Work Work Work!
I'm continually impressed by the Chinese work ethic here, particularly of common laborers. Many of the jobs they do could easily be handled by a machine and one or two other people, but perhaps their methods enable more people to be employed. For instance, often times the grass is cut by hand, blade by blade, and leaves are picked up without a rake, leaf by leaf. And people sweep the streets with brooms with no handles. I'm not just talking about the sidewalk, but about the whole street.
This past weekend it snowed a couple of inches, which made me very excited as I've lived mostly in the South, but it was also the most painful snow I've experienced, as it was blowing into my face at more than 30mph and it hurt really badly to open my eyes. By the time I arrived at the restaurant for dinner, I was completely white, and the restaurant worker wouldn't even let me come into the door without knocking it from my clothes. This restaurant is normally filthy, so for me not to be allowed in, I must have had a lot of snow on me.
One reason I like snow is because, if especially severe, it forces people to slow down and relax a bit, simply because it's impossible to do otherwise. That mentality seemed to last about a day here, as cars actually did seem to drive with some semblance of caution, but that was soon out the window as the common laborers started shoveling and sweeping the snow off of the ROADS! Again, I'm not just referring to the sidewalks. Apparently the concept of salt and gravel to combat snow has not reached China yet, nor has the snow plow, even though it snows here a significant amount. So, lots and lots of people are employed each winter to clear the streets of snow. Oh well, I enjoyed slipping and sliding for a day.
Here's a picture of the snow/ice-covered basketball courts from my dorm room.
And of some students actually playing basketball. I'm told that when it snowed several feet last year, the students simply pushed it aside so that they could continue playing.
And finally, the sad remnants of a snowman, in front of my apartment/hotel building:
This past weekend it snowed a couple of inches, which made me very excited as I've lived mostly in the South, but it was also the most painful snow I've experienced, as it was blowing into my face at more than 30mph and it hurt really badly to open my eyes. By the time I arrived at the restaurant for dinner, I was completely white, and the restaurant worker wouldn't even let me come into the door without knocking it from my clothes. This restaurant is normally filthy, so for me not to be allowed in, I must have had a lot of snow on me.
One reason I like snow is because, if especially severe, it forces people to slow down and relax a bit, simply because it's impossible to do otherwise. That mentality seemed to last about a day here, as cars actually did seem to drive with some semblance of caution, but that was soon out the window as the common laborers started shoveling and sweeping the snow off of the ROADS! Again, I'm not just referring to the sidewalks. Apparently the concept of salt and gravel to combat snow has not reached China yet, nor has the snow plow, even though it snows here a significant amount. So, lots and lots of people are employed each winter to clear the streets of snow. Oh well, I enjoyed slipping and sliding for a day.
Here's a picture of the snow/ice-covered basketball courts from my dorm room.
And of some students actually playing basketball. I'm told that when it snowed several feet last year, the students simply pushed it aside so that they could continue playing.
And finally, the sad remnants of a snowman, in front of my apartment/hotel building:
posted by Mysteries of The Orient at 7:07 PM
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