It was the year 2000 when I arrived in Beijing; I was 17 and fresh out of a local dance academy back in Malaysia. My instructor had handed me the scholarship application to the Beijing Dance Institute & Academy, I filled it in not expecting anything, and I was accepted after passing the examination; the only one from my country. As I alighted from the taxi outside the academy, which was located in the Haidian District in Beijing, I inhaled the foreign air around me; China… the home of my ancestors. I had never been to Beijing in my entire life and the sights around me felt foreign, yet familiar. Maybe I’ve been watching way too much of Discovery Channel.
The ride here was weird. The taxis in China had this plastic shield surrounding the driver, cutting him off from the passengers and the seats, which turned out to be leather seats underneath, were covered with plain white cloth to protect them. Most of the taxis were Volkswagens. I guess it came from VW being the first foreign car manufacturer to set up their factories in China, or so I’ve heard. I paid the driver and he helped me unload my luggage.
“Da men zai na’r,” he said in his heavily accented Mandarin as he pointed to the main gates, and I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak. I did speak Mandarin, but it wasn’t perfect, so I kept my conversations to a minimum.
I looked at the modern building before me as I shielded my eyes from the sun. It was a hot summer’s day and in China, the summer heat can get real crazy. I was sweating as I lugged my bags into the gates, towards what I assumed to be the direction of the reception office.
“Xu yao wo bang mang ma?” a male voice spoke up from behind me. I turned around and there he was. Slim, about 6 feet, dressed in a set of sweat pants and jacket, which I assumed to be one of the uniforms at the academy. His hair was cropped short and he’d spiked it up. It suited him, it suited his slim face. His eyes were smiling along with his lips.
“Bu bi, xie xie,” I smiled and I turned my attention back to my bags. I was a little shocked that he bothered to talk to me in the first place and I was a little taken aback that I’d lost all coordination and strength to deal with my luggage.
“Gen wo lai,” he said as he picked up my biggest piece of luggage effortlessly. I had no choice but to pick up the rest of my stuff and follow him.
When we arrived at the office, he put my bags down and knocked on the door for me.
“Shui ya?” a lady replied.
“Chun jie, you xin xue sheng,” he said as the lady opened the door.
“Jin lai ba,” she motioned for me to enter.
“Ni gen ta ba,” he said as he nudged me to follow her.
“Xie xie ni,” I said to him.
“Bu bi,” he smiled. “Wo jiao Han Geng. Ni jiao shen me ming?”
“Sierra,” I smiled.
“Sierra…” he repeated. “Sounds beautiful, just like you.”
He spoke English? He should’ve spoken English to me sooner. I must’ve sounded like a weirdo with my broken Mandarin. He did a little salute as he walked away and I thought I felt my legs buckling. He sure was a charmer. But I found out much later that my impression of him as exactly the opposite of what he was.
“This is where we have our dance training,” Ying Ru, my guide, explained as we walked along the corridors. After I’d met the dean who gave me a solemn talk and congratulated me on my acceptance to the academy, I was assigned Ying Ru, who was my guide and also my classmate. Ying Ru was only 14, from Suzhou, and she’d been with the academy for 3 years.
We walked around the huge campus and I tried to take in all the sights and sounds I met along the way. I was beginning to feel the pressure as I walked past the classes. Sure there were students who looked like they were enjoying themselves, but there were many who looked dead serious as they trained. Would I become like one of them someday? Dancing always made me happy. It was the way I expressed my feelings, my outlet for my frustrations and joy. Would I become a machine someday from all the instruction of technique and demand for perfection?
I lived in a hostel off-campus since I entered the academy in the middle of the term and all the dorms on-campus had been taken. The hostel was a 3-storey colonial building about 10 minutes away from the academy. Inside the old building, renovations had been made to make the place habitable, but it was definitely a far cry from my own room back home. I had to share the room with 2 other girls. The girls lived on our floor and the boys lived on a floor above us.
“You’re so lucky you get to live off-campus,” Ying Ru said as she walked with me. “Usually only the seniors get to live in the hostel you’re living in.”
“Really?”
“Yea,” she smiled. “Ooh! And I saw who helped you with your bags. Han Geng… isn’t he hot?”
“I guess. He must be really popular among the girls.”
“He is, but he rarely talked to girls, at least not on his own accord. I was surprised when I saw him approach you.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?” I asked her.
“Sure… tall, slim, spiky hair, cute smile, Han Geng,” she said.
“But I’m pretty sure he was a flirt,” I said.
“Omigod! Are you saying he flirted with you?” she exclaimed.
“He did,” I said.
“Wow… you must’ve really caught his eye then. Last I heard he was dating Xin Yi, a ballerina. But she’d left the academy to join a ballet company in the USA last year. Since then, he’d acted like he’d sworn off girls.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s born in February, 1984.”
“Wow… 2 months younger than I am,” I said. “Are you his fan or something?”
“Why do say that?”
“You remember his birthday.”
“Erm… he is sort of an idol at the academy. It’s only natural for us girls to know little details about him.”
“Is that so?” I teased and she blushed a little.
Ying Ru accompanied me till the doorstep of the hostel.
“I need to go,” she said. “I’m already late for my next class.”
“Okay,” I said. “Go on, I’ll be fine.”
“See you tomorrow,” she waved as she walked off.
“Ming tian jian,” I smiled.
I pushed the door open and used my biggest bag to hold it open as I brought in the rest of my stuff. A lady walked out as I closed the door.
“You must be Sierra,” she said, also in heavily accented Beijing Mandarin.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Come with me,” she said as she picked up one of my smaller bags, leaving me with the big one.
“The students are all in school at the moment, so it’s pretty quiet here now. You are provided breakfast and dinner. Lunch will be provided at the academy. There’s a curfew. You must be home by 9pm everyday, unless you have training till late, which I will verify with your teachers and instructors.”
As we walked up the creaking stairs, she went on and on about all the rules we had. On Sundays, we didn’t have classes and were allowed to go shopping or whatever. There were cleaners who would clean the bathrooms we shared, there were 3 bathrooms to each floor and 12 of us shared them. We were in charge of cleaning our own rooms and they will be inspected from time to time. After she’d left me in my room, I lay on my bed and looked at the ceiling. The room was painted in a stark white and it was dimly lit; not exactly conducive for studying. I got up and started to unpack my clothes and placed them into the little wardrobe beside my bed. It was the kind that was made of cloth and you closed it by zipping it up.
When I was finally done settling in, I took out the last item in my suitcase, a photograph of me and my boyfriend from back in Malaysia. He was a dancer too and he went to the same school as I did back home. Our relationship had been a turbulent one. He was what you’d call a tortured soul; the kind of artiste who perfected his art through overwhelming himself with emotions. We’ve been together for 6 months, and it was surprising that we’ve lasted for as long as we did. He’d supported me when I was selected. He’d told me that I had just landed the opportunity of a lifetime. But on the day of my flight, he didn’t come to see me off. I guess he was too busy to come.
It was almost 6pm and I could hear the others returning. Outside, the sky was still bright and sunny, since it was the summer. 2 girls walked into the room and they smiled when they saw me. Both of them were slim and at least 5’7”. I was only 5’5”.
“Hello!” one of them said as she walked up to me. “I’m Dou Dou,” she smiled.
“I’m Chui Yun,” the other said.
“I’m Sierra,” I smiled.
“Welcome to our dorm. We’re pretty easy to live with. Just make sure you give us enough money at the end of each month and we’ll leave you alone,” Dou Dou said as I stared at her.
Did she just ask me for some kind of protection fee?
“Don’t listen to her, Sierra,” Chui Yun laughed as I turned to look at her. “She’s just pulling your leg.”
I looked back at Dou Dou, and I laughed in relief when I saw that she was smiling too.
“I’m hungry,” Dou Dou said. “Let’s go for dinner,” she added as she walked out.
“Come on,” Chui Yun said as she grabbed my by the hand and dragged me out with them. On the way to the stairs, I collided against a boy who coming down from the stairs above.
“Xiao xin,” he said as he steadied me before I fell. I looked up and there he was again; Han Geng.
**********
Notes, for those who don't understand Mandarin ^^
Da men zai na'r.
The main gate/door is over there.
Xu yao wo bang mang ma?
Do you need my help?
Bu bi, xie xie.
No need, thank you.
Gen wo lai.
Follow me.
Shui ya?
Who is it?
Chun jie, you xin xue sheng.
Chun jie, there’s a new student.
(Chun is the name of the lady. You add jie, which means sister, as a sign of respect. Sort of like calling her Chun nuna)
Jin lai ba.
Come in.
Ni gen ta ba.
You should go with her.
Xie xie ni.
Thank you.
Bu bi.
No need (to thank me).
Wo jiao Han Geng. Ni jiao shen me ming?
My name is Han Geng. What’s your name?
Ming tian jian.
See you tomorrow.
Xiao xin.
Be careful.
