because he’s been visiting Kunming. The mercury has dipped below 32 degrees in
the City of Eternal Spring. Since there is no central heating in Yunnan Province,
it’s not only cold outside: baby, it’s cold inside as well!
Everyone is bundled up. Babies in their
batman capes (which transform into Chinese papooses that moms tie on their
backs).
Sponge Bob and other comedic faces cover the
mouths of the contagious.
Hats
and mittens are made to keep one warm as well as to make smiles.
I like Kunfu panda.
An escapee soldier from the Wizard of
Oz got a new job as a street seamtress.
The ingenious Chinese make money off of the cool
weather. This ethnic street vendor sells
homemade shoe liners. I bought a pair
for about 35 cents so I could snap a few photos. Don’t ask me what kind of animal
fur she uses.
“garages”, create small fires on mini weber grills. They huddle around them on
their mini stools to keep warm.
Jeff and I have a few radiator style heaters
that double as clothers dryers/humidifiers. Along with making a room toasty warm, they
can dry jeans in about an hour.
I also invested in a bed warmer. It looks
like an anorexic electric blanket. Instead of putting it on top of your sheets, it goes
between your bottom sheet and mattress. While you can get a bed warmer for about $15 at the
Chinese Wal-mart, I spent a bit more. I didn’t want it to catch on fire and
blow up like my bed warming bunny did last year. This bed warmer came with
directions in 10 languages, a five year warranty and an automatic “turn off”
function.
As for paying your “Baby, I don’t want to be cold” electric bill? In
China, you are required to have a bank account at the Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China (ICBC). Bi-monthly, your electric bill is automatically deducted
from that account. If you don’t have enough RMB in the account, your
electricity will be turned off. That is one lesson you don’t want to learn the
hard way in December.