(Communism is Cold)
When I first arrived in China, I was shocked to learn that I no longer had access to things like Facebook and YouTube. It didn't take me long to find other activities to keep me occupied like lesson planning and focusing once again on my writing. I now take issue with other manifestations of control that I've since encountered in China. I know that I've mentioned this already, but it's bloody cold here! Today, the temperature dipped down to -2 degrees Celsius and it snowed all day long! I'm sure all the Canadian readers are shrugging and calling me a wuss at this point, but here's the thing: there's no heat ANYWHERE! My hotel refuses to put the heat on until November 15th (because that's the day it goes on every year) and the university is also following a set "turn the heat on" schedule. All of us teachers just can't see the logic in this, probably because there is none! My entire day was centered around the temperature. Here's what it looked like:
6:00am - refused to get out of bed because it was too cold
6:20am - Mr. Rooster gently reminded me it's time to get up and so I grudgingly complied
7:20am - dressed for the day shivering in front of the crappy heater I bought to "tide me over"
8:00am - class started - I asked my students to figure out how to get the small air-conditioner/heater in the corner of the room working (it's all in Chinese)
8:05am - my students got it working, but then told me we would all get in trouble if we were found with the heat turned on - so we turned it off
8:05am-12:00pm - taught four classes and made sure we played lots of games to make the room warm and our minds busy (to forget about the cold) - all of us were bundled in our winter jackets and scarves
12:15pm - braved the outdoors to go have some noodles for lunch - stepped in an icy puddle and got a soaker
1:00-3:00pm - worked in my office wearing my winter jacket and trying to forget about my frozen, wet foot
4:00pm - bought some imitation UGG boots, gloves and thermal long-Johns
6:00pm - went to dinner with Donna and Mike - chose the warmest restaurant
7:00pm - Donna and I went shopping to buy warmer socks, a sweater and hat
Now it's 10:00pm and I'm huddled up at my desk with the crappy heater at my feet and an electric bag heater on my lap (hard to explain, I've only seen these in China where fire-hazards are no big thing). I'm wearing grandpa slippers, thermal long-Johns under my pants, 4 layers on top and a big sweater, a scarf and a hat. To top it all off, I'm sipping at a mug of plain hot water because I've had far too much tea for one day.
Communism is cold.
When I first arrived in China, I was shocked to learn that I no longer had access to things like Facebook and YouTube. It didn't take me long to find other activities to keep me occupied like lesson planning and focusing once again on my writing. I now take issue with other manifestations of control that I've since encountered in China. I know that I've mentioned this already, but it's bloody cold here! Today, the temperature dipped down to -2 degrees Celsius and it snowed all day long! I'm sure all the Canadian readers are shrugging and calling me a wuss at this point, but here's the thing: there's no heat ANYWHERE! My hotel refuses to put the heat on until November 15th (because that's the day it goes on every year) and the university is also following a set "turn the heat on" schedule. All of us teachers just can't see the logic in this, probably because there is none! My entire day was centered around the temperature. Here's what it looked like:
6:00am - refused to get out of bed because it was too cold
6:20am - Mr. Rooster gently reminded me it's time to get up and so I grudgingly complied
7:20am - dressed for the day shivering in front of the crappy heater I bought to "tide me over"
8:00am - class started - I asked my students to figure out how to get the small air-conditioner/heater in the corner of the room working (it's all in Chinese)
8:05am - my students got it working, but then told me we would all get in trouble if we were found with the heat turned on - so we turned it off
8:05am-12:00pm - taught four classes and made sure we played lots of games to make the room warm and our minds busy (to forget about the cold) - all of us were bundled in our winter jackets and scarves
12:15pm - braved the outdoors to go have some noodles for lunch - stepped in an icy puddle and got a soaker
1:00-3:00pm - worked in my office wearing my winter jacket and trying to forget about my frozen, wet foot
4:00pm - bought some imitation UGG boots, gloves and thermal long-Johns
6:00pm - went to dinner with Donna and Mike - chose the warmest restaurant
7:00pm - Donna and I went shopping to buy warmer socks, a sweater and hat
Now it's 10:00pm and I'm huddled up at my desk with the crappy heater at my feet and an electric bag heater on my lap (hard to explain, I've only seen these in China where fire-hazards are no big thing). I'm wearing grandpa slippers, thermal long-Johns under my pants, 4 layers on top and a big sweater, a scarf and a hat. To top it all off, I'm sipping at a mug of plain hot water because I've had far too much tea for one day.
Communism is cold.
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