After our six week Chinese New Year/winter holiday break, school is starting tomorrow. That means I needed to get the last minute copying done and walk the dog at the same time. This is usually an enjoyable activity. The former students who own the copy shop are so accommodating and we seem to have an understanding not made from words, as we both struggle with the technical parts of each others language. I went ahead to get the copies done, while my wife tried to harness in our dog, Noah, who had just ran in front of the bus when she saw the pile of garbage in the street and the man with his carts picking through it for valuables. Noah was not going to be outdone and wanted a chance to be in the search. So I left them to their struggle, to explain my stack of papers and the number of copies I needed of each. I needed two copies of each (24 copies in all), and to my amazement they had bought a new copy machine so they got to work immediately without the turning on and waiting period, often with the shaking of the machine and a few bad copies. In amazing speed the copies were shooting out, almost like being back in America and in the teachers lounge for last minute copies...but then we all heard a series of loud noises and shouts and ran outside to see what was happening.

I immediately thought the worst, someone was throwing things Noah or beating Noah, because many people are afraid of dogs. Most dogs in China are wild and thus carry all kinds of diseases, so if bitten you need to get a long series of shots, so many people will whistle at our dog and then run away in fright when she comes near them. So when I saw the person wielding a mop and running towards something to hit it in the shop, I was mortified. I went out further and saw the student (college student at that), breaking the mop over the head of another student and use the remaining piece to beat him. This freaked me out even more. Other students jumped in and started to kick this kid who didn't quite know what to do. The original student then found a brick and started to beat the student who was now curled up in the fetal position.

I could not sit by and not intervene. In America, I would have been there after seeing the first part of this along with a line of other people, but things are a bit different in China. The Chinese people are not violent people by any means, but the reaction to fighting is very different. When there are traffic accidents, you will often see those involved getting into a scuffle right there in the middle of traffic. One such incident comes to mind, a man driving his motorbike through town when a man walks aimlessly in front of him causing the man on the motorbike to swerve and topple his bike on top of himself. My wife nudged me and said go help him get his bike off the street, but within seconds the man was up limping and dragging his injured leg to catch up to the man who offended him and started beating him. Many others saw this and formed a circle around the pair in the middle of the street with buses and cars going around. The police eventually came, now to two bloody men and money changed hands and the ordeal was over.

I was afraid another tragic story like the one several months before was going to happen, where a guard was stoned to death by bricks. I would not let that happen even if the Chinese expectation seems to be that you stay out of others affairs. So with a crowd of shopkeepers and other students watching I ran over, the foreign teacher, trying to stop this madness of a fight. As a student started beating him again with the brick, I started yelling, "bu yao" (literally don't want) grabbed the student, picked him up and turned him around. To this his girlfriend or friend, came running over and asking me not to hurt him. When he was removed, another student jumped in and started kicking the guy and I once again had to remove him. All eyes and mouths were wide open in amazement...what is the foreigner doing?? After a few more seconds of my shouting in Chinese and English--I really did not know what to yell...the students started to disperse and shopkeepers hurried back to their stores. The show was over.

I went back paid for my copies, told the guys in the copy shop that I would see them later and left for home, confused. I have never been in a fight before, so this was a whole new feeling. I hope I am tagging the culture wrong on this one, but from all of my experiences it seems to be true...to stay out of others' affairs is of great importance even if it means harm is coming to them and you can help. In all other ways, the Chinese are incredibly helpful. And I cannot say I have ever felt in danger, even after this experience.