dorm of stairs and a significant vacancy
Nov. 9th, 2012 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jinian(Note: there are no actual stairs.)
In only one aspect, my dorm life is starting to remind me strongly of William Sleator's creepy YA novel House of Stairs. We have motion-controlled lights, and we are being classically conditioned.
Bedrooms have normal light switches. Three-position switches allow you to turn the lights all the way on or all the way off in the public rooms, which is a fine thing to do in the toilet stalls during the day or when you're trying not to wake up all the way, respectively. (Not so good when people turn them on and then wander away assuming they'll turn themselves off.) In the hallways, though, motion detection is the only option I've found, which means when you're hanging out in the hallway talking to people and not actually pacing or anything, the lights will frequently shut off.
And then we all start waving our arms. The electronic eyes (which I would actually like to be more all-seeing, they've got these annoying blind spots) flash red and give us our lights back.
For a while, until we have to perform again.
The other deeply unsettling thing about the dorm is actually a thing about Japan as a whole: there is no oven in the kitchen. Two microwaves, two refrigerators, two induction-heating and one radiant-heating burners... and a little "grill" drawer that you can put, say, grocery-store tempura into to heat it up.
![[I had just assumed there was an oven here]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/8a6fa3f7fcc7/678086-537767/underhill.hhhh.org/~igg/2012-11-09-not-oven.jpg)
![[And I was worried about not having a cookie sheet]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/8d4cc52936d1/678086-537767/underhill.hhhh.org/~igg/2012-11-09-not-oven2.jpg)
Is there any place in the English-speaking world that you would possibly have a real stovetop range but no OVEN? This is truly shocking and upsetting to me, as I am a stress-baker deprived of nearly all outlet. I guess I could make and eat cookie dough, which is what I mostly do at home anyway, but not having the option for baking is like wearing a chastity belt or something, it takes the joy out of the stages prior to completion.
You may have noticed I made pie recently. This is because the lab office has an oven, the total capacity of which I estimate at about 15L. My colleagues are shocked at the energy inefficiency of giant, electric American ovens. Actually, I'm not sure they believe me that such ovens exist, though I think they acknowledge the existence of giant, culturally necessary turkeys. Our Russian student has also corroborated my assertion. (The ovens. Well, turkeys too, actually.) When I had lunch with my co-TA and some students today, we discussed this important matter, which distresses her as well. At least I have oven-deprivation commiseration.
In only one aspect, my dorm life is starting to remind me strongly of William Sleator's creepy YA novel House of Stairs. We have motion-controlled lights, and we are being classically conditioned.
Bedrooms have normal light switches. Three-position switches allow you to turn the lights all the way on or all the way off in the public rooms, which is a fine thing to do in the toilet stalls during the day or when you're trying not to wake up all the way, respectively. (Not so good when people turn them on and then wander away assuming they'll turn themselves off.) In the hallways, though, motion detection is the only option I've found, which means when you're hanging out in the hallway talking to people and not actually pacing or anything, the lights will frequently shut off.
And then we all start waving our arms. The electronic eyes (which I would actually like to be more all-seeing, they've got these annoying blind spots) flash red and give us our lights back.
For a while, until we have to perform again.
The other deeply unsettling thing about the dorm is actually a thing about Japan as a whole: there is no oven in the kitchen. Two microwaves, two refrigerators, two induction-heating and one radiant-heating burners... and a little "grill" drawer that you can put, say, grocery-store tempura into to heat it up.
Is there any place in the English-speaking world that you would possibly have a real stovetop range but no OVEN? This is truly shocking and upsetting to me, as I am a stress-baker deprived of nearly all outlet. I guess I could make and eat cookie dough, which is what I mostly do at home anyway, but not having the option for baking is like wearing a chastity belt or something, it takes the joy out of the stages prior to completion.
You may have noticed I made pie recently. This is because the lab office has an oven, the total capacity of which I estimate at about 15L. My colleagues are shocked at the energy inefficiency of giant, electric American ovens. Actually, I'm not sure they believe me that such ovens exist, though I think they acknowledge the existence of giant, culturally necessary turkeys. Our Russian student has also corroborated my assertion. (The ovens. Well, turkeys too, actually.) When I had lunch with my co-TA and some students today, we discussed this important matter, which distresses her as well. At least I have oven-deprivation commiseration.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 06:26 pm (UTC)I wonder if it's a space thing? I remember when we moved to Taiwan and how no one had ovens, which made baking cookies pretty difficult. I'm now super curious if places in China have ovens, since they have way less real estate squeeze than Taiwan and Japan (and Korea, though I don't know much about the state of ovens in Korea)?
no subject
Date: 2012-11-10 12:00 am (UTC)That's a good question. I'll see if I can find out from my five Chinese roommates. In this particular kitchen I think like there would've been room for even a giant American oven; there are tons of cupboards we're not using. But as there may be a general cultural idea of not enough space, it's harder to say.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-10 06:56 pm (UTC)I love your chastity belt metaphor. Is hilarious!
Commiseration about the lack of oven. :( Could you bake cookies in the little grill thing? In college, I used to bake cookies in a toaster oven, which looks kind of similar. (Do you want me to mail you a toaster oven?)
Speaking of mail, I have my baby announcements languishing unsent in my room. I have your old portland address, but not your japan one. Send it to me? Also can I mail stuff to you with English letters? I took a Japanese summer course when I was 14, but I doubt I could do any characters readably now.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 02:46 am (UTC)I might try baking cookies in the grill. I did have good success with melting cheese onto things over the weekend. I could buy a countertop oven if I were going to be here longer, but it's only another month before I leave the dorm at this point. Thanks, though. :)
My address here works just fine in Roman letters, so please feel free to send things! I love getting stuff here. If the announcements languish longer than about the first week of December I might not get it before I leave, though, so the Seattle address would be better. (And my partner's still there getting my mail regardless.)