The first day, I couldn't get the air conditioning to work because I didn't realize that the AC is driven by a remote control. I thought it was the TV remote. People in China do not waste power. It's really bad form to do so. They turn off lights when not in use, and they never leave the AC on when they are not home. If I leave for the University in the morning without turning the AC down or Off, someone comes to my room and shuts it off.
I have a small TV. All programs are in Chinese except for two channels. All television programming is controlled by the Chinese government group China TV. The programming is heavily monitored. I occasionally watch the Chinese news, delivered in English. In the past three weeks, I may have watched a total of 45 minutes of TV. I haven't read a single line of the book I brought. There is no time for reading or TV.
Electrical power here is 220 not 110. I finally have an adapter so I can charge my camera battery and activate my hair dryer. The hair dryer only works for a minute or two and then it shuts off. If I wait a few minutes, the hair dryer starts again.
I have a tiny refrigerator, but it isn't very cold so I can only buy food for a single day. The beds are very hard by American standards, even for someone who likes a hard bed. It works fine for me, but others have purchased air mattresses. My room is a corner room, so I have two large banks of windows looking out on the street. During the daytime, the room is bright and sunny. Other rooms have no windows and a sitting room, or other combinations of amenities. The lighting is very poor in the evening, so it is difficult to do my school work. Sometimes I use my flashlight.
A case of bottled water is delivered to my room every week. Water is not refrigerated here. Chinese people don't understand Americans' insistence on cold water, iced drinks, or cold beer. Most of us don't care and just drink warm water. We do have one fellow-traveler who insists on bringing up the cold water issue every day, and another traveler who makes a daily fuss over warm beer. These repetitive complaints are growing old. The only thing I find more annoying is the two teachers who are sitting on either side of me at the computer stations. They have been talking to me non-stop for 20 minutes as a try to write to you.
I have a small TV. All programs are in Chinese except for two channels. All television programming is controlled by the Chinese government group China TV. The programming is heavily monitored. I occasionally watch the Chinese news, delivered in English. In the past three weeks, I may have watched a total of 45 minutes of TV. I haven't read a single line of the book I brought. There is no time for reading or TV.
Electrical power here is 220 not 110. I finally have an adapter so I can charge my camera battery and activate my hair dryer. The hair dryer only works for a minute or two and then it shuts off. If I wait a few minutes, the hair dryer starts again.
I have a tiny refrigerator, but it isn't very cold so I can only buy food for a single day. The beds are very hard by American standards, even for someone who likes a hard bed. It works fine for me, but others have purchased air mattresses. My room is a corner room, so I have two large banks of windows looking out on the street. During the daytime, the room is bright and sunny. Other rooms have no windows and a sitting room, or other combinations of amenities. The lighting is very poor in the evening, so it is difficult to do my school work. Sometimes I use my flashlight.
A case of bottled water is delivered to my room every week. Water is not refrigerated here. Chinese people don't understand Americans' insistence on cold water, iced drinks, or cold beer. Most of us don't care and just drink warm water. We do have one fellow-traveler who insists on bringing up the cold water issue every day, and another traveler who makes a daily fuss over warm beer. These repetitive complaints are growing old. The only thing I find more annoying is the two teachers who are sitting on either side of me at the computer stations. They have been talking to me non-stop for 20 minutes as a try to write to you.
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