No strip poker!‏

Hi,

Just a quick note because it is 7:30am on Saturday and I need breakfast and then I will go to the training school to teach.

The subject above is referring to the fact that students, everyone actually, wear so many clothes. Everyone wears long underwear. I haven't worn that since I was a kid unless I knew I was going to be outside somewhere for a long time. But here people are always cold. I had a text message last night from some students and they are freezing in their dorms. It got to -8C last night I think. I have A/C but it doesn't do a great job. I am thinking about getting a thermometer because I think it may be 15C or less and I have it set at 28C. We are south of the Yangtze. Barely. I can see it if I walk a few miles. So south of the Yangtze you don't need heat. North of the Yangtze they have heat. Beijing for instance. Yesterday, when I went to class, it was -2C. I could see my breath in the classroom. So students all wear long underwear (top and bottom, it's a big seller here), shirt, sweater and winter coat along with their normal underwear. They are continuously telling me that I need to dress warmer. Some of the small children look like Inuit babies. They have so many clothes on that they are rounder than they are tall! So if you are going to play strip poker with them you had better win a lot of hands! So many clothes. I am comfortable when I walk outside, nice scarf, good coat, gloves. But I never feel really warm inside unless I go to some Western restaurants that have heat like Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds. I will really feel warm in a couple of weeks when I can soak up some sunshine.

Don