Snow brings Double Happiness

SNOW DAY in HuaiYa!

These last few months have brought an intensifying drought of no snow. I listened with envy and longing to parents' and friends' tales of snow days and blizzards at home in Northern Illinois. Record snowfall there; drought here.

But forget about my sentimental attachment to snow. The drought is very real and very severe in fact. The grim truth is that it hadn't snowed, but it also hadn't rained. I think the last time I used my umbrella here in Shaanxi was probably September. In January I was beginning to wonder if something serious was going on in this region when one day 2 weeks ago I happened upon a news story informing me that in fact there was a genuine drought and that it was spread across a wide area of northern China, east and west. Some reports say the drought brings desperate conditions that haven't been seen in China since the late 1950s. Severe, eh?!

Side note. The late 1950s were Great Leap Forward times... what a double misfortune that such a disasterous policy initiative coincided with disasterous weather conditions, including drought. This 2008-2009 drought has also been a double misfortune.... regional drought and global economic crisis collide!.... unemployed migrants workers from Shenzhen returning to drought-struck land in their hometowns. It wasn't looking good...

But that began to change yesterday. Yesterday it rained. It caught almost everyone by surprise (but not me... because I watch the Weather Channel feeds like it's a hobby... ha! we Americans love our weather news!). There was a variety of responses from students. Some were annoyed because the rain caught them at a time when they didn't have appropriate clothing or an umbrella. Others were overjoyed. These were the farmers' children. They knew what came with the long-awaited rain. Cold, wet clothing? Yes, but also income, employment, and stable food prices. Everything.

And now today the precipitation came in the form of snow. And you know how I love snow. Usually in Chicagoland I would not get excited about this kind of snow. I need snow that rises above my waist to get me excited. I like snow that breaks the budget of the city snow removal department. I get a sick pleasure out of snow that terrifies me as I drive in it! But this! This is a paper-thin accumulation. And it will probably all melt within the hour. Usually I use the word "pathetic" to describe this kind of snow fall. But here and now, I am letting this snow lift my spirits quite high as it lifts Shaanxi out of drought. Plus, any amount of snow falling on Chinese rooftops is boss!

I spy only one student playing with the snow... taking time to appreciate Mother Nature's art... three other students don't know whether to work or play... so they stand around with brooms in hands (who told these kids to sweep the snow?!). And the rest of the school studies feverishly in classrooms. Snow day without the hope of 'no school.'

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hmmm, I also spy... a SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!! Now this is what you do with snow!

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And I take pictures of people's houses; I feel like a creepy Soviet spy!

UPDATE1: I just now received a text message from a student (yes, my students text me!). Here is what he wrote...

"It's snowy! The school yard is full of snow! How romantic it is!!!"

Indeed, indeed!

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UPDATE2: At 10:35, the students get a 25 minute break to rest. First they do 5 minute eye exercises and then they get the remaining 20 minutes to stretch, walk around, jog, take potty time at the W.C., etc. They are free for 20 minutes! Well what do you think they did today? Pandemonium!

All I heard was the sound of 3,000 people playing. It was a massive, complicated snowball fight. As student A throws a snowball at student B, student X tucks a snowball down the back of student A's shirt. Everywhere snowballs were flying. Snow at people. Snow at trees. Some students even threw snowballs through the windows of their classrooms... devilish! Oh, and the big story on campus was about how the students in grade1, class 4 threw a snowball at their teacher (and she liked it!)... scandalous!

Some clever students came into the teacher's compound to get their ammunition.

a little action from the Snowball Riot right beneath my window

After the break, the school leaders put a stop to it. Would the students obey? Well they had no choice; by the time of their next break 40 minutes later the snow had melted beyond grasping potential. By the afternoon it was all water.

UPDATE3: At 11:00, the Snowball Riot was instantly squelched by the sound of circus music summoning the students back to the discipline of their textbooks. Safe from the thousand crosshairs of flying snow, I left my apartment to snap some photos of HuaiYa in snow.

HuaiYa Main Street

aint it quaint?

This one makes me feel 'Christmasy'