When we saw the long johns, we should have figured...

Fall has embraced Beijing. We often see cleaners on the street and in the parks sweeping the leaves with large straw brooms. A few weeks ago tables began to spring up on the weekends, selling long johns and thick sox. We should have taken this as a warning! As it grew cooler we asked our neighbors when the heat gets turned on. Pretty early, they said, November 15th. Beijing is like Boston weather, so there have been some chilly days. We’ve learned to bundle up, layer our clothing, and keep the toaster oven open. We also learned that the “air conditioner” (available to the faculty apartments but not the students) also has a heating feature, so that has also taken the chill off our apartment until the heat comes on.