I finish my physics final and let out an internal sigh of relief. Rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes, I think, that wasn't so bad. A few minutes later and I'm sitting in the Life building, waiting to meet up with J for some lunch. She smiles when she sees me and talks about how happy she is that she doesn't have to spend her whole day alone on campus.
We run through the usual post-exam conversation: how the exam was, how much I studied (spoiler alert not enough), and how I felt now that I had another exam under my belt. J and I grab Subway for lunch and we talk about a lot of things, jumping from high school to university, then back to high school, and at some point we visit the topic of dogs and cats.
I would stay longer if my unwavering love and passion for ultimate didn't prevent me from doing so. We say our goodbyes and I head off to the trusty 84 VCC Clark bus, landing one of my favourite seats when I board. For the first few minutes of the trip I browse through Reddit on my phone, giving away soft smiles to pictures of dogs doing dumb things and skimming through the comments of some controversial discussion. My eyes grow weary, and I let sleep take over the body that has been lagging behind my mind for the last week.
...
"... final stop. Please exit the bus."
The voice calls to me through the bus intercom, and I slowly open my eyes to the scene of an empty bus. I come to, snapping out of my rest, and upon taking a look around I realize there is an Asian lady sitting behind me. Her face radiates confusion, but as I sling my backpack over my shoulder she follows suit and grabs her things.
We step off the bus and into the warm air. She looks at me, and in my mind I'm pleading and hoping, please speak Cantonese, please speak Cantonese, please speak Cantonese.
Heh.
I have next to no idea what she is saying as she starts asking me questions in Mandarin, only catching several words that sound like their Cantonese counterparts. In my absolute best attempt to not butcher the Mandarin language I say to the lady, "I don't know how to speak Mandarin."
My message, no matter how disjointed or awkward it may have been, reaches her, and she nods her head in understanding. I say, "Last bus," with a sad smile, and she seems to understand. She is not old by any means, so it makes sense that she knows at least some English. We walk towards the sky train station, her asking questions (in Mandarin) and me feigning my comprehension with some, "Mhm," sounds.
At some point between getting off the bus and getting to the platform escalator we switch to English. On the escalator she asks me if I was born here, to which I say I am. We get on the skytrain, and she takes a seat while I stand a ways off. A few moments pass and she pats the seat next to her and says, "You can sit here!"
After some back and forth, I find out more about her. She's from China and on a trip to visit her son and see Vancouver. Today she's headed to Granville Island, shown to me through her pulling up the directions on her phone, and I think to myself, doesn't she get off at the next station? but don't say anything in fear of being wrong and leading her somewhere else.
We talk some more, about her son, about me, and we soon roll up to the next station, Commercial. Some seconds pass and she looks around the platform from her seat, coming to the realization it indeed is her stop. She jumps up with her things and starts for the door. I say, "Goodbye," and she responds with, "Thank you!"
I wish I had been "cool" or helpful enough to let her know that the next station was her stop, but looking back I'm just glad that she made it. I hope she's having a good time on her trip.
I would stay longer if my unwavering love and passion for ultimate didn't prevent me from doing so. We say our goodbyes and I head off to the trusty 84 VCC Clark bus, landing one of my favourite seats when I board. For the first few minutes of the trip I browse through Reddit on my phone, giving away soft smiles to pictures of dogs doing dumb things and skimming through the comments of some controversial discussion. My eyes grow weary, and I let sleep take over the body that has been lagging behind my mind for the last week.
...
"... final stop. Please exit the bus."
The voice calls to me through the bus intercom, and I slowly open my eyes to the scene of an empty bus. I come to, snapping out of my rest, and upon taking a look around I realize there is an Asian lady sitting behind me. Her face radiates confusion, but as I sling my backpack over my shoulder she follows suit and grabs her things.
We step off the bus and into the warm air. She looks at me, and in my mind I'm pleading and hoping, please speak Cantonese, please speak Cantonese, please speak Cantonese.
Heh.
I have next to no idea what she is saying as she starts asking me questions in Mandarin, only catching several words that sound like their Cantonese counterparts. In my absolute best attempt to not butcher the Mandarin language I say to the lady, "I don't know how to speak Mandarin."
My message, no matter how disjointed or awkward it may have been, reaches her, and she nods her head in understanding. I say, "Last bus," with a sad smile, and she seems to understand. She is not old by any means, so it makes sense that she knows at least some English. We walk towards the sky train station, her asking questions (in Mandarin) and me feigning my comprehension with some, "Mhm," sounds.
At some point between getting off the bus and getting to the platform escalator we switch to English. On the escalator she asks me if I was born here, to which I say I am. We get on the skytrain, and she takes a seat while I stand a ways off. A few moments pass and she pats the seat next to her and says, "You can sit here!"
After some back and forth, I find out more about her. She's from China and on a trip to visit her son and see Vancouver. Today she's headed to Granville Island, shown to me through her pulling up the directions on her phone, and I think to myself, doesn't she get off at the next station? but don't say anything in fear of being wrong and leading her somewhere else.
We talk some more, about her son, about me, and we soon roll up to the next station, Commercial. Some seconds pass and she looks around the platform from her seat, coming to the realization it indeed is her stop. She jumps up with her things and starts for the door. I say, "Goodbye," and she responds with, "Thank you!"
I wish I had been "cool" or helpful enough to let her know that the next station was her stop, but looking back I'm just glad that she made it. I hope she's having a good time on her trip.
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