By Sunshine
The beginning
At the end of June, I, the Ctrip Editor, came up with an idea of sending
Ctrip Questionnaires to foreigners in summer Shanghai. I spent a whole
Sunday lingering on Huaihai Road(Just take Bus No. 93 and get off at
Middle Huai��hai Road)
That day, unlike an office lady, I dressed myself like a girl student,
wearing pure white short skirt. When I got off the bus, the street was in
summer noon. I walked into the shades of the French Phoenix Trees, hoping
to find some traces of foreigners.
The First Foreigner I Met: A Plump Man from ��A Lonely Planet��
One minute latter I saw a foreigner (a man) pacing in my direction.
��Would he be interested in me, a strange girl sending questionnaires in
this summer noon?�� I thought.
I soon concluded he would. Because I saw more and more clearly he was
holing a Lonely Planet Travel Book in his hand. The title was the great
word China. It seemed as if he was traveling in China all alone, just
referring to a single China book.
I called him as happily as a friend. He stopped walking at once and
looked at me very politely. Maybe he was from the States. Very tall,
stout, had plump face and round eyes, wearing a stripped, plain T-shirt,
busily traveling.
I looked at him and began to speak.
��Excuse me, sir, would you please fill up a questionnaire for me? It
would take you just a few minutes.��
��No, I am very busy.�� he said.
��As if he would travel so busily to a lonely planet.�� I thought, taking
a glance at his Lonely Planet Travel Book. Anyhow I would not give him up
this way.
��All right then, sir, would you please take this questionnaire home and
answer all the questions whenever you are free? My name is ***and you can
email your answers to me.��
��Ok.�� said he, as he stretched out his plump, lovely hand to receive my
questionnaire.
And I told him, I was from Ctrip, a very formal company, and handed him
my name card, so that he could trust me deeply.
I felt very happy, because it was the first time I sent out a
questionnaire successfully. And I thought, for a foreigner like him, it
must be somewhat lonely to travel in China.
The Ones in the Library:
An Occupied Old Man
Then I arrived at Shanghai Library. It was also on Huai��hai Road, a cool
and quiet corner on summer days. I went to the third floor, registered
and then entered a reading room. I tiptoed to an empty seat and pocketed
out everything: Dozens of questionnaires, a ball pen and my name cards.
Several foreigners were reading quietly by the window. I saw an old
man(maybe from the Great Britain) reading a huge book, taping something
into his laptop and at the same time listening to his MP3. There was
several reasons for me not interviewing him: Too old aged to be
disturbed, very busily doing several things at one time and too at ease
in his own world.
A Middle-aged Man as Traditional as a Learned Teacher of Chinese
When I sent my questionnaire to another man sitting opposite to me, I was
not so lucky any more. This was the dialogue between he and me:
��Excuse me, sir, would you please answer a questionnaire for me?��
��No.��
Then he looked up at me and said to me in Chinese in a very low tone:
Xiaojie, Wo Bunengxie. (Miss, I can��t write down anything for you).
��Why?�� asked I.
��Ni zhidao zheshi zai na ma?(Do you know where are you now?) Zheli shi
tushuguan, bushi waibian(This is the library, not the outdoor street). Ni
Buneng Dajiao Bieren! Yaoshi zai waimian dangran keyi. (You can��t
disturb others! If you were in the streets outside, then everything is
OK!)
However, there was a last straw. I asked: ��Ok, I know. I won��t disturb
you, would you please take it back and email your answers to me?��
He made a gesture of rejection, and I knew he was as strict as some
traditional Chinese teachers��
I walked away, as he continued to teach me in Chinese: ��Jizhule, Buyao
zai tushuguan li dajiao bieren(Remember, do not disturb others in the
library.
So I left the library a little dismayed. The last few foreigners I saw
was in a bar on Huai��hai Road. A man from Africa was having a little cup
of tea after eating a great pizza. He had brown curls, fair complexion
and a high nose. Sitting on a high stool all alone, he seldom spoke to
anyone. There was melancholy in the gloomy coffee light and his eyes. By
a small table a pair of lovers were talking incessantly. I sipped some
lemon tea, pasted a questionnaire on the notice board and left the bar
without saying anything.
Chinese School
