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When School is out...

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wakethenight

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When School is out...
« on: June 19, 2013, 07:43:33 AM »
the mice come out and play? <-- I mean that literally. Although, maybe it's the cockroaches I need to more worried about.

Anyways, just got a quick question for you folks.

Exactly how dead is a university campus during the summer/winter vacations?

I ask this because I am planning on staying on campus during the vacations while Husband Dude-Man goes gallivanting around globe. He's a real nature guru but I can't live without a reliable internet connection and I dunno how good internet is going to be in the jungles of Thailand. (Go ahead, mock me...I'd mock me, too)

I've heard all sorts of answers such as "If zombies attacked, you'd be just fine" to "If you die, no one will find the body for months."

Any and all comments would be muchly appreciated.

Thanks so much!
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Monkey King

Re: When School is out...
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2013, 07:53:14 AM »
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Exactly how dead is a university campus during the summer/winter vacations?

Deader than dead.  They actually import tumble weed just so they can eerily blow across the empty campus boulevards.  

Seriously, make plans to visit someplace else in China at least, even if it's just catching up with students and local friends in nearby cities.  

Spending any amount of time alone on a deserted Chinese uni campus, especially if it's an out of town campus, is a short-cut to mental illness.
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wakethenight

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2013, 09:51:54 AM »
Quote from: MK on June 19, 2013, 07:53:14 AM
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Exactly how dead is a university campus during the summer/winter vacations?

Deader than dead.  They actually import tumble weed just so they can eerily blow across the empty campus boulevards.  


That's awesome. Do they have random gunslingers meet each other at 20 paces, too? 

The other main reason for my wanting to stay in one place is that we have one incredibly hateful cat and I don't know if we could put her in a boarding kennel without some kind of disaster happening.
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teacheraus

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2013, 10:00:54 AM »
Honestly, it will really depend on where you are... I have spent most of my vacations in the last couple of years on campus... during what I tend to call "university shutdown"... which for us is the period of time, around a month when much shuts down... and admin moves to what I'd call maintenance mode with only essential things happening. It means that things on campus are less available... but not totally dead.  Significantly less people around because the bulk of the students go home... but that can also be a positive making it quieter.  The reason why location can also be significant is that my campus is located in the center of a big city... where while the actual campus may be a little dead in shutdown, I only have to walk outside the gate to find life as "normal", with normal access to everything I need. This summer I will be away for almost all of shutdown. I am actually leaving on the first day of shutdown and returning with a couple of days to go... but I do not find shutdown on campus necessarily a difficult thing to cope with. It is also true that if you have Chinese friends (who are not students) they will probably still be around during shutdown... so you will not be alone
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cruisemonkey

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2013, 10:15:05 AM »
Like MK's, my campus becomes a ghost town. Everything shuts down and closes. The only people around are few security guards. All the stores, restaurants and fruit stands 'off campus' close as well - there are no customers. There are no public buses running to campus. It's like something out of the Twilight Zone.

If you're going to spend more than a couple of days on campus during vacation, stock up on groceries and water.
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wakethenight

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2013, 10:34:37 AM »
The school is next to the Xixi wetland park and about 9km from the center of Hangzhou, so I don't think it'll be deathly quiet...
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old34

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2013, 11:25:58 AM »
Something I've noticed in the last couple of years (summer), more students are sticking around during summer vacation due to gaining internships. And the school keeps one dorm open for them (and charges them rent). Last summer was the first time ever when they kept one of the school-run on-campus grocery stores open (albeit on reduced hours-8-7) throughout the summer.

Winter holiday (Spring Festival) is still the same. Everyone and everything vacates the campus and closes down and heads home, except for the lone security guard for the front gate and the one for the teachers' apartments.
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bobrage

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2013, 12:58:44 PM »
The College brass band doesn't practice during the holidays. 

This is a good thing.

I mean, I like the first 30s of the Chinese anthem as much as the next man, but there a limit to how many times I want to hear it played in an hour.
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piglet

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2013, 02:18:11 PM »
Just remember that if your internet goes down for any reason the Computer dudes who deal with that stuff probably went on vacation too. You might have better internet in Thailand which is hardly remote.
But then that's your call.Campus will be dead as a doornail but Hangzhou of course has everything.You may need to go into town all the time to eat which will be a pain in the proverbial.
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For people who like peace and quiet - a phoneless cord
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becster79

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2013, 07:55:27 PM »
And yes, be afraid of the mice. Be very afraid!

 oooooooooo
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decurso

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2013, 08:06:52 PM »
Quote from: wakethenight on June 19, 2013, 07:43:33 AM


 "If you die, no one will find the body for months."



No joke....this was actually a legitimate concern of mine! It's true. If you live alone and die in your apartment NOBODY will find you until the start of the semester. That's not hyperbole....that's a fact.

 My first full summer on campus my uni was an Olympic venue, so it was pretty lively. But the other posters have given you a pretty representative picture of the norm. For the most part...I liked having the campus pretty much to myself. The only downside is that most of the teaching buildings were locked up, so I couldn't use the classrooms as my own personal movie theater. But Chinese summers are nice enough that you don't really want to spend much time indoors anyway.
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psd4fan

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2013, 10:06:27 PM »
Get a life and go out and explore your city, province, and China. If you want reliable anything from back home then go back there.
China is an amazing country with so much to offer. Get a phrasebook and go exploring. Look forward to the mistakes you'll make speaking. When an effort is made Chinese can be the friendliest and funniest people in the world. I once asked a shop keeper for noodles but mucked up the tones and apparently asked for feminine pads. I will laugh about that till the day die and am grateful that my nose wasn't stuck in some virtual world but rather the real one.
The cat will be fine if not drug it.
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NATO

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #12 on: June 19, 2013, 11:13:24 PM »
Quote from: wakethenight on June 19, 2013, 10:34:37 AM
The school is next to the Xixi wetland park and about 9km from the center of Hangzhou, so I don't think it'll be deathly quiet...

According to who is it "next to" Xixi? As far as I know  (though I could be wrong) there aren't actually any Schools next to Xixi. There are, however, some up the road in Xiaoheshan which is 10-15mins drive from Xixi. Unfortunately, even if it is close to Xixi, there isn't anything of note out those ways anyway. There is nothing to go and do there, so you'd most likley have to be heading into HZ to amuse yourself. Which school is it?
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decurso

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2013, 12:14:34 AM »
 Here's a thought/suggestion. Why don't you take a short-term summer job in another city? A working holiday, of sorts. Go for the job and then linger awhile to check out the sites.

 I always did a little work in the summer...largely because I had an expensive lifestyle.  Fortunately, I lived in Beijing, so my "extra work" was two blocks away and didn't require me to be up before noon.  ababababab

 But if you're living in the boonies...man, I'd hit the road. Get yourself a short-term job in some totally weird place you'd otherwise never visit and use it as a base to explore from a bit.

 Look on ex-pat websites like The Beijinger for jobs. The websites may be city-specific, but you'll find jobs from all over China on them. Summer vacation in China is a glorious time if you make the most of it.
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piglet

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Re: When School is out...
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2013, 12:28:32 AM »
Yeah enlighten us wakethenight,why would you wanna stay on a ghost campus all alone (unless you are another EriktheRed,but there's only ONE of those  ahahahahah)?
I would imagine that would be cool for a week or so but the Whole Summer Holiday? can't imagine how to do that!
There are lots of places to go in/out of China.You can couchsurf if you don't have a ton of money.
Just askin..
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For people who like peace and quiet - a phoneless cord
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