Baby it's cold outside....

Well, it appears that fall is already over in Wave City and winter has decided to blow on through. I want to say we had about 3 weeks of fall...and it was really wonderful while it lasted. The skies were clear, the air clean and cool, you could wear jeans and long sleeves without having to worry about being too hot or too cold. But, all the while there was this suggestion that something much more wicked would soon be coming. It started one morning while I was in class. You see, Chinese buildings are made completely out of concrete...which means there is no insulation whatsoever...which means, once it gets cold...it stays that way. One day in class I found myself sitting there freezing my buns off, wondering how it could be a comfortable 68 degrees outside, while inside it was closer to the mid-50s. The answer: winter was on the way. As of two days ago, I'm going to announce that it has officially arrived.

We enjoyed our 3 weeks of not using the air conditioners, but now we have ever heater in the house cranking, eating tons of volts every day and causing me to worry about paying for energy over the next few months. The bad thing is, if you turn the air con off, the room immediately gets cold again. Oh, and in our bedroom there's a nice 4 inch gap between the door and the floor which goes outside, meaning we have a nice sort of meat locker feel to the bedroom. This takes some getting used to. Of course, the best answer for dealing with winter in China is layers. We wear lots and lots of layers. Today I had four layers on to go to class. Grace had three on just to play in the living room. There's a popular saying in China around this time of year: Duo Chuan Dianr Yifu- "Wear more clothes." Of course, the little old ladies have been waving their fingers at Jenny for months now telling her to put more clothes on Gracie. Here's another interesting thing...if you live above the Yellow River in China you have central heat and air . The only catch is that, once the heat turns on, it's always on, regardless of what the temperature is outside. So, you could be outside in your shorts in April and still have the heat blasting inside. Below the river...winter is very hard. No heat most places. The classroom has not been a fun place to be this week...somehow the cold just gets into your bones and hovers there. I woke up this morning to rain and knew it was going to be a rough class. But, we battle on...we come up with tricks, we layer, etc. etc. I think we're going to by a portable radiator to put in the bathroom or showering is going to be a miserable affair. We already have a few extra layers on the bed, but the best heat source we've found so far is Gracie. About midnight every night she wakes up crying, demanding to be brought to our room...and Jenny and I are usually too tired to argue. Plus, that kid puts off a lot of heat. It's kind of nice cozying up together as a family on the cold cold winter nights.

Taxi drivers, no survivors....

Usually when the family goes out about the town we choose to either walk or travel by taxi. Buses in our city are incredibly crowded...I mean, you can't even fathom what I mean by crowded. The way people board a bus in this country, you'd think the Beatles were on board or something. It's chaos, pure and simple, lots of pushing and shoving, angling for breathing space- not the place for a baby girl, especially a foreign baby that everyone wants to poke, pinch, touch, cough, and love on. Too many people! So, we normally take the taxi, which affords a more comfortable ride, albeit a much more dangerous one. I am constantly reminded in whose hand my life dwells ever time I step into a taxi in China. American road rules do not apply over here. Drivers are constantly fighting for every inch of the road, whether it's in the bike lane, or into oncoming traffic makes no difference. Navigating a street in China is now easy deal either, considering that from every conceivable direction you have to dodge bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, teenagers, children, dogs, chickens, yaks, old people, buses, private cars, and of course, other taxis. Jenny usually gets carsick when we take a taxi, and we almost always have to yell at our driver repeatedly to slow down and be careful, to which they casually reply "Mei Guanxi" which means, "it doesn't matter" or the equivalent of "no big deal."

Now, I have never (PTL) been in an accident in China. But, if I ever am, that's probably going to be all she wrote, because another unusual custom of automobile travel is the strict taboo regarding seatbelts. You see, if you step into a cab, or into a personal car, and the first thing you do is click your safety belt, you are communicating one clear thing to the driver of the vehicle: You don't trust them. You don't think they are a good driver. Essentially, you're insulting the person that is about to take your life in their hands. Not always the most comfortable situation. Now, rest assured, whenever I ride in the front seat, I click my belt, no matter how much the driver fusses. That is, assuming that there is a belt, and that it is still able to be used. In the backseat, this is impossible, for although there are places to click a belt, the belts are hidden behind a seat cover and impossible to access. Thankfully, in all taxis there is a metal gate between you and the driver. So, if there ever was an accident, and you were in the backseat, the worst thing that could happen would be that you would be thrown up against the gate. If you're in the front seat you and the driver would most likely be sent flying out a window, which is why dear friends, I click it, ever time, no matter how much I get fussed at. I just try to explain that in my country, this is our custom, and leave it at that.

One interesting thing I heard from my grammar teacher related to driving in China, is that in China you don't turn left, you only turn right. I inquired a little further about this, and explained that I regularly see drivers turning left and right. "No," I was corrected, "we only turn right, it's very dangerous to turn left in China. Maybe in other countries you turn left." Now, I don't disagree that it is incredibly dangerous to turn in any direction in China- heck, it's dangerous to get into a car! But, I somehow thing I lost something in translation regarding all this left business. Maybe she meant they drive on the right side of the street. Anyway, words to the wise if you ever come for a visit- wear your seatbelt and don't turn left!