Return of the Renegade Suitcase

Weihai occupies a peninsula on the Northern edge of Shandong Province just across from Korea.  A typhoon which has been meandering up China’s East coast now hovers in the Yellow Sea between the two countries.  Currently, this is producing some very wet weather and nasty winds. The water is rough, the waves high, and the beach outside our hotel is deserted.

When we hailed a taxi for church, we were drenched to the bone, but we enjoyed the service where we saw many people we know from previous visits.

Afterwards, we had to get to the airport to retrieve Joe’s missing suitcase.  The weather had worsened.  A woman from church grew alarmed that Joe and I, like everyone else leaving church, were getting wet. She didn’t speak English and couldn’t have been much younger than I, but the Chinese can’t really tell how old we are.  In this culture that venerates age, I suppose she felt she should err on the side of caution.  Tackling me, she attempted to shield me from the driving rain with her body; then she pulled a towel out of her purse and tried to dry off my back, but the towel became soaking wet.  I’m not keen on physical contact from people I’ve never met, but I tried to behave as if I viewed her attentions as normal, which they may have been for this culture.

We were shoved into a dilapidated car which belonged to the woman’s husband. Her son, who spoke excellent English, was commissioned to stand in the rain and hail us a taxi.  Obtaining a taxi in the driving rain wasn’t easy as many people were scrambling for them.  The family used the words “Ye Ye” and “Nai Nai” (Grandpa and Grandma) as they discussed what to do with us. At length, a driver agreed to transport us, and we escaped from these kindly people. 

At the airport, I found a sign which said “Delayed Baggage” in Chinese and English. I pointed to it and produced the relevant documents. I wish Joe’s suitcase could tell us what it has been through. I’ve never seen so many tags, notes, seals, routing slips, and certificates of inspection on one piece of luggage.