November 13, 2005

Cold, colder…

Hello Mom,

Here is the latest update from the IP Resident Director. I have learned that the government ordered all businesses (companies, apartment complex managers, etc...) to turn on the hot water on November 15th.  I am really looking forward to having heat as I have caught either a cold or the flu again.  Anyhow, I now know that the radiators located throughout the house, Beida classrooms, and just about everywhere else are not oil filled but rather hot water radiators.  In one building they are all connected and the hot water circulates through them to provide heating for the rooms, (another kind of central heating).  I am informed that during the middle of the day (unless it is very cold) and in the deep of the night they will be turned off.  I will see . . . I also now know what all of the smoke stacks I see around town are used for.  I always wondered why I never saw anything coming out the tops of them.  On the way to Yang Fan's restaurant to study yesterday, I saw one of the heating plants, and sure enough, it is now surrounded by mountains of coal in preparation for providing hot water for the winter. 

I still need to do a lot of homework, and I already don't have enough time to finish it all, so my next email update is on the backburner for the moment.  I might add a little from this email to you (I will elaborate on it more) as well as put in some anecdotes. 

OK. I have to go, tell everyone I said "Hi."

Love ya,

Darrol

P.S.  Received a postcard from Uintah yesterday. 

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From Sherry:

I chatted with Darrol online this morning (it was 8am for me and midnite for him).  He was brushing his teeth to go to bed, and I just finished brushing mine to start the day… He’s doing well, though he has a cold again.  He’s been studying at Yang Fan’s restaurant after school.  They give him a large table in the back, bring him free tea, the restaurant is heated, and Yang Fan helps him with his pronunciations and corrects his homework.  What a deal, eh?  He loves his new 100% wool quilt and layered wool clothes, though he would love to have the heat turned on. 

Somewhere I have given out the wrong zipcode for Darrol.  It is 100085 (with 3 zeroes, not 2).  So please correct it, if you have it wrong.  He’d love to receive letters (80 cents US) and postcards (70 cents US).  

Here is his address:

Darrol Butler

Beijing Shi Hai Dian Qu Shang Di Nan Lu

14 Hao Yuan 203 Shi 100085

              CHINA

If you have turned on Chinese in your control panel, under regional languages, you will see the following (Darrol's address and Darrol's name in Chinese, if these aren't turned on, it will just look like gobbledy gook...)

Darrol's address:  (I haven't tested this yet, but I'm going to print it out and try it on a postcard, see if it makes it...) 

Darrol Butler

北京市海淀区上地南路14号院203室

100085 北京中国 Beijing, China
 

And from Darrol, his name:

My Chinese name:
 

戴龙

Dai   Long 

My Chinese name is Dai Long  戴龙

戴 (Dai) is a Chinese surname and has no meaning. 龙 (Long) is a Chinese given name that means dragon. 

Enjoy, Sherry

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November 12, 2005
From the IP Resident Director: 

CSU-IP Gang:
   The Beijing weather bureau has posted the weather information for the
coming week (of Thanksgiving): It will be cold and colder. (It won't get any
warmer until next spring.)
    The evening/night temperature will dip to below freezing point by this
coming Tuesday. The air is very dry, humidity is less than 17%.
    Therefore, the early mornings will be cold and dry as you come to school.
Please keep warm in the mornings and keep your skin from getting too dry. Dry
skin leads to many problems once you start scratching as dry skin becomes
irritably annoying.
    The coldest days are not here yet. Wait until late December. It may last
until March... I am told that as the temperature dips further down below zero
(freezing point) during daytime, the WeiMing Lake on campus will be frozen and
people will ice-skate there.  Are you ready with a pair of skates?
    So, it may not be as bad as in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or upstate New York.
Definitely it will not be like our sunshine California.
    Nonetheless, eeeeenjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Marlon