Sleeping on the Train

Last Friday as I took the train back to Yingtan it was a little unusual in that the attendant failed to return my ticket to me as we were approaching the station. Here is the usual procedure and how it should be done.

As you get on board the train your ticket is checked by the attendant for that car, you can only board the car that corresponds to the number on your ticket. In the sleeping compartments, the attendant then takes your ticket from you, gives you a token in return and these are then exchanged for your ticket once again as you are approaching your stop. This also means that if your stop is during the night they will wake you up when returning your ticket and this ensures you do not miss your stop. It is an easy foolproof system.

This last weekend I caught my train as usual and after having something to eat I slept for a few hours. I take my own food onto the train, partly because it is easier for me, also because the prices on the trains are greatly increased. I often have a small audience when eating, just another of the curiosities of life in China. Usually people are just interested to know what I am eating, especially if it looks different to what they are eating.

I always try to sleep on the train as early as I can, the lights are switched off at around 10pm, making sleep easier then, but I have found that with a stop at Nanchang (the provincial capital of Jiangxi province) from 10 until 10.30 it is too noisy to sleep. Lots of people are getting off the train while others replace them. The new arrivals then take a while to settle down, my stop is the next one, and once all is quiet again, it is usually too late to go back to sleep.

Usually the attendant will return the tickets of anyone disembarking at the next stop around twenty to thirty minutes before the arrival time. This week that didn’t happen, luckily I was awake and no harm was done, as the train was approaching Yingtan and just two or three minutes from the stop, I woke the sleeping attendant asking for my ticket. I hope everyone else on the train had their tickets returned to them in time for their stop.

This weekend I had four classes, two outside on Saturday, after which it was decided it was too hot to be outside, so my two Sunday classes were moved inside. This time of year it is still hot in this part of China and I think everyone was happy to go inside and into the air conditioned classrooms. I am teaching students aged from 8 to 12, and it is such a nice change from the unruly students I teach in Wuhan from Monday to Friday. Next weekend is the national holiday or Mid-Autumn Festival, I have to work in Wuhan on the Saturday before having a week off, I am looking forward to having a few days of leisure.