some cultural experiences

I learned a very important lesson about living in Tianjin today: riding a bike in winter can sometimes really suck. Today was the first time the temperatures have stayed below freezing all day, and the wind was blowing really hard most of the day, too. Riding my bike home, against the wind most of the way, wsa one of the least enjoyable experiences I have had since I've been here. Unfortunately, the temperatures are supposed to stay right around freezing for the next few days. Yay for me.

Another lesson: today, I went with my friend Juana to one of the libraries on campus to study for the big test we have coming up next Tuesday. In the process I learned something very interesting about the way study rooms work here. Apparently, students can put their stuff--books, pencil cases, etc.--on a table and reserve their own study spot all day. It's really crazy. We went into this study room to study, and there were about three spots in the entire big room that were not occupied by people's belongings. However, there were many spots that were not actually occupied by a person: not when we arrived, and not when I left about an hour and a half later. Juana said that every time she has been there it has been exactly like that. If a student did that in America, their stuff would either be stolen, or turned in to the front desk, and their seat would probably be taken. On the other hand, there probably wouldn't be quite so many students studying that hard at the library in the middle of the day in the U.S., unless it were the middle of finals week.