So, as I started to tell you last time, I was lucky enough to visit China during one of our tours. It was a country so big and different, I won’t even start to describe it. But I’ll tell you another story, showing some of the differences in the liberty we take for granted here in the western world…

While I was touring, my girlfriend was back home, meaning that I didn’t see her for a long time. Missing my ballerina, we agreed that I would find an internet-café, and go there to have a talk with her on skype.

So I did. Because of performances and time difference, it was past midnight when I went there, not that it was noticeable on the people in the café, though. At least 50 chinese were sitting at the rows of the studio, mostly playing online games. I caught this phenomenon several times; the internet studios were almost fuller at night, than at daytime…

I found a computer, logged on and was more than happy to “see” my girlfriend again, so at first, I didn’t even notice when two police officers came into the studio. They started walking in the rows, checking on people, what were they doing, who were they talking to?

My girlfriend is Hungarian, and since I’m educated there, we communicate in Hungarian. Probably not the most common language in some average chinese internet-studio at night, the police officers took interest. One of them sat down in front of me, just watching. This was when I realized his presence. I looked at him, but he didn’t seem to want anything, so I went on with the conversation, only briefly looking in his direction.

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It was two of these fellows I had the honor to meet

30 minutes later, he was still sitting there. Staring at me. Then someone tapped my shoulder – the other police officer. The whole time, he had been standing behind me, watching the screen of my computer, and probably trying to figure out what I was saying. Now, he wanted to see some ID, which he got. First in Chinese, then, much more aggitated in pour english, he asked sharp questions about who I was talking to, what language, and what the conversation was about. I told him, I was speaking in Hungarian, to my girlfriend. The second part, he just didn’t want to believe. Who talks to their girlfriend in the middle of the night? He wanted proof.

Completely lost for ideas, I asked my girlfriend to turn on the camera on her computer, showing her picture on my screen. Then I opened my wallet, showing the police-officer a picture of her I keep in there. He grunted, but allowed me to continue the conversation, although he’d prefer if we spoke in English. So we did. Armed police hanging over your shoulder kinda ruins your mood for small-talk, though, so we finished the conversation quite quickly. The police officers waited until we finished, and told me to stay in the studio until they had checked the computers log for suspicious pages, and only after doing so, they allowed me to leave. Realizing the differences in our world, I went back to my hotel room, one experience richer…

Read more stories from the road

Do you have a good story? Leave a comment, or email me. Let’s share some of the experiences gathered in this crazy world we are living in!

Until next time, Ta-ta

H

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