China taking its toll

It seems that China is taking its toll. My students Luke and Elliott have been here for a little less than two weeks and they are already starting to feel the strain of language barriers, cold showers, exploiters, thieves, and yes transportation risks. Their first experience with China was a negative one. No sooner had they stepped onto the mainland from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, had they been taken by an informal taxi driver, who solicited them into his car. Little did they know that this was an illegal operator, not operating on a meter. About halfway between the ferry terminal and the airport did they realize that they were being taken for a ride. When they arrived, the driver demanded 730RMB, a little more than $100 for a ride that should have cost less than $15. Since they didn't know what it should cost, they reluctantly paid (more for the cab across town than the airfare from Shenzhen to Kunming). Well lesson learned. They arrived to Kunming at the beginning of a week worth of rain, which wouldn't be a problem but for their solar powered hot water heater. You guessed it, icy showers. Then the day before yesterday Elliott witnessed a nasty (and likely fatal) car and bicycle accident, so he is vowing not to ride his bike again. The car was apparently driving down the bicycle lane in the wrong direction. Another instance of a "dangerous" bicyclist killed and a car with a dent. This is the underlying perception of many traffic police in this city. On a relatively less significant note, Luke's backpack was stolen from in front of him while playing basketball. Fortunately all that was lost was his (new) camera, and cell phone, not his laptop. Elliott's backpack was next to his and had about $3000 worth of computers and cameras inside. I'm going to bring them to some good McDonalds tonight and they might end up watching an English version of Ironman at the theater. Julie and I went on a date last night and saw it and it was excellent, but then maybe my standards have changed since arriving here.