#8 - California County
My family had moved from LA to Arizona when I was six years old. When we would return to the coast to visit our family my grandmother would always sing us the song, “California here I come, right back where I started from.” Often times I sing that same song to myself as I return to my apartment in China. Our complex is called California Water County (a new version of this song was conveniently stuck in my mind as we devoured the entire series of the OC last year).
We love the California County. There are many reasons why California comes in at #8 in the Top Ten Things I Am Thankful For As A Foreigner Living In Beijing. We have a real bathtub. Our elevator. Rent is cheap! Our water doesn’t stink (of course it is still not potable, but at least I don’t gag when I wash my face). These things are all great, and I don’t mean to understate any of them, but the truth is that they all pale in comparison to the real reason why California is on the list.
You see, in China people don’t have the same control of their own lives that we have in America. To find stark evidence of this truth one need not look any further than heating and cooling. Most, in fact almost all, Chinese people cannot control the heat in their home. On November 15th the heat turns on, and on March 15th the heat turns off. They cannot control when, and they cannot control how much. Some apartments are stifling. In others, the residents will only take off their coats when it is time for bed. In California we control our own heat!!!!!!!!!
The winter temperature in Beijing in similar to Columbus, Ohio. There are 2 main differences, however. The first difference is that it is very dry in Beijing. Last winter we went 108 days with 0 precipitation - great for us bike commuters, awful for air quality. The second difference is that in Ohio you can escape the cold. In Beijing trying to escape the cold can be like going to the beach and trying to avoid getting sandy. In California we have a radiator system which is controlled by us at the push of a button. In California we also have a heating unit on the wall in every room, which can be used for reinforcement if the radiator is not cutting it (these same units are AC units in the summertime). As I type these words the extra large unit in our living room is blowing blow dryer warm air on my thankful body. Our electric bill is probably higher than any other apartment in California, but our family motto is that there are some things you just can’t put a price tag on.
Notice two different spelling mistakes in the same word on 1 manhole cover. There are literally hundreds of these in our complex.
We love the California County. There are many reasons why California comes in at #8 in the Top Ten Things I Am Thankful For As A Foreigner Living In Beijing. We have a real bathtub. Our elevator. Rent is cheap! Our water doesn’t stink (of course it is still not potable, but at least I don’t gag when I wash my face). These things are all great, and I don’t mean to understate any of them, but the truth is that they all pale in comparison to the real reason why California is on the list.
You see, in China people don’t have the same control of their own lives that we have in America. To find stark evidence of this truth one need not look any further than heating and cooling. Most, in fact almost all, Chinese people cannot control the heat in their home. On November 15th the heat turns on, and on March 15th the heat turns off. They cannot control when, and they cannot control how much. Some apartments are stifling. In others, the residents will only take off their coats when it is time for bed. In California we control our own heat!!!!!!!!!
The winter temperature in Beijing in similar to Columbus, Ohio. There are 2 main differences, however. The first difference is that it is very dry in Beijing. Last winter we went 108 days with 0 precipitation - great for us bike commuters, awful for air quality. The second difference is that in Ohio you can escape the cold. In Beijing trying to escape the cold can be like going to the beach and trying to avoid getting sandy. In California we have a radiator system which is controlled by us at the push of a button. In California we also have a heating unit on the wall in every room, which can be used for reinforcement if the radiator is not cutting it (these same units are AC units in the summertime). As I type these words the extra large unit in our living room is blowing blow dryer warm air on my thankful body. Our electric bill is probably higher than any other apartment in California, but our family motto is that there are some things you just can’t put a price tag on.
Notice two different spelling mistakes in the same word on 1 manhole cover. There are literally hundreds of these in our complex.
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