The Twilight Zone

Imagine yourself, if you will in a place and time that is not normal. Imagine yourself sitting in Beijing Tea Cafe. The surroundings are familiar but yet foreign in a intangible regard. Something that no matter how much time you study will not reveal itself to you. No I do not mean the fact that beside two other people I am the only none Asian in the room and its not the language either. Well I had this revelation last Sunday evening sitting in a tea shop above a beautiful bookstore. Being in China you will notice that the mega-chains while present have yet to take over the populace.

In America a simple night out may end at a number of franchised restaurants or fast food chain. But while those restaurants are present they have yet to have taken the country. I would say that they only now have a very simple beachhead in the Chinese market. So instead of being in a Starbucks or a Boarders Cafe I was sitting in some entrepreneurs business. While resting myself in this beautiful locale I was granted access to a perhaps once in a life experience.

Sitting alone at a table covered with chinese books, paper, pens, and an assortment of coffee flavored drinks I was diligently working. What I did not know was that by the end of the day I would be greatly humbled and amused by once simple incident. Being the individual I am (size and height) I do not go easily unnoticed in a public setting and this was the case today. Hidden behind my books and listening to my ipod I was oblivious to the fact that fate was walking up to my table.

A cough, one simple action ripped me from my studies and opened the door to my humbling experience. I glance up revealed a man in his thirties and a child at his waist. With near perfect english the man asked if his son could sit with me. Sure was my quick reply, I wouldn't mind the company. So it began, it began with the simple act of a child sitting across from me. It started of simply we were both reading and then it happened. A question, I had a simpile question that was all and with an upward glance I started to ponder.

Then it happened. The small child sitting across from me noticed my perplexed look and then asked, "Do you need help?". "Why yes" I said yes I do need help probably in more than one way though. So with small steps my little companion arrived at my side and started to peer at my question. "Oh that....thats easy...here...just write this", said my small friend. Really, really, it was really that simple...no it couldn't have been. "Okay" I thought that was kinda a softball question but the next one that had me stumped was sure to get my short little friend. It sadly did not and I felt even more deflated by this. When finished with me my small friend who we would later name (xiao pengyou - literally small friend) proceeded to help the two other westerners with me.

Once finished with the three of us our small friend returned to his seat and book. Once thing that I forgot to mention in this retelling of the story is that throughout the experience our small chinese friend was speaking near perfect english and chinese. Yes our small friend who I would later discover was 10 had helped three college aged individuals with a combined age of 60. Yes, xiao pengyou humbled us greatly. His family returned around two hours after their departure and we thanked them in our broken chinese and told them how smart their son was.

We walked back to campus about two hours later humbled. We never learned his name but our thanks go out to xiao pengyou and yes all his answers and guidance were correct.