Bikes and the Generosity of Chinese People

We have been wanting to get a bike for months now. It seems like almost everyone has a bike here. With the constant high traffic and pollution-related driving restrictions, it may be the most efficient way to get around in this city! Everyone told us it would be easy to find a cheap, second-hand bike, but all of our initial efforts failed. After our failed attempts Jacky thought to post on "WeChat" (a very popular Chinese social media application) asking if anyone knew of where we could find cheap bikes. Within minutes, her student's Mom offered to give her their unused bike. I was equally successful, having several parents offer to give me their bike. Jack, our school's "maintenance man" jumped at the opportunity to help Jacky pump more airs into her mostly flat bike tires. When she explained the problem (using hand motions and the translator app on his phone) he grabbed the bike without question and took it down the street, quickly returning it with filled tires. He refused to be repaid for this. The other day, one of our school's administrators, Anna, took some of her break time to take us to get baskets to put on our bikes. While we were waiting, she sneaked away and brought us some "shanza" (sweet hawthorn fruit on a stick, a famous Beijing food). Our bike story is a perfect example of the incredible generosity we've experienced here. Everyone, from our Chinese friends to parents to co-workers, is eager to help us with any problem we've had. They will sacrifice their time and money to make sure that we are happy and comfortable. This amount of consistent generosity is something so unique to Chinese people, it is truly beautiful and inspiring. Now we ride our bikes everywhere around our neighborhood. Our long, cold walks to and from school have become quick bike rides, all thanks to  the generosity of our community in Beijing!

Jacky and Anna with their Shanza