60 bed compartment

It is once again time to travel. This time i am traveling from Shijiazhuang to Linfen. Linfen is known in China as being the most polluted city in the whole of the world. What am i letting myself into is the question constantly on my mind. Well, i am sure we all need to experience the most polluted place sometime. I am up at 4 in the morning as there are a couple of things i need to do and then drive down to the train station. You never know how long a trip can take you anywhere due to all the road rules(There are none, but one, "Stay alive"). My host Victor bought my ticket in advance, so no worries to purchase a ticket that time of the morning. Still struggling to get money from the bank, as a transfer between South African banks can take some time. So this morning i run from bank to bank to withdraw some money with no luck, only later to find that i have been using the wrong card.

We arrive at the train station in good time, but to get through the crowd is a job i am not succeeding at yet. Fighting your way through the crowd means picking the weakest and oldest and pushing and shoving till they give way. In a crowd like this there are no policy apart from equality. And it is all about capitalism! Eventually i reach my platform with seconds to spare. At this time i had enough of all my luggage and decide on the spot to make away with some of my belongings for the next trip. My coach is on the furthest side of the platform. While i am running towards it, Chinese conductors ask for my ticket to make sure i am heading in the right direction. Dodging the crowd i reach my coach. I enter the coach with a big cloud of smoke hanging down to my shoulders. "This has to be the smoking room" i think to myself. My eyes start focusing only to realise this coach is one big compartment with 60 bunk beds. This will be my home for the next 12 hours.

This is another day of fasting for me as i know the state of the toilets in these places. My food for the day is a banana and a 500ml bottle of water. Not visiting the toilet for someone with a bladder the size of a medium sized latte is a miracle all by itself. I don't even try to question if the blankets on my bed has been used or not. I just take of my shoes, put all my precious belongings beside me on the bed and get ready for a long sleep. A young man opposite me has the worst case of a sinus infection as he snores, snorts and spit the whole journey. It is here that my ipod comes in handy. Earphones in, i blast the speakers to avoid any other noise or sounds from entering.

I arrive at Linfen alive with all my belongings still belonging to me. Is it just growing up in Africa that makes me guard all my belongings? Or the fact that my dad's vehicle almost got stolen the day of my flight to Beijing. This is the same vehicle that had to take me to the airport. Fighting my way out the station i quickly realise this place is cold. It is 6 o'clock in the evening and about 3 degrees. While fighting my way through the crowd to exit the station, i shiver and pray for a warm room on the other side of this human stampede.

Thank goodness my host is awaiting me. His name is Lifei and he will be my host/employer/right hand for the next month. He also brought a classmate along whose name is also Victor. Getting a taxi in this town is not an easy task. Lifei jumps ahead of some older people to arrange us a quick exit. I can't be bothered! I am cold and need to get out of this weather. We reach our destination. This is Shanxi Normal University. After putting my baggage in a neighbours house we make our way down to the restaurant where some nice Chinese food awaits us.

Me, the host and his friend(now my friend as well) spend the night talking about cultures, school, english, politics and whatever else comes to mind.

(Linfen, Shanxi Province, China)