Snow!

This morning Steve and I were having a typical morning here. Around 7:20am before breakfast at the company at 7:30 we looked out and this was the view that greeted us!

The view this morning from our sitting area at the hotel

To his experienced eyes, Steve guessed we had about 5in of snow. At this point keep in mind that we had researched the weather in Jingmen before we moved. Because of what we read we didn't pack any boots or even much cold weather gear. We were expecting a winter similar to SC - 50s for the highs and 30s for the lows with a couple of crazy days thrown into the mix. So I grabbed the one pair of wool socks I brought and the slippers provided by the hotel and we walked in to work in tennis shoes. After breakfast, I took off my wet shoes and worked in socks and slippers until lunch.

Literally walking in Stephen's footsteps to avoid the deep snow

Tiny hotel slippers on my big ol' American feet!

This culture struggles with closing doors and heating common areas. This morning the factory door was standing open and I could see my breath inside while making the picture below. Thankfully, each office has it's own temperature control so the American offices are quite toasty! However, due to this open window, no heat policy, the pipes in the bathrooms have frozen at the sinks and the washing machine. We'll see how that plays out!

First phrase to learn in class: "Close the door!"

Shortly before lunch I received a message from Lollie, HR Department Lead and the best English speaker. They were heading out to play and take pictures. Steve and I joined them (very briefly). They haven't had this much snow here in about 10 years so there was MUCH excitement in the area. Most of the office/engineering staff are in their 20s and from other areas of China so this was the FIRST time they had experienced snow.

Massive snow ball fight. Thankfully they don't know us well enough yet!

Attempting to sled on a shovel

Starting a snowman

We're guessing it's a dog since this is the "Year of the Dog" in China

The couple below is looking forward to Wednesday when we FINALLY climb above freezing and they have vowed to bring back some snow gear before next winter. At least that way it will be the warmest winter on record!