Leah got a mite chilly in gym class on the first day back at school this week. She forgot that the weather had turned colder here since her 3-week break and had packed shorts with her gym gear. The next day she came home and reported that her teachers were wearing their winter coats in class and that she'd taken all her notes in English class that day wearing mittens. At the end of the week she told about a substitute teacher who couldn't make the assigned DVD work, so she decided to have students lie on the floor, relax and practice Indian meditation instead. Leah thought this was quite ridiculous on several counts, but mostly because it was impossible to relax while lying on what felt like a slab of ice.
The classroom where I was subbing this week was on the building's 4th floor, far away from the wide open (why?) front doors. I managed to stay fairly comfortable dressed in several layers, without my coat. It also helped that the room was fairly small and that I had a succession of wiggly middle-schoolers all day long generating heat. One day after I'd finished monitoring duty in the nippy 1st floor lunchroom, I must have looked a little chilled because the teacher who'd gotten on the elevator with me handed me his tea thermos and said, "Here, it looks like you need this more than I do!" and let me hold it to warm my hands during the ride up. The biggest challenge was staying dry during my 20-minute ride in the drizzle a couple mornings this week. This fall I bought a nifty bright yellow rain poncho that's made for biking. It's cut long in the front and has a little clothespin at the lowest point that I can clip on the front of the basket, so my hands and even my bag in the basket can stay mostly dry. The hood doesn't stay up very well, though, and my feet and legs get a little wet.
It's great to come home to our apartment, where our main room stays warm with the help of a portable heater. The office, bedrooms and bathrooms are chilly, but if we need to, we can always move the heater back into these areas. My computer sits on a polished stone-like surface in the office, which radiates a chill--not conducive to sitting down to write. This morning there's some feeble sunshine emerging from the light gray haze of clouds and we've opened wide all the drapes to coax in a little warmth from it.
After reflecting on the "winter" weather this week, I decided to check on the actual temps in neighboring Hong Kong the last few days: highs close to 60 and lows about 50. REALLY?? Either we're turning into real wimps or it's colder here than it is in Hong Kong.
We are very spoiled with central heating in the U.S. We take for granted that we can turn up the heat to whatever temperature makes us comfortable in our homes, offices and schools. Not so in China. Terry tells about elderly people in parts of northern China staying in bed all day long for months at a time during the winter so that they can stay warm; they sleep on a raised stone platform which is heated by burning cornstalks. No wonder Spring Festival is such a big deal here!
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