Let it Snow... Let it Snow... Let it Snow!

Snow collecting on my neighbor's house

  This morning I woke to find large white flakes falling from the sky.  It was snowing!  It was the first snow of the school year and it was coming down in spades.  I watched out my window as large snowflakes wafted through the air like downy feathers falling from the sky.  Then I turned from the window and turned back in my bad to go back to sleep.  Or at least that’s what I wanted to do.  Being that it was Sunday this morning I knew I had a morning meeting to get ready for and a luncheon to prepare.  It would have been easy enough in my warm bed to just to skip all that, however, I just happened to be the one hosting the luncheon.

As I lay in my bed watching the snow out my window I remembered that I have no food for lunch.  I thought to myself that I must go and buy food.  However, to buy food I would need money.  Yet I have no money.  Then I must go to the bank to get money.  This was the relatively simple thought process that went through my brain as I pulled the covers up over my head.  The nagging reality still lingered in the back of my mind that it was cold outside and my bed is so warm this morning.  I believe that at this moment I was suffering from what us professionals call, "winter’s procrastination."

But, I did finally drag my sorry carcase out of bed and proceeded to layer myself with nearly five layers of clothes.  I had on my thermals, a shirt, water proof pants, a hoodie, two pairs of socks, a winter coat, gloves, hiking shoes, and a hat.  Yes, I was prepared to go outside. 

The walk to the bank isn’t that far.  It takes about twenty-five minutes at a casual pace.  I listened to a podcast as I made my way down the snow covered streets.  A lot of people were out this morning making their ways to the stores before the snow would get any deeper.  I would have preferred to bike to the bank, however, I’m still without a bike so walking was the only way to go.  It ended up being better as it started getting really slick after a while and walking was much safer than biking.

I made a withdrawal from the bank and thankfully the grocery store is actually on the way back home.  I stopped in and did my shopping for the day’s luncheon.  The food prices have been really great recently.  Two tomatoes only cost about 1.5元 ($0.24), a loaf of bread is 3.5元 ($0.50), and a pound of ham is only 10.0元 ($1.60).  That might seem unbelievably cheap but all things are relative.  Food may not cost the same in China as it does in the United States but people also don’t make as much money.  When I first came to China in May for a visit I realized that I viewed everything through the eyes of an American.  The idea of paying $28 for a winter coat was too good to be true.  However, now that I’m living on a Chinese salary I realize that fiscal responsibility is a require survival skill.  I’m just not making what I used to make.

That’s not to say that sometimes you can’t spend a little extra for special occasions.  Today wasn’t anything like a special holiday but it was still special.  It was the first day of snow!  So I decided that it would be fun to get together with the other American Langfang teachers, huddle under some warm blankets, eat some American style food, and watch some good television.  Jaime brought with her seasons 1 and 2 of Modern Family and we ended up watching three episodes after lunch.  It was hilarious!

For lunch we had American style BLTs and steak flavored crinkle cut potato chips!  I couldn’t get any bacon so we substituted ham slices instead.  Jaime brought up her spices and we added a few more things to the traditional BLT mix.  The end result was: toasted sweet bread, mayonnaise, basil, Italian seasoning, black pepper, cucumber slices, red onion, tomato, ham, and lettuce all put together to form a nice sandwich.  It was delicious!  

Our Luncheon Feast

 I’m also thankful that this morning the government finally turned on our heat.  I put my hands on one of the radiator pipes by accident and to my surprise it was actually warm.  The radiators are nice and toasty now, however, my concrete apartment still feels like an ice box.  I’ve been living in thermal undergarments for the better part of the last three weeks.  Maybe... just maybe... it will get warm enough in my home that I’ll be able to remove my winter coat.  But I shouldn’t complain.  I propped my feet up on the warm radiator, grabbed a nice book, and simply listened to the rain falling outside.  Yes, the snow has given way to rain.  By the afternoon the snow finally stopped and the rain started.  It’s washed away most of the snow by now.  Oh, well...  It was fun while it lasted.

"It's Snowing!"