Classes have finally started and I'm now settling into a routine. Simple things like, grocery shopping, laundry, waking up early for class, etc. It's when you settle into a routine that you really start to notice something I would normally take for granted in the States.
I did laundry for the first time last weekend and it was not a pleasant experience. The majority of families in Shanghai do not own a dryer, so they line dry their clothes from their apartment windows. Thankfully, NYU housing has dryers. But, these are not the same dryers we're used to. These dryers are WEAK. and incredibly old. The dials on my dryer look like an old microwave.....but I think my microwave has more power. I dried my clothes for the better part of six hours Sunday afternnoon/evening and all I had after six hours was a pile of wet, warm clothes. eww.
Another thing is the internet. The internet here is SLOW. and censored, but there are ways around that. There is no way to make your internet faster. I've also found that the internet isn't very consistent either. Sometimes it's super fast, as if I were in NY, other times I can't even load a single page.
The last thing is something I had not heard/read about before I got to Shanghai. Hallways and lobbies aren't heated. Sometimes the hallway can be older than the outside temperature! The mall is also not heated. Of course, individual apartments, classrooms, stores, etc. are heated, but the transit space is not. I assume this is for economical reasons? But I'm not quite sure. I find this very strange, since many buildings have Times Square-esque, larger than life lighting and advertisements, which is an incredible amount of energy.
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