(Not a) Winter Wonderland

Hechuan is cold in the winter. Not Chicago cold, mind you. It has yet to drop below freezing and there is never any snow. What makes it cold is that south of the Yangtze River most buildings do not have central heating. In small towns like mine, there is no heating at all. That means you run the risk of getting frostbite while writing on the whiteboard in class and all of my students dress as if they're gearing up for the Snowpocalypse.

I am luckier than most because I have a tiny space heater that was stipulated as a requirement in my contract. It is unfortunately only sufficient to heat either my upper or my lower body, never both at the same time.

But I will never take that tiny space heater for granted again. Thursday morning I woke up to find that the power was cut. It came on just long enough to have night class Thursday night, and then went out again until about an hour ago. This is how I have spent the past two days:

Chicago, I promise I will never complain about your winters again.