Traffic, heat, and permeability

IMG_5871, originally uploaded by zawelski.

(photo: The kiddos and Jiang Ayi looking sharp with their matching branded "XiYangYang" sweaters. This was before the recent cold snap, so the sweaters are now underneath a couple of layers, but still coming in handy...)

(blog post by Dave)
Astute readers of my last post may be asking themselves, “Okay, so if it’s so cold, why not just turn on the heat?” Ah, excellent question. To answer it, maybe I should tell you a bit about traffic in China.

Now, in the United States, when it comes to driving, (with the possible exception of speed limits on the interstate) the law is the law. People may push the envelope a bit - speed up through a yellow light here, cut into an exit lane in rush hour there - but generally, lights are lights, and lane markings are lane markings that everyone agrees to follow.

In China, not so much. From what I’ve been able to see, traffic lights, lane markings, and so on are viewed more as polite suggestions than unbreakable barriers. People do stop at red lights - well, most of the time. Unless you’re on a motorcycle. Or there’s nobody there. Or you think you can swerve around the pedestrian crossing the road.

As for lane markings, well, if nobody else is around, you mostly stay on your side of the road. However, if there are two lanes of traffic stopped at a red light and you need to make a right turn, well, why not floor it down the left (oncoming traffic) lane, swerve past a few oncoming trucks, and then make a sharp right in front of those two lanes of cars right before the light changes green? (Yes, I was in a taxi where the driver did exactly that.)

In addition to traffic, there are many other areas of society that can be a bit more permeable than in the States. Pricing in the markets, or personal space, to name just two examples off the top of my head. Or, to go back to the topic of heat, buildings. We Americans tend to have this idea that there is a clear distinction between inside and outside. Inside, you are warm (or cool, if it’s summer), and outside is where all of the weather is.

In China, again, not so much. Buildings are more of a suggestion of indoors than an actual barrier against any kind of temperature change. Windows? Walls? Good for keeping the roof up, maybe, but not for keeping heat in. Cold? Put on another sweater! Drink some tea! And open that window - it’ll get too damp in here, otherwise...

Fortunately, there are a few remedies. Layers and layers is the first one - we’ve all got our long johns on and they probably ain’t coming off until March. (Sorry if that’s TMI, folks.) Also lots of tea and hot water, and these really great electric heating pads that go right on top of your mattress and make you feel like you’re sleeping on a George Foreman grill (without the ridges). Oh, and three portable electric radiators and our window A/C unit, which also doubles as a space heater of sorts, but we haven’t turned those on yet. We’re waiting until it gets REALLY cold for that...