Heat

Saturday, August 24, 2013

7 am

Hello everyone! Let me start by saying that I made it to Shanghai in one piece. The flight was perfectly uneventful and I am all settled in to the Shanghai Everbright Hotel and Convention Center, which is where AYC is holding orientation. You will by now, of course, have noticed that this entry was certainly not posted on August 24. As it turns out, the VPN I paid for on my laptop does not work.  Blogger appears to be a blocked site in China, so I can’t update from my computer. The free VPN I downloaded on my phone works like a champ, but there is no wifi in the hotel, so I can’t update from the mobile platform.  So until I can get this whole situation sorted, I’m writing in journal fashion. I have not forgotten to post, I promise.

So...anyways...

Have you ever been so hot that you wish you could die? But you’re so hot that dying would take too much effort? That is how hot it is in Shanghai, with 95% humidity. Going outside is like stepping into a steam-injected oven, or a sauna, or a vegetable steamer. The streets seemed strangely empty, and I couldn’t figure out why until I realized everyone was inside with their air conditioning. There was a huge heat wave a few weeks ago, with temperatures in the 100s. I don’t want to imagine.

During the heat wave, the pavement was so hot you could cook meat on it. Another AYC participant told me a story about a woman and a car and a heat wave. In China, pedestrians do not have the right of way, but drivers have to pay damages to any people they hit. Unsurprisingly, this means a whole scam industry has sprung up around pretending to be hit by a motorcycle just for the payout. During the last heat wave, a woman tried to pull just that sort of stunt. However, the pavement was so hot she couldn’t stand lying on the ground to pretend to be in pain! When the police officer came, she said, “Oh no, officer, I was not lying. I was just resting.” Hardy har har har.

Fortunately, there is air conditioning in the hotel. My roommate hasn’t arrived yet, so I snagged the bed right next to the vent. Score. 

The hotel does a really interesting thing with the AC. In order to turn the power on in the room, you have to leave your room key in a specific little slot, and the power only stays on as long as the key is there. So when you leave, you have to bring the key, which turns off the power and saves the hotel money. I think hotels in the US should adopt this idea. Not only does it save the hotel’s energy bills, but also it’s a lot better for the environment. 

Today is a true blue sky day. There has been enough wind that the pollution has dissipated, and all you can see are gigantic, fluffy clouds racing across the skyline. It’s breathtaking. Ameson is taking us on a sightseeing tour of some sort today. I’m looking forward to it. Apparently the building where the first Communist Party meeting was held is in the same district as the hotel. I really want to go see the humble roots of this imposing system.

That’s all for now, folks. Time for breakfast.