10/2/98: Made train without a problem… Our 4-bunk sleeper compartment was shared with a Chinese couple from Beijing… The language barrier made for a comical attempt at conversation which we all enjoyed hilariously… She had a little bit of English, so she was able to tell us that she was a model… When we asked him about his career, he thumbed through our Mandarin/English dictionary and found the Chinese word that translated to: “make lots of money.” He pointed to another word also, and its translation was “get rich.” This left us wondering if he was a counterfeiter or something worse, but in the end, we managed to figure out that he is a stock broker. Not nearly as exciting as the other possibilities… The most startling thing we figured out from them was that they were on their honeymoon!… Consequently, at every stop the train made, there were a group of family or friends to briefly greet and congratulate them… And each time they got off the train to hug and greet a cousin, aunt and uncle or whatever, they would come back to the compartment with some new food that had been given to them as a gift… This was all rather cute and amusing to us, until they asked us to share in their feast and generously held out some chicken’s feet for us to eat… Ruth was more gracious than I, and accepted a taste of the “delicacy…” Though she did not ask for seconds…
NOTE: The photo above shows the honeymooning bride with whom we shared our sleeper compartment on the train out of Beijing. She is enjoying a delectable meal of chicken’s feet.
