A lot of people, my husband included, have had difficulty renewing their visas. First, we couldn't figure out why he was having such a hard time. Then some of his colleagues related similar stories. Next, a few of our other friends started telling us that they were having difficulty. And then some of the students we know began having trouble. Suddenly, the requirements got stricter. Without any notice, the rules changed. In short, many people were being told that they would have to return home in order to renew their visas. This is not something that was a problem before, at least not with those on student and business visas. But now, it is a problem. Officially, there has not been a change in China's visa policy, but the word on the street tells quite a different story.
Then today I read some blogs and news, and discovered that the problem is as wide spread as I thought. And when a company can not send their employees to do business, the issue becomes more than just the problems of a few scattered individuals. A recent Tim Johnson (China correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers) blog headline reads "Biz opportunities are being missed." China won't change, and hopefully it will return to normal after the Olympics...it will be interesting to see what happens next.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcb_china/20080425/wl_mcb_china/bizopportunitiesarebeingmissed
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Ethnic Profiling...
SUCKS!
I don't know what it is. Trying to get rid of the "bad elements" before the Olympics, anger about the protests in other countries when the Olympic flame was there, the recent Tibet drama or what, but to be honest, none of that has any direct correlation to my life. Or so you would think.
A few weeks ago, when returning to China, I was the only person, out of the hundreds that walked through customs within 15 minutes of me, to be stopped. The only one. There was only one customs official, it was 7am, and no one else was stopped before me, or, of course, while he was asking me questions.
"Where are you from"
"America"
"America?"
"Yes, A-me-ri-ca".
My flight had been delayed over 12 hours, I was tired, and if I did not catch the 7:00 bus, I would be late for work. I had no patience.
"Give me you passport."
I hand it over.
"You from America? But this flight from -"
"The flight is from Singapore. I am American. I was visiting Singapore. OKAY?" I said, clearly agitated and with my voice raised.
Usually, I am calm and respectful, but that morning, I was just pissed. All these people, and the only one you pick out to stop happens to be the only the brown person in the bunch. Yes, I was not pleased.
He said "Okay" and let me go. I made the bus just in time.
And then today.
I get to immigration. The woman looks at me, the cover of my passport (not the inside, the outside where it says United States of America), and then my husband (who was still in line, they make you go one by one). She makes a stern face, and then proceeds to inspect my passport. Every page, every visa, the picture, the cover, the seams, EVERYTHING. I have 24 used pages in my passport, 5 of which are taken up by visas, the rest have an average of 5 stamps each. And she inspected every single one. Analyzed the picture on the info page, the picture inside (on one of the visas), investigated the seams, the visas, again. Then, she looks under the microscope type thing, at EVERY SINGLE PAGE. Slowly. She thinks my passport is a fake.
Then, her colleague comes over, she explains to him what the "problem" is (I couldn't hear them). So, he sits down next to her, and begins to do everything she just did. While the guy is looking at my passport under the microscope, with infrared, she told my husband he could come. Thankfully, his passport is newer, and not as full, so the super inspection is not as intense. And, his is also not an American passport, so less likely to be forged. She took her time, and investigated, and scanned it four times, but at least she doesn't have to look at over 20 pages of visas. All the while, the guy is still looking at my passport. My husbands passport gets stamped, and when the guy finishes, he says "it's ok" in Chinese (I could read his lips) and left. She takes my passport. I think they are finished, he said it was fine and they have both throughly investigated it. I was wrong.
She proceeds to it check, AGAIN.
At this point, I have been standing there for over 20 minutes. I really wanted to shout obscenities at her. Is my passport old? Yes. It is due to be renewed next year. But I can't be the only person with a nine year old passport she has ever seen. Do I understand that immigration officers have to do their jobs? Yes. I have traveled enough to know that I might have to answer questions, produce documents, etc. But, I have traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America on that passport, and NEVER, not once, has anyone thought it was a fake. Not once. Do I think it is, plain and simply, a case of racism/ethnic profiling/discrimination. Yes. Especially because I watched all of the white people and non-Chinese Asians go through without any problems, and then I had to stand there for 30 minutes while two people checked every aspect of my passport more than four times. Yes, I think it is because she saw brown skin and blue passport, and assumed that it is not real. If there was something suspicious about my passport, I'm sure it would have caused a problem earlier in the nine years I have used it. It has never been a problem. I do not think she is some amazing eagle eyed immigration officer that is serious about her job. I'm sure you can guess what I think. While I'm standing there waiting for them to finally give it up and admit that my passport is real, they probably let 50 people with light skin smuggle drugs into the country. Not to mention the human traffickers. But a brown girl with a US passport, a Chinese residence permit and a legitimate job, let's stop her.
Can you tell I am pissed? In the end, she let me go. Cause well, my passport is real.
And then, of course, we get stopped in customs. At least there wasn't a body cavity search.
I don't know what it is. Trying to get rid of the "bad elements" before the Olympics, anger about the protests in other countries when the Olympic flame was there, the recent Tibet drama or what, but to be honest, none of that has any direct correlation to my life. Or so you would think.
A few weeks ago, when returning to China, I was the only person, out of the hundreds that walked through customs within 15 minutes of me, to be stopped. The only one. There was only one customs official, it was 7am, and no one else was stopped before me, or, of course, while he was asking me questions.
"Where are you from"
"America"
"America?"
"Yes, A-me-ri-ca".
My flight had been delayed over 12 hours, I was tired, and if I did not catch the 7:00 bus, I would be late for work. I had no patience.
"Give me you passport."
I hand it over.
"You from America? But this flight from -"
"The flight is from Singapore. I am American. I was visiting Singapore. OKAY?" I said, clearly agitated and with my voice raised.
Usually, I am calm and respectful, but that morning, I was just pissed. All these people, and the only one you pick out to stop happens to be the only the brown person in the bunch. Yes, I was not pleased.
He said "Okay" and let me go. I made the bus just in time.
And then today.
I get to immigration. The woman looks at me, the cover of my passport (not the inside, the outside where it says United States of America), and then my husband (who was still in line, they make you go one by one). She makes a stern face, and then proceeds to inspect my passport. Every page, every visa, the picture, the cover, the seams, EVERYTHING. I have 24 used pages in my passport, 5 of which are taken up by visas, the rest have an average of 5 stamps each. And she inspected every single one. Analyzed the picture on the info page, the picture inside (on one of the visas), investigated the seams, the visas, again. Then, she looks under the microscope type thing, at EVERY SINGLE PAGE. Slowly. She thinks my passport is a fake.
Then, her colleague comes over, she explains to him what the "problem" is (I couldn't hear them). So, he sits down next to her, and begins to do everything she just did. While the guy is looking at my passport under the microscope, with infrared, she told my husband he could come. Thankfully, his passport is newer, and not as full, so the super inspection is not as intense. And, his is also not an American passport, so less likely to be forged. She took her time, and investigated, and scanned it four times, but at least she doesn't have to look at over 20 pages of visas. All the while, the guy is still looking at my passport. My husbands passport gets stamped, and when the guy finishes, he says "it's ok" in Chinese (I could read his lips) and left. She takes my passport. I think they are finished, he said it was fine and they have both throughly investigated it. I was wrong.
She proceeds to it check, AGAIN.
At this point, I have been standing there for over 20 minutes. I really wanted to shout obscenities at her. Is my passport old? Yes. It is due to be renewed next year. But I can't be the only person with a nine year old passport she has ever seen. Do I understand that immigration officers have to do their jobs? Yes. I have traveled enough to know that I might have to answer questions, produce documents, etc. But, I have traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America on that passport, and NEVER, not once, has anyone thought it was a fake. Not once. Do I think it is, plain and simply, a case of racism/ethnic profiling/discrimination. Yes. Especially because I watched all of the white people and non-Chinese Asians go through without any problems, and then I had to stand there for 30 minutes while two people checked every aspect of my passport more than four times. Yes, I think it is because she saw brown skin and blue passport, and assumed that it is not real. If there was something suspicious about my passport, I'm sure it would have caused a problem earlier in the nine years I have used it. It has never been a problem. I do not think she is some amazing eagle eyed immigration officer that is serious about her job. I'm sure you can guess what I think. While I'm standing there waiting for them to finally give it up and admit that my passport is real, they probably let 50 people with light skin smuggle drugs into the country. Not to mention the human traffickers. But a brown girl with a US passport, a Chinese residence permit and a legitimate job, let's stop her.
Can you tell I am pissed? In the end, she let me go. Cause well, my passport is real.
And then, of course, we get stopped in customs. At least there wasn't a body cavity search.
Friday, March 07, 2008
A Day in the Life...
Two interesting moments from my life as a teacher.
Here is an excerpt from a student's work:
N is for Negro. Sometimes, I wish I could be Negro, because they have natural talents with music. They could give full play to their innate ability. If I were Negro, I will overcome the racial discrimination; change the stereotypes of Negro and hold concerts in different countries.
And here is a picture of a student's assignment:
Miss Cow's Lecture? Should I take that personally or just hope the student thought the picture was cute?
Here is an excerpt from a student's work:
N is for Negro. Sometimes, I wish I could be Negro, because they have natural talents with music. They could give full play to their innate ability. If I were Negro, I will overcome the racial discrimination; change the stereotypes of Negro and hold concerts in different countries.
And here is a picture of a student's assignment:
Miss Cow's Lecture? Should I take that personally or just hope the student thought the picture was cute?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Scrambled like eggs
As most of you know, my husband is a native French speaker. Sometimes, this means that we experience hilarious gaps in communication. My French is still in the beginning stage, and the errors too numerous to mention. However, his English is almost fluent, and so his mistakes are usually funny - to me anyway.
For example, at the wedding, the guests wanted me to make a little speech. Having no idea what to say, I looked to my dear husband for some guidance. "Just say 'good appetite'", he says. Good appetite? Sorry dear, but that doesn't make sense, and it is just hard to say something incorrectly in my own language. Although I understood that he was translating the French literally, in English we don't say "good appetite". So, I did the next best thing. I said, "enjoy your meal". But no, that was not good enough. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than the M.C. , who had heard my husbands instructions, felt it necessary to reiterate my words. With much gusto, as if to cover my mistake, he nearly yelled into the mic. Speaking in English, he tells the guests "She said, 'Thank you for coming...and good appetite!'" Maybe "eat well" would have been a better choice.
The other night, we were having one of those mushy memory lane conversations that couples, relatives and old friends sometimes have. As you know, here in China I was (am) the "untouchable", and he was laughing about some of the things his friends said to him when he expressed his interest in pursuing me. The guys here often talk(ed) about my complexion and hair texture, and occasionally use(d) my appearance to reinforce their reasoning. As he laughed at how much has changed, and how I went from being the untouchable girl to his wife, he made a remark about my (naturally curly) hair. "My wife, with her scrambled hair." Of all the words used to describe my hair, this was the first time I'd heard "scrambled", even from him. Laughing hysterically, I said "Like eggs?", in order to be sure he was saying what he meant. "Yes!" he exclaimed, "Scrambled like eggs."
For example, at the wedding, the guests wanted me to make a little speech. Having no idea what to say, I looked to my dear husband for some guidance. "Just say 'good appetite'", he says. Good appetite? Sorry dear, but that doesn't make sense, and it is just hard to say something incorrectly in my own language. Although I understood that he was translating the French literally, in English we don't say "good appetite". So, I did the next best thing. I said, "enjoy your meal". But no, that was not good enough. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than the M.C. , who had heard my husbands instructions, felt it necessary to reiterate my words. With much gusto, as if to cover my mistake, he nearly yelled into the mic. Speaking in English, he tells the guests "She said, 'Thank you for coming...and good appetite!'" Maybe "eat well" would have been a better choice.
The other night, we were having one of those mushy memory lane conversations that couples, relatives and old friends sometimes have. As you know, here in China I was (am) the "untouchable", and he was laughing about some of the things his friends said to him when he expressed his interest in pursuing me. The guys here often talk(ed) about my complexion and hair texture, and occasionally use(d) my appearance to reinforce their reasoning. As he laughed at how much has changed, and how I went from being the untouchable girl to his wife, he made a remark about my (naturally curly) hair. "My wife, with her scrambled hair." Of all the words used to describe my hair, this was the first time I'd heard "scrambled", even from him. Laughing hysterically, I said "Like eggs?", in order to be sure he was saying what he meant. "Yes!" he exclaimed, "Scrambled like eggs."
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
CAC Cook-Up
On Sunday night, I went to a Caribbean Association (of China) meeting and potluck dinner. Shanghai is a big city, and this time the dinner was near my house. So, I went to the supermarket and picked up a dessert (I know, I know, being lazy) and took a taxi to my friend J's house. J' is a Jamaican-British, married mother of one (with one on the way). I arrived as food was still being cooked and warmed, and generally mingled. After the meeting, I stayed and chatted for a while, and all in all had quite a lovely evening.
The food was good, the company was good, and the meeting was productive. There are a lot of good things going on, and some activities I might attend. The biggest news of the night however, was this:
The food was good, the company was good, and the meeting was productive. There are a lot of good things going on, and some activities I might attend. The biggest news of the night however, was this:
The first ever Jamaican restaurant is opening in Shanghai!
Of course, as CAC members we are invited to the pre-opening testing. That is when you go to the restaurant and sample dishes in order to give the chef your feedback. Free food that should taste good. Sign me up. My husband and I will be there!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Todays Tidings
A few notes...
Chinese New Year has ended! I think. Last night was another round of fireworks, I think marking the end of the clebration. Although I love festive events, I do not love being unable to sleep because of the fireworks. So I enjoyed the festivities, and am glad they are over. Speaking of Chinese New Year, can anyone tell me why I can't seem to find a lion/dragon dance in Shanghai? I do live in China, don't I? This shouldn't be so difficult...
I must be the ONLY person in Shanghai that doesn't have an ayi (domestic help). I going to have to join the club, and start paying someone to wash dishes, clean the bathrooms, and esp. those white tile floors. Hm, this sounds good already, I might have to find myself an older Chinese woman to help around the house wherever I go. It would also help me practice my Chinese...
I had all of these things I wanted to write, but now they've escaped me.
On a final note, a friend of mine commented the other day on how my relationship status on Myspace went from "single" to "married". Unlike most people, I never put "in a relationship" or "engaged". She said that she should take tips from me, never letting him know he has you. I thought it was funny, as that wasn't exactly my motivation. (Esp. being as he doesn't use myspace, so he had no idea what it said). But then it made me think a little bit. You know the movie Big Fish? In it, the father tells a story, and the punchline is that the only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to give her a wedding ring. I think that line sums up my relationship pretty well. Here, my husband is called "the man", among other things, by the group of guys that knew us both before we became a couple. Why? Because he got the "untouchable girl" (what they said most often when he would ask them about me). He thought I would be easy to get, perhaps like most of his relationships. I wasn't "hard to get", but I was in some respects an uncatchable woman. I like it that way.
Chinese New Year has ended! I think. Last night was another round of fireworks, I think marking the end of the clebration. Although I love festive events, I do not love being unable to sleep because of the fireworks. So I enjoyed the festivities, and am glad they are over. Speaking of Chinese New Year, can anyone tell me why I can't seem to find a lion/dragon dance in Shanghai? I do live in China, don't I? This shouldn't be so difficult...
I must be the ONLY person in Shanghai that doesn't have an ayi (domestic help). I going to have to join the club, and start paying someone to wash dishes, clean the bathrooms, and esp. those white tile floors. Hm, this sounds good already, I might have to find myself an older Chinese woman to help around the house wherever I go. It would also help me practice my Chinese...
I had all of these things I wanted to write, but now they've escaped me.
On a final note, a friend of mine commented the other day on how my relationship status on Myspace went from "single" to "married". Unlike most people, I never put "in a relationship" or "engaged". She said that she should take tips from me, never letting him know he has you. I thought it was funny, as that wasn't exactly my motivation. (Esp. being as he doesn't use myspace, so he had no idea what it said). But then it made me think a little bit. You know the movie Big Fish? In it, the father tells a story, and the punchline is that the only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to give her a wedding ring. I think that line sums up my relationship pretty well. Here, my husband is called "the man", among other things, by the group of guys that knew us both before we became a couple. Why? Because he got the "untouchable girl" (what they said most often when he would ask them about me). He thought I would be easy to get, perhaps like most of his relationships. I wasn't "hard to get", but I was in some respects an uncatchable woman. I like it that way.
Friday, February 08, 2008
春节快乐！
Happy Chinese New Year!
Here's a short video clip of the fireworks that were visible from my bedroom. The two sets in the foreground were set off in the courtyard (thanks neighbors). Note the noise and "background" fireworks also. The entire city was lit up. I had numerous fireworks displays visible from every room in the house.
And a shorter one, from a window on the other side of the apartment. This side of my building is next to a school, which is why all of the fireworks are in the background.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
ERA
ERA-Intersection of time.
The other night, I FINALLY went to see ERA. I've been attempting to get to this show, which plays every night, since I first heard about it a little over a year ago. Not wanting to go alone, my main problem was finding someone to go with me. The other night a friend that I had mentioned the show to a few days before calls up and asks if I want to go and see it that night. Having now other plans, I said, "of course", called the box office, reserved the tickets and off we went.
ERA is actually a little difficult to describe. It is mostly an acrobatics show that fuses traditional Chinese culture with modern technology. It is breathtaking. The things the performers due are beautiful, and classic and amazing. The show is riveting from beginning to end, and leaves the viewer wondering what they are going to do next. It is family friendly, and well organized. The choreography is beautiful. And everything is live, the music included, which adds an extra element of intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am so glad that I finally got to see this Shanghai staple.
Photography is forbidden (yay!), so I took pictures of the pictures in the program book that my friend purchased. I am not sure about the copyright laws involved, so the copyright of these pictures belongs to either a) my friend who purchased the book or b) the original photographer.
Enjoy...
Look at those arms! Yes, I spent a lot of time appreciating the bodies of the performers, especially the women. Look, women with bodies! Figures. They are not hungry! They are in amazing shape, of course. Those thighs are rock solid - but they exist. And I think they have to um...EAT.
Flexibility. Balance. Strength. Beauty.
CHINA.
Yes, I want my husband to hold on to some material with one arm, and me with the other, and then be lifted into the air just like this. I want the music in the background too.
This piece was one of my favorites in the show. At one point she was holding on to the the fabric suspended from the ceiling, and supporting his weight with her free arm (so her free hand was holding one of his hands, and his other hand was free as part of the movement - and I think, to aid in keeping balance). They didn't have wires, which increased the beauty and suspense as they went swirling and spinning through midair. And the singer was great (I could even understand some of the words of the song). Loved it.
The other night, I FINALLY went to see ERA. I've been attempting to get to this show, which plays every night, since I first heard about it a little over a year ago. Not wanting to go alone, my main problem was finding someone to go with me. The other night a friend that I had mentioned the show to a few days before calls up and asks if I want to go and see it that night. Having now other plans, I said, "of course", called the box office, reserved the tickets and off we went.
ERA is actually a little difficult to describe. It is mostly an acrobatics show that fuses traditional Chinese culture with modern technology. It is breathtaking. The things the performers due are beautiful, and classic and amazing. The show is riveting from beginning to end, and leaves the viewer wondering what they are going to do next. It is family friendly, and well organized. The choreography is beautiful. And everything is live, the music included, which adds an extra element of intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am so glad that I finally got to see this Shanghai staple.
Photography is forbidden (yay!), so I took pictures of the pictures in the program book that my friend purchased. I am not sure about the copyright laws involved, so the copyright of these pictures belongs to either a) my friend who purchased the book or b) the original photographer.
Enjoy...
Look at those arms! Yes, I spent a lot of time appreciating the bodies of the performers, especially the women. Look, women with bodies! Figures. They are not hungry! They are in amazing shape, of course. Those thighs are rock solid - but they exist. And I think they have to um...EAT.
Flexibility. Balance. Strength. Beauty.
CHINA.
Yes, I want my husband to hold on to some material with one arm, and me with the other, and then be lifted into the air just like this. I want the music in the background too.This piece was one of my favorites in the show. At one point she was holding on to the the fabric suspended from the ceiling, and supporting his weight with her free arm (so her free hand was holding one of his hands, and his other hand was free as part of the movement - and I think, to aid in keeping balance). They didn't have wires, which increased the beauty and suspense as they went swirling and spinning through midair. And the singer was great (I could even understand some of the words of the song). Loved it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Snow snarls transport, strands thousands in China
Sat Jan 26, 5:05 AM ET
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Heavy snow and rain closed airports, highways and train lines across central and eastern China on Saturday, stranding tens of thousands of travelers and threatening to block food supplies.
Snowfall since mid-January has been "the heaviest in a decade," affecting about 32.9 million people and causing an estimated 6.23 billion yuan ($865 million) of damage, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The snow has collapsed homes, caused power blackouts and destroyed crops, causing the deaths of dozens of people in weather-related accidents.
By disrupting food supplies, the weather could also fuel inflation, which hit an 11-year high of 4.8 percent last year, becoming a major economic and social problem for the government.
"Transportation of fresh farm products - including vegetables, fruits, livestock and poultry - faces an extraordinarily grave situation," the State Council, China's cabinet, said in a statement late on Friday.
It ordered authorities around the country to clear snow and ice from roads, exempt vehicles carrying farm produce from all traffic tolls, and ensure that gas stations gave "unlimited supplies" of petrol to those vehicles without raising prices.
Pricing, finance, commerce and quality authorities across China were instructed to exempt wholesale suppliers of fresh farm products from "as many charges as possible."
About 40,000 passengers, many of them traveling home for the Lunar New Year Festival in early February, were stranded at stations along the railway line from Beijing to the southern city of Guangzhou on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
A total of 136 electric passenger trains were stalled in central China's Hunan Province after snow damaged power lines. Diesel locomotives were being used to haul the electric trains out of the area as over 10,000 workers repaired the power lines.
At least five major airports, including those in Hunan's capital of Changsha and one in Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, were closed, state television said.
Highways around Nanjing were closed, as were 28 major roads in the southwestern province of Guizhou, where 27,000 travelers were stranded in bus stations, Xinhua reported.
In the eastern province of Anhui, 12,000 people were evacuated from dangerous locations because of the snow, it added.
The snowfall extended as far as China's commercial centre of Shanghai, which saw its heaviest snow this decade on Saturday, causing city authorities to promise to intervene in food markets to keep stable the prices of goods such as grains and milk, the official Liberation Daily said.
The National Meteorological Centre said some areas of central and eastern China could see at least three more days of snow.
($1=7.21 Yuan)
(Reporting by Andrew Torchia and George Chen; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080126/wl_nm/china_weather_snow_dc
My two cents: Emphasis added. It is snowing right now, has been since about 10am. I am not excited. I am not intrigued. In fact, I am thinking, why is China experiencing one of the worst winters in 50 years (according to the news) now? Couldn't this have happened two or three years ago, before I arrived. Oh how self-centered am I.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
SLEET!
On Saturday it snowed. On Sunday it snowed and rained. And today we have sleet. Which means that the sidewalks are a nasty, icy, slippery, slushy mess. Ah, great fun. I saw a few people today with plastic bags over their shoes...perhaps they fancied a bit of ice skating.
With that said, I am earnestly awaiting the arrival of summer. Last year, it did not snow in Shanghai. Actually, it does not snow most winters here. And considering that the government has decided that we are in the "warm" part of China where indoor heat is not required, it is a good thing that it is usually not cold enough to snow. Of course, the snow is caused by a warm front meeting a cold front, but that cold front is serious. It is COLD.I think the warm front is so high up, we can't feel the difference.
My heaters are simply not powerful enough to keep the rooms warm. My kitchen is so cold that things in the cupboard are freezing. I went to put some honey in my tea, and the honey was frozen solid. I can see my breath when I am cooking, and have taken to cooking the fastest meals possible. Lots of stir-fry noodles for me in the past two weeks. The living room/dining room is too open for the heater to work well, I have it on 30 (degrees Celsius) and the room hovers at around 16. And so, my bedroom has become my refuge. I come home, go in there and turn on the heaters (the wall unit and a space heater). Then I take off my coat and boots and head to the kitchen to whip up a fast dinner. Then back to the room. Being cold indoors really irritates me, and is the only thing about Shanghai that I seriously detest. Honestly. This weather alone makes me seriously consider if I can take another winter in Shanghai.
I will be glad when summer comes. Quickly I hope. Quickly.
With that said, I am earnestly awaiting the arrival of summer. Last year, it did not snow in Shanghai. Actually, it does not snow most winters here. And considering that the government has decided that we are in the "warm" part of China where indoor heat is not required, it is a good thing that it is usually not cold enough to snow. Of course, the snow is caused by a warm front meeting a cold front, but that cold front is serious. It is COLD.I think the warm front is so high up, we can't feel the difference.
My heaters are simply not powerful enough to keep the rooms warm. My kitchen is so cold that things in the cupboard are freezing. I went to put some honey in my tea, and the honey was frozen solid. I can see my breath when I am cooking, and have taken to cooking the fastest meals possible. Lots of stir-fry noodles for me in the past two weeks. The living room/dining room is too open for the heater to work well, I have it on 30 (degrees Celsius) and the room hovers at around 16. And so, my bedroom has become my refuge. I come home, go in there and turn on the heaters (the wall unit and a space heater). Then I take off my coat and boots and head to the kitchen to whip up a fast dinner. Then back to the room. Being cold indoors really irritates me, and is the only thing about Shanghai that I seriously detest. Honestly. This weather alone makes me seriously consider if I can take another winter in Shanghai.
I will be glad when summer comes. Quickly I hope. Quickly.
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