Winter Movement(s)

黄晶晶 (Huang Jingjing): "Elie, you are American. Yes?"
阿里 (Ali, me): "Yes."
黄晶晶: "Maybe next term you can teach an American Literature course."
阿里: "That would be fantastic!"

*2 weeks later*

黄晶晶: "Maybe it is better if one of our teachers teaches the American Literature course and you teach English Literature instead."
阿里: "Define 'better'..."

***

The weather has been relatively cold for the past month. I say relatively because the lows do not even compare to Colorado's winter lows, much more to Michigan's. But, I spent last year in a tropical climate. I have softened a little.

Wouldn't last a day in Winterfell...

Also, most buildings south of the Yangtze River do not have central heating. 南京 (Nanjing) is on the Yangtze's banks--the south banks. So although snow falls in the winter, Nanjingers have to rely on space heaters and air-conditioners that also function as heaters--but I think that function better as holes in the wall. Often, my apartment is colder than the air outside. This is due to how much concrete is used in construction.

The water that comes from my taps is so cold that I have to debate whether I genuinely want to cook considering I will inevitably have to wash my hands in frigid water.

I can see my breath when I brush my teeth in my bathroom.

I am ready for vacation for nothing else if not to shed my long underwear. I have worn it everywhere except into the shower for a month.

And I am tired of going through the thirty minute routine of warming my bedroom with a space heater before I can think of going to sleep. Also, I bury two hot-water bladders under the icy blankets.
As cold as I thought I was, I recently sampled what it was like for students to sit idly in the classroom as I joined them in watching a "last-day-of-class-Nightmare-Before-Christmas"--a seasonal favorite about the moral advisability of people keeping their holiday celebrations to themselves. The floor conducts frigid temperatures straight through the soles of shoes. I spent literally fifteen minutes thawing my feet in front of a space heater. This reminded me of the first time I had frostbite: About fifteen-years-ago, my dad put me in front of a lodge fireplace atop Keystone and lovingly scolded me for thinking two-layers of cotton socks under loosely tied snowboard boots would equate to wool socks under snugly-fitted boots. I cried--when I was ten, not when I thawed my feet the other day. I swear. (I'll confess to some crying later in the post.)

Then, a student informed me that university housing has banned the use of space heaters, water boilers, and hair dryers in the dormitories. Apparently the electricity cannot handle all the students using these devices. So, each floor shares one of each appliance. And each dorm receives hot water for a rotating two-hour time frame somewhere between 6 am and 11 pm.

I used deductive reasoning to backtrack another dilemma I believe is caused by the cold:

Cold weather-->students shutting windows-->respecting the sanctity of breathable air-->holding-in gaseous emissions-->a toxic cloud right in front of the guys' dorm

To get to class, I ride my bike through the male dormitory's emerging masses of students. There is about a fifty-foot-long stretch of completely noxious air. (2:53-3:28 and 4:18-4:45)

I should say that the cold has done wonders for my hydration routine. I am diligent about boiling water to always have a hot cup for hand and core warmth. I also enjoy a nightly concoction: two shots of bamboo wine, one teaspoon of honey, and one cup of boiled water.

***

黄晶晶: "I will also teach English Literature. If it is okay with you, I will attend your classes to seek enlightenment."
阿里: "That's okay with me, but I think you will be profoundly disappointed."

The 4th night's Potatokiah is the 5th night's latke...

***

With the turning weather, people start disappearing from the streets to seek warmth indoors; and so with the turning weather, so turn the cogs in my head--now having more isolation and seclusion to do so.

I came to China intending to live here for two-to-three years. At some point last year, I started seeing how I could actually live here for more time. But now I must begin assessing whether I will stay here another year.

On the one hand, I really enjoy my lifestyle. I enjoy my job as a university english teacher, and I am consistently entertained and challenged by my students. I enjoy the process of learning Mandarin while correlating the language with Chinese cultural insights. I enjoy the constant bombardment of new people and networking opportunities. I enjoy how much time I have to read, write, listen to music, and to watch movies and T.V. I enjoy how I can work part-time hours and live a middle-class lifestyle. And of course I enjoy the opportunity to travel.

Given all the benefits of the lifestyle, I would be hard-pressed to even temporarily shut the door on my China-life.

But, I would also be completely lying if I were to say that life in China is a complete joy. Aside from daily annoyances of cultural and linguistic barriers, I am exhausted from always feeling so foreign: no matter how intimate I become with my community, I will always be seen as a 老外 (laowai, "old foreigner"). And I am tired of being so estranged from the life I had been living for 24 years. In the quiet moments between activities, I sense the vast distance (physically and emotionally) between me and my family and friends.

These moments always linger in my China-life. I notice that when I am reading or watching comedies or dramas, I am much more emotionally inclined than I was prior to coming to China to laugh hysterically (to the verge of tears) or to actually well-up.

Not to mention that I have no idea what I would, could, or want to do upon returning to The States.

And so, I begin a two-month vacation with this debate in mind.

***

I saw a whole lot of movies this year. Here are the ones I [still] recommend:

• Wall-E
• The Fall
• Ratatouille
• Rango
• A Night at the Opera
• Max and Mary
• Midnight in Paris
• Drive
• O Brother, Where Art Thou
• Porco Rosso
• Hot Fuzz
• Knuckle
• Moneyball 
• The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

***

Dear Readers,

I will be somewhat M.I.A. for the next two months of paid vacation to celebrate the Chinese New Year. If you wish to contact me, e-mail will be the safest bet--please understand that I will only be checking it sporadically and may not have time to respond for weeks at a time. If it is an emergency, please contact me via e-mail and through my parents.

Here is a rough itinerary of upcoming travels:

December 25-27: Shanghai
December 27-January 1: Beijing to meet one Bryan King
January 1-6: Showing BK the China ropes in Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai
January 6-16: Diving, surfing, whale-watching, and general relaxing with The Onion Clan in Maui
January 17-23: Meeting one Ryan O'Connell and staying on a dive boat in the Andaman Sea
January 23-29: Winding our way up Thailand from Phuket to Chiang Mai
January 30-Febuary 5: Volunteering at an elephant refuge
February 6-10: Miscellaneous adventures in North Thailand
February 10-18: Cambodia

I will be returning to China on the 18th of February, and should resume teaching on the 20th.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year (Grecian and Chinese), Happy Birthday, and happy days!

Shalom=airline pickled vegetables?