I've been back in Beijing since Wednesday night. This here is a picture of my laundry pile. Note how I have organized it into colors and whites. I have not done real laundry since arriving in China. A week into my traveling seminar I did soak some clothes in the hotel tub and hung them to dry. The clothes weren't dry until the last couple days of our travel. Plus they were wrinkled, and smelled a little bit like mildew.
Now, one might ask, why isn't Peter doing his laundry? Well, I'm afraid to. There is a small little washer down the hall that students can use. You need a keycard thinger dinger to use it; I got one just last night after having my friends take me there. I don't have laundry detergent and I haven't gotten around to asking someone if I could use theirs. Also, the only dryer in the (14-story) residence hall is on the 4th floor. And rumor has it that it doesn't dry very well. Most are hanging their clothes to dry. I don't like that. There is also a laundry service that will wash, dry, and fold your laundry for 15RMB/load (about $2). I'm afraid to use that because I'd have to walk with an armful of laundry into a building and hope I can gesticulate and use what little Chinese I have to get them to understand that I want this shit washed. Hopefully, I'll end up in the right building.
I'm lucky that I found a secret stash of clothing in my luggage. I actually had to buy underwear twice already because I've run out. One pair has a scorpion on it. I also did not pack towels; we were advised not to. I should have. The towels here are expensive - relatively. 15RMB for a crappy towel, and I bought two.
But I think I realize how scary it must be for immigrants - and how important, really, it is for them to learn the language. There has been an ongoing conversation about Hispanic immigrants (legal or otherwise) and their increasing prevalence. It is so comfortable when I can speak in English here. But I can't everywhere. And when I can't, I feel incredibly uncomfortable. Scared. I started sweating in Dico's (sort of like a Chinese McDonald's/KFC hybrid) because my food took a long time to cook. I wanted to ask about it, but how could I? I can tell them what I want: Wo yao zhe ge, yi ge. But if they ask a follow-up, I'm screwed. So, yeah, people need to learn the Lingua Franca. No excuses.
Alright, I'm out. I need to find a way to watch the Giants game by 1AM Monday.
1 comment:
Just use any kind of soap! When I didn't have a washer/dryer, I just used hotel shampoo or hand soap, washed them in the sink or the tub, and then hung them up. It worked fine.
Also, try justin.tv. It's pretty consistent about having at least one channel per game up. That's what I used all last year to watch Dolphins games.
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