Durianfan moves to northern China

It is currently -26 C outside. If I decide to go out, it's about a 7-minute process to get all geared up. I have been here since August, and the temperature drop occurred in the middle of November - I think that's when the first snowfall happened. And it's not a proper snow - it's more like dust flakes falling from the sky. But it's so cold that the snow just stays and turns into this black-ish color. Not attractive in the least. Anyway, I moved to northern China to work at an IB school here. The first term kicked my ass. The students are all great - nationalities from all over. Very small school - only 30 or so teachers and 150 students. My DP classes are no more than 3 and my MYP classes reach 9 at the maximum. Between teaching, prep, reading, and researching I'm working about 60 hours per week. There is no curriculum for Literature classes so I am writing all of it myself at the same time as I'm teaching it. The resources I have created (so far) fill up a 4 gig thumb drive. The IB system is not that hard to learn however it does take time - it's almost like learning another language. I'm not really teaching any differently; I'm just reworking my units into the IB language and curriculum. I now know why administrators from IB schools do not hire people who do not have IB experience. The induction period is a killer, and if you don't know what you're doing you can easily get overwhelmed. I have been here for 6 months and I am just now getting used to all the language and acronyms that come with teaching IB. Before going any further, here are some pics: My apartment building. Outside the complex. This is covered with snow now. Most of these pictures were taken the first few weeks I was here (when I had time).