Serendipity

by Georgia Sullivan (United States of America)

Making a local connection China

The summer sun of Eastern China soaked into my skin as a cool breeze blew through Minyuan Park, making goosebumps rise despite the scorching heat. The people of Tianjin milled about, enjoying the nice weather and each other’s company. I sat on the grass with one headphone in, drawing in a notebook, sipping tea from a local tea shop, and occasionally glancing at two girls some feet away who were doing a photoshoot together. Studying abroad was an incredible experience, but I wanted to get away from the group and explore on my own today in this unfamiliar city. The next time I glanced up from my notebook, one of the girls had disappeared and the other was sitting nearer to me than before, staring at me shyly. She began scooting closer until I took my headphone out and she immediately stood and fully approached me. “You are so beautiful,” she began shyly. “Do you speak Mandarin?” “一点点，我的中文不好,” I answered, which meant ‘a little bit, my Chinese is not good.’ “My English is not good either,” she giggled, but I noticed a little disappointment that talking might be difficult. “Are you American?” “对!” “Wahhh..” she looked impressed as her friend came back and joined us, sitting beside her. “These are for you because you are so beautiful,” her friend spoke quietly and handed me a small bundle of three red roses wrapped in black paper. My heart swelled as the flowery scent wafted towards me. Before I could stumble over a proper thank you, they asked whether or not I had eaten and appeared to make it their mission to take me to dinner. At first they asked if I wanted burgers, but when I mentioned I had never tried hot pot, it was settled. We packed up our things and set off in a direction of the city I had never been before. As we walked down busy side streets, we chatted and learned more about each other. When cars passed by too closely, they moved me in between them and away from the edge of the sidewalk. They asked me why I was trusting them to take me somewhere unknown, and all I could answer was that I believed they were trustworthy and I trusted myself in this situation. Eventually we reached downtown and took a rather unassuming elevator up to a fancy chain hot pot restaurant. The girls ordered what seemed like one of everything on the menu, including the guy who twirled dough into noodles tableside. They taught me how to properly eat hot pot and even created their own dipping sauce which they claimed was the best. It was so much food, but somehow we finished it all. Afterwards, I tried to offer to pay, but they insisted on it being their treat and left no room for argument. The rest of the night was spent along the Hai River that runs through Tianjin. We took a cab from the restaurant to the Tianjin Eye and had a mini photoshoot as the sun set in the background, the sky a hazy pink. Instead of riding the Eye though, we decided to walk along the side of the river and watch as the city itself came alive with lights on every building and performances filling the street. The people of Tianjin seemed to have a strong sense of community as several different groups lined the street, one after the other, playing music loudly and dancing together. Some people were busking while others played instruments, and even spectators would sometimes break away from the crowds that formed to dance or sing along. Couples on romantic riverside dates were enjoying the performances as well, or simply just the atmosphere of the nightlife by the river. I had never felt so much like one of the people—speaking Mandarin all day to two lovely girls who showed me what it was to truly live in Tianjin and see the city as the local people do. When I made it back to my room that night and put my three red roses in water, I felt a little bit more at home in this foreign city.