Dorm Life: Chinese Style

The other night, with some of the students met at English corner (see previous post) David and I went to see one of the dormitories. We have heard a good amount about the stark difference in living conditions between dorms here and in the US. I remember my guide at orientation in Shanghai, Jerry, talking about how she went home every night for dinner. I was shocked, but then she explained that with five roommates in very close quarters, it was nice to be able to go back to her home and spend time with her parents, or just alone in her room. The general set-up in most universities is eight boys to a room and six girls, sometimes only four. So I was stoked to see what dorm life entailed. I found out quickly: not too much. I will do my best to describe the rooms, and the next time we go to hang out with XingXin and his roomies, I will make sure to take some pictures. The room is probably 16' by 18' and houses 8 guys. There are four sets of wooden bunks which are built into the walls. No mattresses, no pads, they sleep on top of a razor thin type of bamboo strip "pad" which sits right on top of the beds. There might be three feet of space on the floor between the bunks. Other than that, there is one large table, which serves as a desk, built in shelves on the wall (each guy gets about a 2' by 2' cube) and then another built in shelf which has eight cubbies for shower/bathroom items. The shower is of course located in another building. But the guys were happy to see us, and hung out an chatted for a good while. The main event was the computer and very nice monitor, which served for videogaming (a favorite hobby of Chinese students, along with sleeping). All of the guys kind of just accepted that this is how it is, and they made the best of it. It was a very fraternity-like atmosphere (no girls allowed in the dorm) so they were all just hanging out in their underwear, telling jokes, and excited to practice English. I was somewhat surprised, but very impressed and almost inspired, by the positive attitudes and camaraderie among the roommates. I guess when it's close quarters like that, it's always best to smile and laugh.