Sleeper Train

The wide open space of Chinese immigration reminded me of an airport complete with security guards and x-ray machines to scan our luggage. As we walked, my colleague, Mrs. Auty prompted me to turn around. When I did I saw a bank of monitors that had infra-red images of people walking through the corridor. Atop each figured hovered a number. 39.5. 39.9. 37.1. The Chinese authorities were taking our body temperatures en masse. They were trolling for anybody with fevers who might be carrying the H1N1 virus.

As we continued to walk, immigration had morphed into a duty-free mall and now the mall morphed into a train station. Because there were twenty-three of us in our group, we filled up six four-person sleeper compartments -minus one bed. Previously, Mrs. Auty and I had decided that Annika, Christina a seventh-grader from Australian, and I would occupy one cabin along with whatever stranger fate sent our way.

Annika and Christina were bummed that we would have to share our cabin with a stranger. No late-night euchre until 1:00 a.m. I promised Christina that the stranger would be a cute, nineteen year old Australian boy. But alas it was not to be. We were to spend the next twelve hours with a middle-aged Chinese woman.

Normally, I am the dopey American saying “Hallo” and waving to everyone assuming they all want to be friends. But in this situation, something told me this would be breaching major sleeper-train protocol. I quickly caught on to the idea that despite the fact that the four of us were going to be sharing and sleeping in the same six-foot-by-six foot space, she was going to pretend that we didn’t exist and we were going to do the same.

We didn’t acknowledge her presence with a “Ni hao” or a head nod and we definitely did not make eye contact. She returned the favor by doing the same.

I checked on the boys’ cabins and was shocked to find how thoroughly they had trashed their cabins in the half hour we had been on the train. Comforters had been torn off beds. Luggage was stacked every which way. Junk food wrappers littered the floor. Pringle crumbs were everywhere.

Later that evening, I saw three boys sitting on the edge of their bed playing cards. Yammy – a seventh-grade girl- rounded out their foursome. But she was playing from the doorway. “Yammy, why don’t you sit down and play.”

“But Mr. VanNoord, Mrs. Auty’s rule ‘No Fairies among the Hairies, and no Hairies among the Fairies.’”

Ah, true enough.

“Well, how about if you sit on the edge of the bed right here by the door and keep one foot in the hallway.”

Much to the relief of the other passengers on our two train cars, it was lights out at 9:30 for our students. We all settled down into our bunks and tried to let the rhythmic clickity-clack of the wheels and the gentle swaying of the train rock us to sleep.

-Jack