Bejing, China
Feb. 2012
The Tea Bitches: Part I
Leaving the walls of the Forbidden City, I was approached by two women in their late thirties.
"Hello, Hello, You speak English, I speak Chinese. Ha, ha, we walk with you and practice our English."
When I am in Asia, this is a request that is made of me a hundred times over. I never say no but it is tiring to be interviewed by these people. And it is equally hard to be polite when they distract me from my original plans. So these two women, Jen and Tan, tagged along and asked me the same damn questions I am always asked. “You from America? You have husband? You have children? Where your family?"
After about a half hour, Jen, asked me if I wanted to join them for a cup of tea, "It very cold today. Tea hot, good for you. Good for you digestive system." It was cold and I was tired so I said yes and off we went to a nearby tea house. Jen seemed to know everyone in the place and they seemed to know her. We got a private room and Jen asked me what kind of tea I liked. I asked to look at a menu and reached for the one on the table but Jen grabbed the menu and abruptly said, "No, this not ours. This something different." She handed me a different menu and suggested that we try a variety of teas. So a waitress in her 20s can in and poured us six different cups of tea and all of them were great.
Then the waitress came in and mentioned something about my credit card and handed me the bill. I was a little confused but noticed that the second woman, Tan, looked away, almost in shame and then I knew something was up. I looked at the bill and it was over $300. Jen told me I could put this bill on my credit card. I protested and said that this was outrageous but then Jen pulled out that original menu and I saw that all of the prices were grossly inflated. The three of them worked in unison on this scheme and I realized I was not going to get out without paying some sort of hefty price. Then I heard the gurgle of the boiling tea pot. Jen was holding a pot of hot water, standing right beside me. I didn't think she would throw it on me. But then I also didn't think she would try to take me for my money. So I just angrily decided to cut my losses and get out unhurt. There were three of them. Now, they were all talking to each other only in Chinese and the waitress was growing impatient.
"I don't have my credit card with me. I don't have enough money to pay for this." I tell them without confidence. "That OK", Jen says, "we pay half and you pay half. You pay more because you college professor and we just lowly kindergarten teachers". So they forked over about a third of the cost. I paid the equivalent of about $200 and we quickly left after that. Once outside, Jen asked if there was anywhere I wanted to go next. I told her I had to leave right away; I wanted to get away from her. She seemed surprised, but said goodbye. I went back to my hotel, seething with anger. When I was in the midst of the confrontation at the tea house, I just thought that I had to get out unhurt. But now that I was away from them and safe, I was so angry with them and with myself. How did I let this situation get so out of hand? And when I reflect back, was I being cowardly or prudent?
The Tea Bitches: Part II
I was up all night, so angry that I couldn't sleep. So I decided that I would go to the police station in the morning and file a complaint. I was not going to leave Beijing until some sort of justice had been served.
I was up, bright and early by 7AM. It was till a little dark outside but I didn't care. I went down to the front desk and asked the staff member if she would call the police for me.
"No, I can’t" she tells me.
"Why not?"
“I don't know the number".
"Can't we look it up?"
"I don't know how to do that"
"Well, we can look it up on the Internet," I suggested with a little tone.
"No, the Internet is broken for three days now."
"No it isn't. I used it last night and your system is on right now. Can’t you look up the number for me?" I am determined that she is going to help me.
"No, the police will do nothing about it. It happens all the time. Last week a lady lost $500. Police can’t do anything because they didn't see it."
Finally, she relented and drew a map of where she thought the local police station is so I set out on my own to find the police. But that was a wasted effort because I found nothing that remotely resembled a police station. So I came back to my hotel in defeat but more determined that the staff woman was going to help me.
I implored her to help me but she was unmoving in her steadfast position that the police would do nothing.
"Get your manager," I demanded.
So she walked to the back room. When she returned, she told me that the manager was not going to come out because the police can do nothing. Now I was furious. In my loud voice, so that the manger could hear, I told her that she had a responsibility to help her guests and she should not he harboring criminals. Then the manger appeared. She said they had a night watchman who helped out the lady who lost the $500. He wrote something on a piece of paper and told the woman to take it back to the shop and she got half of her money back. The manager called the night watchman at home and he dictated something to her. She wrote it down, told me to go to the tea house right away and see if I could get some of my money back. I asked her twice what was written on the note but both times, she just ignored my question.
So with note in hand, I marched off to the tea house with anger and determination. As I opened the door I was greeted by a pleasant young woman and I immediately stepped in to my crazy mood. I showed her the note and yelled that I demanded all of my money back. She jumped in fear and I felt empowered. She immediately called her boss and as she was talking to this woman, I was yelling in the background, "Tell her I am not leaving until I get my money." I was immediately offered half of what I paid yesterday. "No," I barked back loudly, “I am not leaving until I get all of it."
Just then he door opens up and in walks the waitress from yesterday. She begins to greet me but then she realizes who I am. Her coworkers call to her in Chinese to give her a heads up that a crazed lady is in their midst. She quickly throws out an offer for a 75% return on my money.
"No, I want it all. I have already called the police and I called the US Embassy and I filed out a report on you." That seemed to get her attention. "You no go to the police for this."
Then I noticed a police officer outside so I ran to get him. He directed me to go to Tiananmen Square to get police help. I came back in a police car and three police officers and I left with all of my money.
For more stories about my time in china, please feel free to look at my blog: bridgetkellyinchina.blogspot.com
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