What Do You Get When You Cross a Gamble, Yellow Brick Road, and Pandas?
Giant Panda checks out shopping mall in Chengdu. | Photo by the author @gingakuji
First, let’s rewind to July 2020. I’d just arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport to fly out of China amidst the escalating chaos of the pandemic. Almost by luck, I had somehow arranged to find someone to drive me three hours to Shanghai from where I had lived on the other side of the Yangtze River Delta. Using public transportation with Covid on the loose was out of the question, so I had no choice but to hire a driver.
After the drop off at the airport and check-in for my flight to Tokyo, I went to an ATM to withdraw my last salary.
It wasn’t a particularly large amount. I was only an international school teacher, but it was a decent wage, more generous than what I had previously earned in Japan and Australia.
I inserted my card, entered my PIN, and tapped to withdraw.
“This transaction cannot be completed,” the screen message read.
I stood there silent and paralyzed.
No…this cannot be happening.
