When China Freezes Over
I usually tell people my favorite season is winter, but when winter finally comes, I complain about the cold and wish for a quick summer recovery. Then summer comes, and I start pining for winter. I really do like winter, though. It’s such a great feeling to relax in a nice, warm house with no obligation to go outside once you’re home from work/school. The winter holidays and open ski resorts are a nice touch, too.
In China, however, I’ve decided I hate winter. Even in 2009, they still haven’t figured out how to construct a decent building that retains an adequate amount of heat. I’ve got my heater running on full, another space heater set up near my bed, and yet wearing a sweater and long underwear to sleep still isn’t enough. I apparently have a heater monitor, too, who tattles to the head teacher whenever she thinks I am using the heater too much. Why is she watching my apartment, anyway?
And now for the ultimate dilemma. My kitchen doesn’t have a built-in heater, so, naturally, it gets miserably cold in there. The pipes from upstairs run right through the kitchen, though, and stink up the place. Who knows what vile things drip down those pipes every day, but, believe me, they reek. The only way I can get rid of the smell is to leave the windows open. Uh… Clark? That just makes the cold situation worse. So what would you do? Be cold or gag all the time?
Teaching isn’t much better. The Chinese teachers and students are so up in arms over needing “fresh air,” they’ll subject themselves to frigid weather for the sake of “keeping healthy.” Between classes, the students will slide all the windows open, and nobody bothers to turn the heater on. This obsession with not wanting to get sick is making it so I can’t even function as a teacher. It’s a little hard to get across perfect pronunciation when you’re shivering your ass off. G-g-g-g-good m-mor-morning, s-s-s-s-students…
Loading ...
Comment: