... without a ride.

     I am willing to admit that I was a little more apprehensive visiting China than some other countries. I have certainly heard rumors of secret surveillance and hostility towards Americans. My hesitation was further heightened by an article I read that claimed nothing associated with Google works in China. While I know many of you are immediately sensing I rely too much on the internet, please understand my phone is a Google product and so I was concerned that it would not connect to anything. This would mean no internet, no maps, no GPS, no phone calls and no text messaging. All in a country that may or may not have any signs in English. For this reason, I took the extra measure of setting up a ride from the airport ahead of time with Hostelworld. Feeling secure about my decision, I made no extra effort to look up how to get to my hostel from the airport ahead of time.
     Needless to say, I was a little upset when my ride was not at the airport as promised. I was not all that surprised because I had read some previous reviews that said their transportation had not shown up. Other reviews raved that they were very happy they did not have to navigate their way on their first night to a hostel in a busy city.
     I had also read that the drivers would wait for forty-five minutes after their pick-up time, which in parentheses stated typically at the time the flight arrives. With this in mind, I specifically requested the driver an hour after my flight arrived. As I walked out of the immigration, customs, and baggage claim to the arrivals area an hour and a half after my flight arrives, I knew I had a fifty-fifty chance. The odds proved not to be in my favor.
     After walking up and down the line of signs without my name on any of them three times, I began to try getting help with the information desk. They let me use the phone to try to call the phone number listed as the contact for Hostelworld's rides. No one picked up the phone and no message machine came on. I asked the information clerk how I could connect to the internet. They gave me a connection password. My phone said it had internet, but couldn't pull anything of any sort up. I tried calling the Hostelworld phone number again using the information desk's phone. Same result; no answer. I hung up and tried the phone number again. Same result; no answer. I walked back through the line of drivers with signs one last time. My name was not on any of them.

     I now decided I will just have to make my way to the hostel on my own. I reviewed the information I had printed on my reservation and, fortunately, it had a few simple instructions. When I say simple, that is just what I mean.
     "Take the subway from the airport," was the first instruction. It did not specify which subway or where to or where it is at the airport or any other information that would prove to be helpful. The next few instructions were just as plain. Transfer here, get off there, turn here, walk 800 meters.
     With these vague ideas I went back to the information desk.
     "Where is the subway?" I asked.
     They pointed behind them. So, I walked through a long corridor behind them that evidently was the connection between a subway station and the airport. I waited in line to buy a ticket. At the counter they told me they could not take credit card, only cash. I asked about the machines next to the counter, they also only took cash. I asked where the ATM is. They pointed me back to the airport. I went back into the airport. As I entered, the security stopped me to perform a bomb check on my clothing. I passed and went back into the airport. I asked the information desk where the ATM is. They pointed me to their left. I walked a little ways to discover an ATM with an "out of service" sign on it. I walked back to the information desk to ask again. This time they pointed me to their right. Walking twelve gates down, I found another ATM. I pulled out a fair amount of cash and returned to the subway ticket machine. The ticket machine, which only took cash, spat my money back out and displayed the words "no change." So, I waited in line again for the teller, who promptly yelled at me in Chinese when I couldn't answer his question before giving me my change and a single ticket.
     Sitting on the subway I was anxiously watching each stop to make sure I got off at the right one. I found my transfer. I walked out of the train into the station and followed a few signs that led me to a crossroads in the crowd. My ticket was taken on my way out. I discover on the other side of the subway gate another subway gate. I had to buy another ticket to transfer. So, I purchased my ticket, got one the new subway line and hopped off at my stop. Scurrying along as best I could with my 30lb backpack, I came up a set of stairs outside for the first time since the airport.

     It was here that I saw the first reason I had come to China. The lights outside the subway station were beautiful. The architecture seemed somewhat familiar. As I tried to place it, I began to remember why I had picked the hostel I would stay at. This is the outside of Tian'anmen Square. I hadn't even made it to my hostel yet and I was seeing it along the way.

    My pace slowed down despite the weight on my back. I wanted to enjoy my first sight of this historic area. I was not the only one. Many people were snapping selfies and trying to capture the imagery of the square. I continued on down a street that I was not sure of, leading away from the square. I was pleasantly reassured when I saw a sign that had the same name as the street with my hostel several blocks away. I turned down this street to find that the street itself has quite a draw. It has countless storefronts with historical markers that date back 300 years. It has merchants selling the same types of wares that have been sold here through multiple dynasties. The feudal gates to the interior of the city stand at the end of the street.

     It doesn't take long to find my hostel now.

     Over the twelve days that I am here, my comfort level grows. I saw one of the two main things I came to see by accident the first night. It got easier from there, despite my initial trepidation. The hostel is kind enough to provide maps for travelers to help see major sites. After a few days this becomes little more than a reference for what else to see since it has historical sites listed as attractions. After a week, I have quit taking it with me. In the last few days I am in China, westerners on the street ask me how to find things out of the blue.
     If I had never had to make it on my own, I suppose it might have taken more time to acclimate to the traveling here. Sometimes it is the unexpected experiences that grant us the most growth. Sometimes we do not realize how much we rely on others, rather than ourselves. It was only when I was without a ride, without the opportunity to be carried,
     I found direction.