We live in a cold place

So I appreciate the few of you that guessed about the Jacket. To clarify, I was asking for you to guess the look of the jacket as well as the two words printed on the sleeve but the confusion was my fault. Nonetheless, no one guessed either the jacket or the words, although there were a few good guesses. Amy’s guess can be seen here. What the jacket really looks like, it in action and another photo just in case you cannot read the letters in the first pictures. Here

I am lucky that we got the jacket when we did because it has turned cold. The weather forecast even included the word “Frigid”. Jason listed off the temperatures in one of his recent posts but to summarize: highs of 10F and lows of -4F with gusts of wind and very light snow showers. The coolest thing about this, pun intended, is that the university has recognized that it is winter and that the temperature will not go above freezing for the next few months. This means only one thing, or at least only one enjoyable one, ICE SKATING!

The grounds workers started to flood the field near our house at the beginning of this week. It is cold enough that they do not even need to erect barriers around the edges to keep water from running of because it freezes too quickly after leaving the hose. So to recap; they are making an ice rink… on a field… with a hose. What could be better than that?

The cold of course has downsides also. The main one being that it is sometimes painful to be outside. Slight breezes are brutal and exposed skin is dangerous. For weeks my teachers have been telling me very politely that I need to wear more clothes and until now I did not listen. Also, this is just the beginning. This week is the first full week of subzero temperatures we have another five or six to go and I am sure that the ones in the middle will be worse. I have decided that two things will keep me warm. The first is several layers and the second is cheap booze. So cheers to winter!

The other day I went for a walk in the forest park to take pictures at sunset it was dreadfully cold and I left at four and missed the sunset but caught dusk. I went again a few days later and took some photos. You can see them here. Also the first photo was taken last week out of our window.

I started private Chinese lessons on Tuesday and they are great. My teacher is a Vietnamese man that has been in China for a number of years. He is at this university studying Wood and Materials Science. He is here with his wife and one year old child. He has been speaking Chinese for several years and, according to Jason, he speaks very well. He lives on the third floor of our building and we will meet in his home to do Chinese lessons every Tuesday and Wednesday. On Fridays I will be helping him with his English.

My first day was mainly just pronunciation and tonal lessons, so not all that exciting, although since it is private he has started at the beginning which I believe is what I need. (I am a bit a frustrated with my Chinese courses at the university, but that is another matter entirely) When we study sometimes Wo Meng Xiang’s wife sits in with us and repeats as I repeat. She is also learning Chinese and has been for about a month now.

One of the exciting perks of the lessons is being around their child. He is just over a year old and is very shy. He is walking, and quite well, but he does not speak yet and is extremely quiet. I would say that vocally he is the exact opposite of Jack Carrica. Over all he is pretty cute and adds to the excitement of Chinese lessons, which after six hours of lessons a little walking distraction is just what I need.

One last note. Tonight we went to a traveling Chinese Opera on campus. The show was full of acrobatics, talented singers, and stunning costumes. It was quite a site to see and different from anything that I have ever seen before. Also, when we first arrived there something that has grown very normal happened. This prompted me to add to my list of things about China.

9) Since arriving I have noticed that many people stare at me. It is obviously not rude to do so in China, or maybe seeing a foreigner is just an exception. It is ridiculously bad. I preface tonight’s event only by saying that it has been a frequent occurrence. So here is how went down. Jason and I are shown to our seats by an usher and we are in a relatively empty row. I think that it was reserved for foreign students, but since the opera was in Chinese not many came. We were waiting for the show to start and I decided to look around the hall since I had not been in it before. I looked in front of me and to my left and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then I looked to my right and caught something out of the corner of my eye.

I turned around and what did I see,
two Chinese girls taking pictures of Jason and me.

There they were with their camera phones, at the same time, in the exact same way. When they noticed that I saw them, in the screens of their phones, they giggled, grinned, and attempted to hide though this was difficult because they were only a couple feet away. It was hilarious. I have decided that from now on whenever they stare I am going to stare back and whenever they take pictures I am going to take pictures. I will update you all on how it plays out.