“Every week in Shanghai is a fun new challenge,” I say as I smile through gritted teeth.
Fun fact: central heating isn’t really a thing in Shanghai, a harsh truth that I was told about earlier in the semester, but hadn’t given much thought to. Especially, since the weather has been pretty hot and humid for months, and the idea of using a heating system, in my opinion, would have been grounds for enforced psychiatric observation. That being said, it’s November now. It’s 55 °F outside and 60 °F in my apartment, which isn’t bad, but again, it’s November, and it’s only getting colder from here on out. I’m currently sitting in my apartment, bundled up in blankets, SHIVERING, and contemplating if I should turn on my roommate’s toaster oven to use as a makeshift space heater, to dry out my wet clothes, or at least as a place that I can warm my hands as the cruel winter months progress. I think if I wander around Jing ‘An in Shanghai’s French Concession long enough, I’ll find a business with a space heater that I can loiter that has a space heater, probably one that tries too hard to cater to Westerners. Which in Jing ‘An should not be hard to find at all. Fingers crossed! That is, two slightly-frostbitten fingers crossed. In the mean time, Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, send more blankets. I’m so cold, so very, very cold.
Sincerely,
An Overdramatic Floridian