Firecracker barrage at construction site [First published August 30, 2014] For many teachers, I suspect most young teachers, the major drawback of living on campus is that the campus is often on the outskirts of the city. Here in Zibo, for example. bus service from the school to the city stops around 6:00 pm. If you go downtown for dinner or to visit friends, you're looking at a fifteen to twenty minute taxi ride home.
So I think that's the main drawback to moving to the campus -- we're farther away from all the things we enjoy in the city. Just as we are really getting into the swing of exploring the city by bike, we'll be moving too far away to continue doing so. At least, it will take a long bike ride to get to the city and back again. We'll see what other drawbacks only become apparent after we move.
Advantages are many. My commute (by foot and bus) is currently 40 minutes. If we move on campus, it won't take ten minutes to get from apartment to classroom. This will be especially pleasant come wintertime. We will get a better shower, instead of the weak gravity-fed trickle shower. I think we're getting running cold AND hot water. The fixtures, fittings and furniture are all better. Goodbye to the tiny toy kitchen, goodbye to the evil sofa. The campus will supply all the furniture we need -- bookshelves, desks, bed, sofa, television, washing machine. We'll be able to sit in a sofa or armchair and watch TV and read a book. Instead of three flights of stairs, there's only one -- easier on Ross's knees.
So I think that's the main drawback to moving to the campus -- we're farther away from all the things we enjoy in the city. Just as we are really getting into the swing of exploring the city by bike, we'll be moving too far away to continue doing so. At least, it will take a long bike ride to get to the city and back again. We'll see what other drawbacks only become apparent after we move.
Advantages are many. My commute (by foot and bus) is currently 40 minutes. If we move on campus, it won't take ten minutes to get from apartment to classroom. This will be especially pleasant come wintertime. We will get a better shower, instead of the weak gravity-fed trickle shower. I think we're getting running cold AND hot water. The fixtures, fittings and furniture are all better. Goodbye to the tiny toy kitchen, goodbye to the evil sofa. The campus will supply all the furniture we need -- bookshelves, desks, bed, sofa, television, washing machine. We'll be able to sit in a sofa or armchair and watch TV and read a book. Instead of three flights of stairs, there's only one -- easier on Ross's knees.
Air conditioning repair I think Ross will be taking Chinese lessons on campus so he'll have an easy commute to his classes. We'll be living on the same floor with a few other foreign teachers, who are starting to arrive in Zibo for the new semester. (At present I am the only foreign teacher on campus. The other three foreign teachers all left at the end of the semester, leaving me, as I laughingly pointed out, the SENIOR foreign teacher on campus with less than a semester here.)
There are lots of small shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants around the campus. They rely on the students for their income and they actually close down when the students are on holiday. There are street vendors selling meals, snacks and fruits and vegetables. The campus itself is large and covered with trees and is a lovely place to be in the evening.
We're going to have air conditioning, or so we've been promised. Whether we'll have heat in the wintertime is another question. I already know that the classrooms are so cold that people wear their coats to class in winter, and this is a fairly common thing in China's schools.
One other thing, I think we'll have fewer firecrackers. The large construction site next to our apartment complex has about ten high-rises under construction. On a regular basis they tie a large bunch of firecrackers to some cables and an overhead crane pulls the firecrackers into the air. They may be celebrating completing a floor of the high-rise or 10 accident-free days or whatever. I know it has to do with scaring away evil spirits. But it echoes through the neighborhood and even sets off car alarms. Charming and culturally colorful and all that but not always appreciated when it happens before 7:00 in the morning! I got a picture of a firecracker barrage today and I'm sorry I didn't have the camera with me so I could get video so you could hear the sound. Maybe I'll get lucky and catch it when it happens again.
There are lots of small shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants around the campus. They rely on the students for their income and they actually close down when the students are on holiday. There are street vendors selling meals, snacks and fruits and vegetables. The campus itself is large and covered with trees and is a lovely place to be in the evening.
We're going to have air conditioning, or so we've been promised. Whether we'll have heat in the wintertime is another question. I already know that the classrooms are so cold that people wear their coats to class in winter, and this is a fairly common thing in China's schools.
One other thing, I think we'll have fewer firecrackers. The large construction site next to our apartment complex has about ten high-rises under construction. On a regular basis they tie a large bunch of firecrackers to some cables and an overhead crane pulls the firecrackers into the air. They may be celebrating completing a floor of the high-rise or 10 accident-free days or whatever. I know it has to do with scaring away evil spirits. But it echoes through the neighborhood and even sets off car alarms. Charming and culturally colorful and all that but not always appreciated when it happens before 7:00 in the morning! I got a picture of a firecracker barrage today and I'm sorry I didn't have the camera with me so I could get video so you could hear the sound. Maybe I'll get lucky and catch it when it happens again.
BUT I am going to miss this neighborhood! I'll miss seeing the familiar sights -- the construction workers arriving for the night shift across the street, the old men playing cards in front of the strip mall, the grandmothers chatting in the garden while watching over their grandbabies, the grandfathers taking their granddaughters to school by bicycles, the working moms and dads streaming home by car, foot, bicycle, scooter and what-have-you, carrying bags of fresh vegetables and big chunks of soft tofu. The man who sells watermelon by the front gate. And the security guards that patrol the apartment complex, they have always been so friendly. I'll miss seeing them every day.
So what with the move and starting classes this week, I think I'll be away from the internet for a few days. There will be a slight hiatus in posting. Happy Labor Day long weekend to you all.
So what with the move and starting classes this week, I think I'll be away from the internet for a few days. There will be a slight hiatus in posting. Happy Labor Day long weekend to you all.
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