I bumped into him after I went to the post office. The sun was setting and dinner hour was drawing near. There were a lot of students and other people playing on the basketball courts. Some girls were running around the black cinder track. Some of my own students were in the volleyball courts practising. I just happened to bump into him.

We talked for a while about things. How things were going; plans for the weekend; about the people playing around us. I asked if he wanted to grab some food with me. He was glad to do so.

However, he first had to return to his dormitory. I was kind of excited about that myself. I hadn't been in any of the dormitories yet. I wanted to take a look myself.

His dormitory was just beside the football (soccer) field. I stepped inside and followed him up the stairs. The halls were dimly lit with 60W bulbs about every few metres. The stairs were plain concrete, but were worn after many years of use. There was an extra 1" x 1" strip of concrete added to each step to prevent people from slipping when it was wet. The windows in the stairwell provided some light, but I could imagine that it would not be too bright at night.

We got to his room on the top floor. The floor was wet. We're not sure why. He shared his room with 9 other men. There was 2 sets of bunk beds on the left and 3 sets on the right. That made for a total of 10 beds. If you calculate it carefully, 10 persons per room can add up very quickly in one building. I suspect there are about 1000 students per dormitory building.

The beds were right up against one another. Each bed had the personal affects of its owner. Sometimes there were posters, but mostly, there were books packed into every single nook and cranny. There were some tables between the two sets of beds. There was just enough walking space between the beds and the tables. The tables were also brimming over with books.

Closer to the door were two big racks filled with the students luggage. Remember, virtually all of them come from all over the province. There were also ten shelves. Each with a hot water bottle and some bowls and cups. Each student probably owned one of those sets.

As for closets, I don't remember seeing any, but I must admit that I'm having trouble remembering part of the room clearly. Laundry, though, was hung outside the window, in the room, or out in the hallway. From what I hear, most of them must wash their clothes by hand.

My friend got what he needed and we were soon off to dinner.

I felt very privileged to be able to see the student dormitories up close. Even though the conditions do not sound great, I truly admire how the Chinese students manage to study and to have fun. They manage to learn. They manage to enjoy their time here. They participate in many activities and can still get good marks. Honestly, if it was me, I don't know if I could survive. In China, it's really easy to see the things I take for granted.