12/03/05

China Update #5 by Darrol Butler

Dear Family, Friends, Fellow Students, and Professors:

Firstly, I want to show my appreciation for some more kind people who have donated funds to help me with my studies at Beijing University.  These people are:   MJ Caywood, Reene Fiack, Leah Mahan and Nancy Nelson.  Thank you very much, your kindness and generosity is helping me to realize a dream I never thought possible.

Hello everyone.  I am sorry to keep you all waiting so long for this update.   I have decided that from here on out, instead of sending long winded mini-novels, I am going to post short email updates that will hopefully be more enjoyable to read, while also making it easier for me to get my email updates out in a timely manner.   I am also reducing the file size of the pictures I send out so that they are easier on email systems, and they will come as separate attachments.  Hopefully this will make it easier for more people to look at the pictures I send out.  For those people who still want large sized pictures they can be obtained by sending me an email request to the email address listed near the end of this update.   Additionally, for more photos and a collection of all the updates, as well as links, you can visit my two web addresses at: http://myweb.csuchico.edu/~dbutler1/ and http://spaces.msn.com/members/darrolchina/ 

November 13, 2005 :  Cold, colder

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 my apartment, the Beijing University classrooms, and just about everywhere else in town, are not oil filled but rather hot water radiators.  In each 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 and in the middle of the night, unless it is very cold, they will be turned off.  I will see . . . I also now know what all of the smokestacks I see around town are used for.  I always wondered why I never saw anything coming out the tops of them.  Yesterday while I was taking the light rail to study at my friend's restaurant I had a good opportunity to see 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 have also noticed of recently that all of the hedges and other landscaping around town are being covered up with heavy cloth to protect them from the frigid winter weather.   Though it will be cold for me, the temperature will not be nearly as low as in northern China , or in the northern U.S.  The lowest temperature that Beijing experiences in a year will be around ¨C4 degrees Fahrenheit. 

November 25:   Changing seasons

Hello everyone.  I am missing the change of the seasons in Chico, Concow and the rest of northern California.  I especially miss fall with the changing of leaves from greens to yellows, golds, oranges, and fiery reds.  Of course, in the spring and early summer I will be missing the beautiful wildflowers as well.  Beijing is far enough to the north that it also has four distinct seasons, however, living in a city of 16 million+ people in a developing country means that a majority of the natural indicators of the seasonal changes (except for the weather) have been paved over (or are in the process of being paved over). 

Anyway, I did manage to go out with my friends a few weeks back to visit Xiang Shan, one of the many large parks in Beijing, to experience the beautiful fall leaves.  Xiang Shan is situated in the Western Hills in the northwest of Beijing and along with the Summer Palace and many other locations, was another one of the retreats for emperors.  While I have been to Xiang Shan a total of three times now, this time was definitely the most spectacular.   In Beijing Xiang Shan is famous for its displays of fall colors, so during this season it attracts a huge number of visitors.  Though my roommates and even one of my teachers advised against going because of the immense amount of visitors, my friends and I decided to go anyway.   Sure enough the crowds were large, with all of the streets, alleys, paths, and any other available open spaces, being packed full of people.  This is one of the reasons I came to China, so I expected no different, and it was quite interesting to witness. Anyway, the trip ended up being quite an exciting, if not exhausting day out.      

Until the next email update, take care, and thanks for reading,

Darrol Butler

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.

I love to receive mail, as I never get tired of mailbox surprises.  :O)
My address in China is:

Darrol Butler

Beijing Shi Hai Dian Qu Shang Di Nan Lu

14 Hao Yuan 203 Shi 100085 (with three zeros)

                   China

hairyleprechaun@gmail.com

One of the smokestacks at the many heating plants that dot Beijing	A pile of coal in the bicycle shed at my apartment.  The coal is used to heat the small concrete guard station and living quarters for the guards at the gate to my apartment complex	Workers are covering hedges and other landscaping to protect them from the winter weather
The streets are packed as my friends and I try to make our way into Xiang Shan Park to see the fall colors	There are people everywhere.  This shot is of one of the overgrown dirt paths, however because of the sheer number of visitors, every available route is being used	Fall color with friends in Beijing.