PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I got lost in Macau.  I was walking along a main street looking for an old historic monument.  I must have made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.  I was following a map and turned down a small street.  Next thing I know, I going through a very narrow alley.  I was not longer sure where I was it.  The street signs were in Chinese and Portuguese.  I could at least read the Portuguese names since they use the same alphabet.

I was hungry and I couldn't find my way.  The streets and alleys were packed with people milling about their daily lives.  I could tell right away that I was not in a touristy area.  I kept referring to my map but I couldn't find a match.  I noticed that I was probably going in circles.

A lot of the locals seemed amused by my plight.  I seemed to notice a few people pointing at me and maybe a few laughs at my expense.  I was lucky enough to find a kind soul who could speak fluent English.  He took mercy on me.  We got into a conversation.  I found out that I was really only a couple blocks from the destination that I was seeking.  He was impressed that I was an American traveling alone.

When I mentioned being hungry, he took me to a little hole in the wall place.  The writing was all in Cantonese.  (He informed me of that.)  They did not have any tables inside but you could eat outside at their sidewalk cafe.  The table consisted of a plywood board sitting on top of two carpenter horses.  The seat was an old oil drum. 

With his help I was able to order a a pork chop bun and a soup.  The woman at the counter did not speak any English.  The cost ended up being less than the equivalent of 2 American dollars.  The soup was a chicken soup with various vegetables--several of which I did not recognize.  The soup had a really spicy flavor to it.  I sat on the oil drum slurping away at the soup.  The pork was really delicious.   I got a lot of quizzical looks from locals walking by.  I didn't really care.  It was a great meal and it reaffirned my faith in humanity.  Being lost in a strange country, I was still able to find someone willing to help me out.