Just "Chill'n" in Beijing

Hey, I just found out another similarity between Beijing and Ottawa. The temperature! Of course I haven't been in Ottawa during the fall, but the temperature is already close to the frigid weather of winter in Ottawa. I sit in the classroom wearing three layers tops and two layers bottom with Thinsulator gloves, shivering. There are lots of people from Indonesia and the Philipines here and they all think I'm crazy.

You're Canadian. Why do you feel cold?

All Canadians feel cold. Its just that some are more prepared than others. (Guess which category I fit into?:)

*sigh* But it's true. Once you're away from a cold place for a while you lose the tolerance. I used to take long walks at night in shorts and tank tops in the dead of winter in Vancouver and portage through ice and sleet on my way to school. Other Vancouverites could only goggle at my courage while they weep in their thick coats, scarves, toques, and boots. PS. Americans and Australians call "toques" "beanies".

So why am I chillin' in Beijing? You see, all you privileged North American boys and girls, here in the Capital of China, universities, public housing and workplaces generally are not allowed to have heating until the middle of November! Tis true. I experience the true bliss of heat today a lunch when we dined at this fancy hotel. But needless to say, I get my fill of heat (aka. radiation) in the crowded yet "warm" computer room where computer spew fresh microchip-fibre-network air everywhere.

I hear the temperature is between 0-12 degrees here. What's it like in Vancouver?

News you get at home?

Please tell me what world news you have been getting in Canada! I heard about the bombings in the Island of Bali and in the Philippines. What is the Canadian take on this news and what do they focus on!!!