Traveling Like A China-men

When we arrived in China we were determined to experience China like the people who live here. It would have been easy to hire a driver each day that we went out into the city, however, we wanted the children to realize that life here is different than in America.

So, we ventured out to ride the city bus daily, walking a mile to catch the bus. The children learned a lesson in patience as we waited, and waited for buses to arrive to carry us sometimes to another bus stop only to change buses to reach our final destination.

As the above picture of the Beijing bus station shows, there are no formal lines in China to board a bus. Those that are most aggressive race to get a place on the bus. So the children learned to push their way to the front of the crowd to make sure we were able to get onto the already crowded bus. However, they also learned quickly that they only need to say "hello" and the sea of people would part and let them through as the people were shocked to see Westerners riding the bus.

They learned that people would get out of their seats to give their seat to a child, as children are revered in this country where most families only have one child.

And some days we ventured into the subway. Much newer, and cleaner than most U.S. subways. Again, the herd of people would part and let the children through - we followed close behind

We have all learned a valuable lesson, that public transportation is not always easy. That not having your own transportation (other than an electric bicycle) limits the scope of your world.