Guangdong Winter

Ahhhh! It's freezing here! Ok, not freezing per se, but it is cold. No I am not in Beijing, in Harbin, or even in the North! I am in the South, but it's still so cold. I did last through Chicago and Madison winters though, but the drop from warm to cold was so sudden here (it happened in ONE DAY) that I haven't gotten used to the cold. The only piece of warm clothing I actually brought from the US with me is my NorthFace fleece, and that isn't doing it's job! I spend a ton of time outside, walking or riding a motorcycle everywhere, so that is a negative. The worst part is that homes AND buildings here do not have heat. No heat? YES!

You would think that an area which is warm most of the year would still be prepared and hate the cold. Well they are NOT prepared. Where I work there is no heating whatsoever. I remember when I first came to China and people always wore their jackets in the office and I thought it was so weird. A jacket is made for the outside right? No, I guess not. Everyone here wears a winter jacket inside because there is no heat and even worse, some windows are open. Why the hell would you open windows when it is so cold outside? "To let in the fresh air". What FRESH air? There are factories all around here, everything is polluted. Anyway, the temperature here is 37 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not even too sure why it's affecting me so much. Maybe because for the last eight months it has been warm at least and now suddenly it's chilly... And everyone tells me to buy a warm jacket and warm clothes and boots. I don't feel like wasting money on ugly stuff that I will only wear for about 10 more days... which is supposedly how long this will last.

--- 4 days later

It's not cold anymore, really. The temperature is now 76 degrees. What in the world? Well a few days ago I heard somewhere that a cold front hit southern China, which is why I was freezing, I'm sure. Now I can walk outside with a long sleeve shirt on and I'm fine! Much better. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. This Christmas I am going to Hong Kong and will go to Disneyland on Christmas day with Monika. I have been to busy to buy gifts or anything like that, so I still have to go shopping for my friends. It doesn't feel like Christmas time to be honest. Everything that I associate with Christmas is lacking in China. No decorations, no snow, no family, no Church things, no freezing weather, no Christmas lists, no NOTHING :( Christmas in China sucks compared to Christmas time with my family in the US. At least for Easter I'll be in Poland or in the US with my family... phew. I told Monika I was going to go to Midnight Mass in Hong Kong and I think she said she'd go with me. This will be my first Midnight Mass (as far as I remember) in English instead of Polish... who knows, it might even be in Cantonese which would be pretty cool. It doesn't even feel like my birthday is coming up because it always gets overshadowed by Christmas and NOW it's overshadowed by Christmas partially AND the fact that it doesn't feel like the winter season. I've almost been in China for a year... wow. I can't really believe it! Soon I'll have to write a blog post reminiscing and remembering this whole year... sad. A lot has changed in a year.