we aren't expecting guests, I said to myself. That can't be our door.
knock knock knock
that's definitely the other door because we are not expecting guests because no one knows we live here
knocknocknocknocknocknocknock
that is our door
now what?
~ ~ ~
We had moved to China three days earlier. We travelled from Toronto to Qingdao in a little more that 36hrs. It should have been about 20hrs but the planes had been grounded leaving TO due to bad weather.
We spent the night in Shanghai when we should have caught our connecting flight. It wasn't a big deal, and the airport was really helpful. They spoke a bit of English and helped us with where to bring things. There was an eager little man running ahead of all the other travellers stranded in Shanghai because of the Toronto rain.
36 hrs of travel takes a lot out of a person. On top of that, there was a 12hr difference adjust to. It's been five days now and we're feeling alright, but with just 3 days of China under my belt I wasn't ready to deal with a knocknocknock at the door.
Besides, no one knew we lived in this apartment.
~ ~ ~
knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock
my oh my. you are a persistent one
I opened the door because that's what one should do when there's a knock, knock, knock at the door. On the other side there was a small Chinese woman who was on a mission. I knew she was on a mission because before I could ask her in English if she spoke English (because I don't know the Mandarin for that) she was in my kitchen.
"Can I help with something?"I asked, in English
"Something something something" she said, in Mandarin. This was followed by a blank stare, to which I replied my own blank stare, but I raised her two eyebrows.
"Something something something gas something"
"Wait. What? I got part of that." I replied. "Say it again".
Blank stare.
The part I had picked up had been in English, but that didn't sink in until much later than it should have.
She stared back at me, still clearly on a mission because she had started opening cupboards. Cupboards that I hadn't even found yet.
It finally occurred to me that she wanted to read the gas meter. I don't remember what it was that helped the thought occur, but it did finally occur to me. This thought would have occurred to me sooner had I have read the welcome packet that I had been told to read. The person who both had told me to read the packet, and knew how to deal with this situation, was sound asleep in the next room busily incorporating the sounds from the kitchen into her dream.
The person who knew later remarked how curious a practice it is when people knowingly use a language that the other person doesn't understand just to be communicating something.
She also later told me again to read the packet.
My mission lady had found the meter, scanned it with a reader that I am confident she didn't have with her when she came in the door, and was walking back out the door saying
"Something something something something something"
raise of the eyebrows
"Something something something gas card something"
man. I have got to start taking language classes
I have not read the packet yet
