After an extended visit in the States, it always feels like we’re starting over when we come back to China. It especially felt that way when we walked into our apartment at 2:00AM, only to find that the electricity had been turned off. Our freezer was full of spoiled food:
The next day, we found out that the power company had shut off the electricity due to a negative balance of less than 10 cents.
I’m also starting over with a new class of students this semester:
For the first time, I’m teaching at the new campus of our school. Like many universities in China, our school is building a second campus outside of the city to accommodate its growing student body (we have doubled in size over the past five years, now with 20,000 students):
The pink buildings in the illustration above are now complete and in use while the others are under construction:
While the main campus is only a 10 minute walk from our apartment, this new campus is a one-hour very bumpy bus ride away. Fortunately, all of my classes have been grouped onto a single day (Tuesday), so I only have to make the trip once a week.
Many things change when you’ve been gone from China for almost 3 months. Road construction can be a burden, but when it provides access to your apartment, it is a welcomed improvement. For the past two years, our front road looked like this:
When we returned a week ago, it looked like this:
And today it is paved with painting and tree planting underway:
While this might seem trivial to some, it means that we will soon be able to walk to the main bus stop without cutting through the garbage dump!
Wow – those are some big changes!
Sorry to hear about the electricity – was that 10 cents paired with a $200 reconnection fee?
Can’t believe they’d cut it off for such a measly difference. So happy for the wonderful new paved road—looks like they did a great job with it! You’re right in all the quick changes since you were there. I’m glad that you can group your classes that way, too, which I’m sure will help both of you.