The heat is usually turned off by the government around March 15th. As I (Karen) sat in our little couch next to the radiator, I heard the water draining out and I thought to myself, "Yeah, this must mean warmer weather is on it's way." We had no heat for two days and did just fine, but then I heard the water trickling back into the pipes and I touched the pipes, I felt warmth again. This is life in China, unpredictable:) One day heat, the next day... none. One day internet... the next day... none. Sometimes there are days when we have no water (but this has only been for a short time), as well as no hot water for showers (usually due to not have our little water heater plugged in properly). Life here is unpredictable and has taught us a new level of patience. We rarely panic anymore when we "surge" out our apartment due to overwhelming it's electrical limit and we have found that whatever the problem is, it usually gets resolved and we are soon back to having a flushing toilet and heat.
Speaking of "unpredictability" we had rain last night. This is probably only the second or third time we have seen it rain since we moved here ten months ago. I was thrilled because the rain was refreshing and I knew it would help give "new life" to the dry, dusty ground around us. And then.... we woke up to something even more beautiful this morning.... SNOW! Snow is pretty uncommon for Beijing, as well, and since we have been here, we have only seen it two other times. The locals living within our campus were delighted with the snow this morning. Many people were out capturing photos of the fresh white blanket that was covering RUC, little children were shoveling the snow and throwing snowballs, and the older folks were out for a walk observing the beauty around them.
Yes, I do ache for the warmer weather to grace Beijing, but the rain and snow will help bring new life to this dry city and it was a pleasure to see the extra joy it brought to our community.
