my new years at lijun's, not even the beginning‏

Hi.

Some background. for those of you who don't know. Lijun (aka Jenny) was an English major. In Canadian age she is 23, Chinese 25. She has graduated. Personally, she acts likes 17. She approached me last year to try to practice her English. I get that often. Even from students who are not my students. I have had many students who just want to talk to me. I don't mind. I have the time. If they are not my students I don't care. But there are the ones who want to learn. I will sit and talk for hours with them. I will ask them questions about their life, if their English is good enough, and I will encourage them to ask about me and Canada. Many times the conversation is limited but they are trying....better than my Chinese I tell them. But last year lijun invited to her home for a weekend. I had no idea what I should do. But I went. We sat for hours talking. Her parents have no English. It was a nice time.

OK. New Years to Lijun's this year. (Her birthday is Dec 31.) I am not sure where to begin. Her and her parents have a nice apartment. He is a carpenter and does nice nice work. I have seldom seen so many cupboards as are in Lijun's bedroom and she has a king size bed. Their home has two big bedrooms, a big living room with a large TV, a bathroom and a small kitchen. Well, bigger than mine! But a toilet not a squat one.

This is what they do and I don't understand. Her family have a nice home. A toilet, a bathtub, a nice kitchen and two huge bedrooms. Her mother's parents live almost next door. They are really nice people; both of them.They live on next to nothing. 3 rooms. I wanted a piss and lijun said here... it was a chamber pot! I thought, which century am I in. I asked her where can we have a bath? Gramppas. Where is it? Outside, next door. We all share that. But her and her parents have all those things! Their nice apartment. But all they do is sleep there in the cold.
OK. I could not live that way for long. We went back to her parents place. I slept in lijun's king size bed while she slept with her mother and father. They have A/C but they never turn it on in winter. Too much money. I went to bed with all of my clothes on and quilts and I felt cold. I guess I didn't have enough sweaters or underwear.

I slept with my suit and suit shirt on shirt on. It was like freezing, maybe0C . They are nuts!

Dom