This is going to take some getting used to

As mother and I rolled into the Zhejiang University of Technology (工業大學 campus) in our chauffeured car full to the brim with my stuff (without fail I always move in with more shit than anyone.. ask anyone I went to Choate/Harvard with) we exchanged half-hearted proclamations of “well this is…nice” and “at least the foreign student dorm has air-conditioning!” Today was an especially soupy 36’C day, and the moment we left the chilled confines of our rather ruddy VW sedan, our clothes were soaked with sweat for what might have been the gajillionth time so far in Hangzhou. The driver boldly offered to carry my body bag of a suitcase (a red L. L. Bean duffel with wheels – the largest they offer – that everybody in China insists on carrying) up the four flights of stairs to my room.

In my room, there are wood parquet floors. The bed frames are wooden, simple, though luxurious compared to the wiry bunk beds that I have since noticed while peering into the local students’ dorm rooms. Desks are standard college-issued, wooden, creaky drawers.

The bathroom is en-suite. The smell of bathroom greets you the moment you enter the room.

My bathroom gives me anxiety.

So much, in fact, that I’m not sure how much I can write about it despite how badly I wish to share the experience.

Ok. Slowly. The room is a decent size, maybe 6x6. There is a raised platform in one corner.. an old squat toilet that has since been renovated and filled, now playing stage to a yellowish Western toilet. In another corner, a “sink.” Which means a square, tiled hole at sink-height with a levered tap above. The shower consists of a showerhead and the bathroom floor. Water goes everywhere. I haven’t showered yet, obviously, but my roommate (who, by the way, is the sweetest thing ever and I can’t believe I’m introducing her in a paragraph about that which I most disdain), just took a shower and now there are puddles and water droplets everywhere. The flies seem to have dissipated, but the eerie smell of sewer water remains. Now only with hair and dirty shower shoe prints all over with floor.

I’ve met a few people already (some cool, many dorky) and visited their rooms… their bathrooms are new! Not smelly! They have real sinks! I’m going to try and see if I can at least do something about the smell in my orientation meeting bright and early tomorrow morning.

I know I must sound like a princess, but those who know me – and my bathroom habits – well know that this is likely going to be the most challenging part of the next six weeks.

The Chinese language pledge is going to be a piece of cake compared to this.


Other things that happened today:
• Haven’t unpacked in hopes of a potential room switch
• Made my bed. I might be the only one here with sheets from home
• Went to Carrefour, a French department store and China’s answer to Target/Walmart. Bought everything I need and more. It all cost me RMB350; unbelievable.
• My roommate’s name is 彩麗 and is the sweetest thing ever. She talks so slowly and is so patient with me.. we went to dinner tonight with her two friends and their CET roommates, one of whom I had befriended (and excursioned to Carrefour with earlier) and was pleased to see how much personality they all had! Our program leader was hilarious today during our brief meeting, saying that the roommates they pick for us tend not to be A students, because the super smart (i.e. boring) ones have never made good roommates. Thank goodness for that. I’m very grateful to have been put with her
• My roommate and her friends are all studying like crazy for their last final tomorrow morning… on Marxism. Make of what you will. I think it’s hilarious.

Love!