Goals lab

[rivergirl]

Thank you for sharing your goals, Beany. I will sample the matcha.

[Beany Boo]

Goal 4bb (be kind to women):

The bus I was on was diverted because of road works. I knew this.

A Chinese woman in her 70’s got on the bus.

The bus went on the alternative route to normal; because of the road works.

The woman panicked, audibly.

She got up and spoke to the driver in Chinese. This frustrated the driver.

I said, “don’t worry, it’s okay”.

She showed non-recognition but she looked me in the eye and calmed down a little.

We stopped at my stop.

I beckoned her to get off with my hand.

She called her daughter.

I spoke to her daughter who told me where her mother wanted to go.

I told her I would take her mother to the right bus stop.

I knew then that, the mother had had the daughter during the period of China’s ‘one child’ policy and that now the daughter was the mother’s only life-line. I knew this from a documentary on the ‘one child’ policy I had seen the day before. I could also see it in this mother’s face.

Now she was lost in a city in another country where the only word she knew was, ‘home’ it turned out. The only other piece of information she had was the bus number but because of the road works and the detour – of which she was unaware – that information had betrayed her.
I took her to the right bus stop. We silently agreed on which bus on the timetable she had to catch.

She had tears brimming in her eyes at this point. I sat with her. I pulled out the translator app on my phone. “China?” I asked her. She nodded. I looked up the phrase in Mandarin for ‘road repair’. She looked and recognised it. I thought at least she could explain to her daughter that the road repair detour had caused her confusion.

I smiled and said good bye. She thanked me desperately with tears still brimming.

I went on my way but casually circled back later, and from a distance, watched, just to make sure she caught the right bus.

I had helped. But she had helped me more. By trusting me.

[ADD it up]

A guy noticed something wrong with my car, and followed me here where he pointed out a problem with it I hadn't noticed. Sometimes people stay a little in tune to remind us I think

[rivergirl]

If only there were more Beanys in this world.

[snoringdog]

Hello Beany.

What a great story, and a kindness! Thank you for sharing it with us.

SD

[oak]

太棒了

Bravo!