Cold

Some people say that this is the coldest part of China. It’s not really, of course, but what they mean is that we are just south of the Yangtze River. Anywhere north of the Yangtze they have heat. Anywhere further south of us is naturally warmer. So this area is the furthest north you can go without the benefit of heat.

This morning I took a little digital thermometer to class, just out of curiosity. It was 46°F. I thought I could see my breath when we were singing Christmas Carols. Brrr. It's much better to be teaching though, because you are standing and moving around. The other day when I sat in on Christina's class, my hands and feet were numb after fifteen minutes. It’s not really so cold outside – low 40’s in the day and 20’s at night; it’s just not any warmer inside.

Admittedly, I am a wimp when it comes to cold. I hate cold. I wear two layers of long underwear under several other layers and I’m still cold. My blanket, hot water bottle, smart wool socks, and hot chocolate are my best friends. But really I can’t complain. I have heat in my apartment. It doesn’t keep it as warm as you are probably used to (I still wear at least 3 layers inside), but it’s significantly warmer than outside.

My poor students, however, have no heat in their dormitories or the cafeteria or the classrooms or anywhere they go. They leave on their coats and gloves and scarves all day and carry around thermoses of hot water to drink and to wrap their hands around for warmth. There is also no hot water in the dorms. They have to walk to a separate shower house which does have hot water, and they fill thermoses of hot water for drinking. They hand wash their clothes in the frigid water and hang them outside in the cold to dry. So you can imagine, they don’t shower or wash their clothes quite as often during the winter. I guess they are pretty used to it, although they certainly don't enjoy it. I sure don’t envy them.