Naptime

On the last day in China, I finally took Mom to see the Great Wall.  ^_^  I was very proud of myself and my navigation skills... they've definitely improved as I learn to read more characters!  Haha.

Anyway, on the way back, we decided to head to Tiananmen Square, which meant a trip in a bus.

Please note:  buses in China are often crowded.  That's normal.  Even to the extent that a lot of people are standing and you may not have much room to maneuver and have to shove a little bit.

However sometimes the buses are beyond crowded.  I don't even know how to describe it, besides that you have people's elbows in your ears and it really isn't the most enjoyable experience, unless you want to have more sympathy for sardines.

This bus was in that state.

A family got on -- two kids in high school, a little boy who was about seven, and a mom.  They ended up pretty close to where Mom and I were sitting on the wheel well (and couldn't budge from) and we exchanged smiles and shrugs as the bus continued to have yet more people jammed into it.  After a few minutes, there was a sluggish flurry of motion (trust me, it happens on these buses) as the high school aged girl tried shoving the little boy (probably her cousin) towards me.

My reaction:  Oh, she's trying to get him close to me so that he'll have a little more space to stand.  Even on the most crowded of buses, typically foreigners are given a tiny bit more space.  I didn't have any problem with this so I smiled and tried shoving other people with my knee so that the little boy would have somewhere to stand.

And he did stand for a minute, holding onto my knee and looking not entirely sure of his surroundings.

And then he sat down on my knee, which was a little strange but not a bad idea.

And then he fell asleep.

Okay, for the record, I have not ever had a stranger-child climb up on my lap in a Chinese bus before and conk out.  It was funny, but I wasn't entirely sure about it.  His family was all very entertained, as were all of the rest of the people who were stuck at such angles that they could see us.

My main fear was that the kid would wake up, realize he was on a stranger's lap, and freak out.

He did wake up at one point.

But he didn't freak out; he just rearranged positions to be more comfortable (and to cuddle closer to me) and fell back asleep.

So this arrangement continued until we arrived at Tiananmen Square, where I picked him up and shoved him at the older boy with a sorry, we're getting off now, and we exited the bus.

China never disappoints.