school. I think it's a requirement at their school, but I couldn't swear to it (communication was easier, not perfect).
In addition to the teenagers on the train, we had a lot of fun with some younger kids. They're studying English, too, but the youngest, who was 7 (American age), and the only girl, was the boldest in talking to us and her language skills were limited to the greetings and name exchanges. Her older brother, who's probably 10, seemed to understand a lot of what we said, but he wouldn't actually talk to us. He just kept whispering to her things to say, but her English wasn't up to it, so she'd tell us in Chinese, which was great, but not really helpful in terms of continuing the conversation. But giggling and trying to push each other forward translates all languages, so we all had a good time.
-Leah
