We were given the same room we had last year, which we requested. Once here, we remembered all its charms. The bedroom window is a about 10 feet from the public sidewalk, which is fairly heavily trafficked during the day and evening. Passersby in groups can be very loud at times. The large street is also regularly trafficked all hours of day or night, with busses and cars and trucks that make all kinds of loud noises on occasion. Then there are those who work here and the guests. If the guest is VIP, the staff will open the large, metal gate any time of the night to allow the guest car to enter. The gate scrapes VERY loudly when it opens and closes, and the metal chain used on it clinks loudly. At 1 am, you can hear energetic birds chirping outside the window, and after dark, you can hear some ongoing cat fights with long, loud wailing. Lots of homeless cats live in our bushes.
In a way, it was a charming little reminder that we were back in Shanghai, a city that never sleeps, and never considers that you might be sleeping. It only took us about a week to become de-sensitized to these many random noises. When we are awake and hear them, we look at each other and laugh because it is rather ridiculous. It’s a good strategy to walk every day so you are good and tired and sleep well at night. Whenever you wake you are almost sure to become immediately aware of the current noises outside.
On weekends guests (older Chinese faculty) will drink and carouse in the hallways and repeatedly slam doors. Ben and I seem to be able to fall asleep with no problems despite these on goings. Paul stays up later and it bothers him because it is rude and obnoxious, but I don’t think it bothers our sleep. Funny what you can get used to.
The maid comes every day, somewhere between 9 and noon, and often does a cursory wipe of all clear surfaces and a mop of the main walkways. She is sure to not mop or dust the corners or underneath anything. Last year I left a cheerio under the sofa for a month just to check. She brings bottled water and clean towels and wipes down the bathroom every day, and gives us more shampoo sometimes. She also fixes the internet if we have any problems. We like her and she likes us, but we have no communication at all. On her day off another maid comes and just empties the trash. They often speak to me, and I try to shrug and show I don’t understand, but they just explain it more. Their confidence in my ability to understand Chinese is solid.