The Railroad Station

It was late at night in a busy, crowded railroad station in China.  (Now, crowded in China means much more than crowded anywhere else in the world.)

It was the day before a national holiday.  Nearly everyone leaves town, so the station was packed; people and bags took up every space - it was literally standing room only and we were wedged in tight.

Moving was difficult; people were tired, tired of waiting, tired of standing, tired of being squished tight.

And, then Rachelle had an idea.  We were a group of about 45 Caucasian, English-speaking tourists...we looked totally out of place in a room filled with small Chinese.  We were big, tall, and blonde.

"Let's sing," Rachelle said.  We all loved Rachelle.  She was in her 30s - not part of the senior teaching group from BYU, but she loved to go on the trips with the "old" BYU teachers.

So, there in the train station that dark late night, we sang.

The Chinese stared, then they smiled, then some joined in humming.  The tension in the room eased.

And, then the train came.  We all grabbed our bags and headed to the train.

Only now,  there was a smile on our faces.