It was predictable that it's gonna happen: According to chinese law foreigners have to have their passports with them anywhere and anytime, so with carrying it around all day chances are very high that one day you accidently leave it somewhere or lose it. And yes you are right, of course that happened to me.
Some weeks ago Mimmi and me were trying to imagine what our reactions would be like, if we discovered that we had lost our passport. we both agreed that we would be totally upset and probably burst into tears. That my actual reaction was totally different is still surprising me.
It all happened on the day when after spending some days in Hong Kong my parents went back to Germany. Coming from Hong Kong I got off the train in Guangzhou, holding my passport in my hands, ready to pass the security check to enter China again. I followed the crowd of people and started to climb the stairs, but having reached the top, I suddenly realized that that my passport was not in my hands anymore. The first thing that came into my mind was: I have to go back to the train and check if i have left it there, before the doors are closing. So I got onto the train again and after having explained to the staff what had happened, more than 10 people were helping me to find my passport. I was pretty sure that when I got off the train the passport was in my hands, so it was not a suprise we didn't find it.
Of course I don't lose my passport like other people in a cafe or a metro station in China, so that you have time to at least think about the next steps and find out where the next german embassy is... No of course I have to lose my passport in nomansland, havingleft Hong Kong already,but not having entered China yet. So there I was, standing in a place that doesn'tbelong to any country, with my small backpack, no documents, no money and no idea what to do next.
At this point it would have been normal to start panicing, but somehow I managed to remain totally calm and relaxed. I decided to wait until all the people have passed the security check and then ask one of the police men what to do. I have no idea what I was doing or thinking in the following 30 minutes,I just remember that feeling full of joy and gratitude I had when seeing a police man waving with my passport in his hand.
10 minutes later i was back in China, with my passport and my wallet, waiting for the metro and asking myself wether I had been dreaming or all this actually had happened to me...
"All things come to those who wait", how true...
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