The weather is starting to change and we notice our apartment is quite chilly most of the time. We understand that we cannot expect to have heat in our apartment building until around the 15th of November. For now we just bundle up when we need to, use a small space heater and go on with our lives. It has been mostly sunny during the day, but at night it gets cold. Our classrooms are not heated, but they haven't been that bad. In fact, we think they are quite comfortable, but our students are all wearing their coats. Stan was the only person in his class that wasn't wearing a coat this week.
We are starting to learn the names and personalities of our students. We learn so much about them and about China in our "on-the-side" conversations before class, during the break, after class and during "English Corner." (These are student-led group discussions usually held evenings during the week or on weekends). We were invited to one on Friday night and spent the entire evening asking students questions about their experience as Freshmen. They have the same thoughts and concerns as US students. Their circumstances are quite different, however. (dorms, eating arrangements, dating, activities, etc.) Students in China are generally required to live in the dorms their entire university experience. They have the same roommates all 4 years and are often in the same classes all 4 years. We wondered how they could stand each other all that time. They don't see it as a problem. "We just work out our differences." It was also interesting to learn that their curfew is 11 p.m. ALWAYS, even weekends!! They have to check in when then enter the dorm.
Most of the students in our classes are girls. One thing that has been mentioned often is the lack of boys on campus. In China, there are 30 million more boys than girls, but on our campus it just isn't so. Most parents would prefer that the girls not have boyfriends while they are at school, but that traditional thought has been changing. Still, marriage while in college is quite rare.
Our big adventure this week was finding the WALMART! Another BYU couple lives nearby so they were familiar with the area. Walmart is similar to stores in the states and several products were labeled in English. Nancy even had a sales clerk approach her and talk to her in English!! During the same trip we were taken to a "western" store, 'Ole! There were products that often are not in other stores...for a very steep price. For example: a very large mix master was 9000 yuan (about $1500 US).
Saturday evening some of the BYU teachers plus Lily (our young adult Chinese friend) came to our apartment. Many had never been here and they wanted to see our interesting RV shower/bathroom combo. (Nancy recently learned that a BYU couple in Shanghai has only a hotplate, microwave and refrigerator for their kitchen....and the only running water is in the bathroom!!) She decided that her kitchen double sink with hot water makes up for any other apartment issues!
Anyway, after the 60-second apartment "tour", we all went to a cafeteria type eating place near us - famous for Jingren Pie (like an enclosed pita bread with various fillings). Then we watched a DVD with excerpts from a Chinese opera that was in Jinan. Several BYU teachers attended last week because they were given free tickets, a DVD of the performance and interviewed on TV. The opera hopes to go on an international tour in the future and was looking for some publicity with foreigners. (We were tutoring that night so we missed out on the music and beautiful costumes.) Following the DVD we played a dice game. (Zilch or Farkle) Lily had never played it before, but she was "gambling" her points away along with all of us by the end of the evening!
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