11/01/13 - 11/05/13

Luck has a certain duality to it, that can be either good or bad. With the good comes the bad and vice versa. If you are unlucky enough to have a bad experience, hopefully the balance will shift and you will be blessed with a good experience, as well. Obviously, it is not as simple as that, but sometimes the Universe works in mysterious ways and that is exactly what happens. For me, I had the unlucky experience of being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken bicycle. However, it turns out that I had my good luck experience, before the bike incident even occurred, I just didn't know it at the time.

I met Xiong Miao and Yu Juan on my first night in Yangshuo. I was walking around Western Street, which is a Pedestrian Area that had all the shops, vendors, restaurants and bars. I had just eaten dinner and was walking around looking at all the sights and sounds of the evening, when they approached me and asked if they could practice their English with me. I had just come from Shanghai and so I was a little on-guard from dealing with the scams there, so I was a little hesitant to engage them at first. However, I was in a new place, so I figured I would play it out and see where things led. I am glad that I didn't ignore them, as I would have in Shanghai, because they turned out to be just who they said they were!

They told me that they were students from Changsha, in Hunan Province, and they were on a field trip to Yangshuo, with their English class. One of their assignments was to find English-speakers and practice their English skills. Fortunately, they chose me. We walked around a bit and they asked me several questions about living in the U.S. and about my travels. Yu Juan seemed to take the lead most of the time and her English skills were decent. They both made a few mistakes, but I was patient, because I knew they were still learning. I could understand them most of time, but I sometimes had to help them with certain terms and expressions. I tried to talk in simple terms and without using slang words or colloquial expression, but some expressions are so inherent in how we communicate, that it is quite difficult to do. Sometimes, I am not even sure when I am using slang! We walked around some more and they explained to me the reasoning behind the random middle-aged women dance 'parties' that I kept running into throughout China. They also told me a little about the Chinese school systems. I found that I enjoyed hanging out with these two girls.

The next night, after my bike mishap, we met up again, and this time they had a few other classmates with them. They all were so enthusiastic about talking with me. It was a little hard to keep up with them though, because they all seemed to want to talk with me all at once. I was having three or four conversations at once and being pulled in different directions. All of their English skills were fairly decent, so it wasn't that hard to understand them. We got some food and then ended up going to hostel bar on the side of one of the karsts. It had an amazing view, but the hostel was in the back of a winding dark alley, and seemed kind of sketchy and I honestly felt a little unsafe going to it. The whole time walking to it, I felt like I was walking into some kind of trap! But, we got there alright and then someone handed me a beer and so I was happy.

I hung out with the students the next few nights and it was always an enjoyable experience. One morning they took me out for Chinese breakfast at a little place, that I probably would never have gone too if I was alone. The food was really good. Later, after walking around, one of the guys, calling himself DO, bought some live fish and we brought them to the same little restaurant, where the cook made us fish head soup. I met several more of the students at this restaurant and I was told that the cook liked that I was there, because it brought in more customers. Apparently, I was a novelty, that made the local Chinese curious. Part of their assignment was also to get me to write a little message in their notebooks for them. So, I wrote several different messages for each student. I was joking that their teacher was going to wonder who this Aaron guy was, that kept popping up in everyone's notebook!

Finally, on the last night, their teacher threw them a little party. They were supposed to invite any English-speakers they had met and so I was invited. The party was at a bar and had free beer. Some of students also performed, from singing, to dancing and playing instruments. I got an early glimpse into one performance, as Xiong Miao invited me to watch her practice her singing. She was very good.

At the party, I got to meet their teach, who was an older German man. And he was really cool! We drank free beer and him and I talked about Chinese, German and American life. He told me that he had been living and teaching in China for nearly 40 years. We talked a little about Chinese culture and he always had some joke, witty pun or anecdote for everything. He told me that the Chinese picked their leader, by putting all the people with power in a room and seeing who could drink the most! How could a German not like that?! He also told me another somewhat salacious story that at first, I didn't get, but after a second thought, I figured it out. I had to explain the joke to Xiong Miao and the startled expression she gave me was quite priceless!

Afterwards, Xiong Miao, DO and myself walked around a little more and stopped off at few 7/11's for beers. We walked down to the river and then sat out on the pier out under the stars. With the dark shapes of the karst in the background and the gentle sound of flowing water and soft twinkling of the stars in the sky, it was the perfect end to a wonderful evening, not to mention the end to our time in Yangshuo.

The next day, I had to pack up and take a bus back to Guilin to catch the train to Shenzhen. My new Chinese friends were also leaving that day, heading back to Changsha. At the train station, I ran into all of them one last time, before they left on their train. They all expressed how much they will miss me. And, honestly, I will miss them too.

It is always a wonderful experience when you can meet local people from the country you are visiting and it's an even greater experience when you are able to make friends with them. I will never forget my experience in Yangshuo with the Chinese students. It also goes to show you that despite a little bad luck, everything does usually turn out ok. So, whenever, you have a little bad luck or a bad experience, just remember that usually things will balance out and some good luck or an amazing experience may be coming your way.