UPDATE BELOW.
So. I wanted to talk about the food in Sydney on this post, but due to unforeseen circumstances, today I am moving from my very comfortable room here at the International Student Dorms to the East Dorms. Details are thin on the ground and we exchange students are prone to hyperbole, but from all accounts we are definitely being downgraded.
The word “squat toilet” is being thrown around. As is “public shower”.
I am Not A Happy Cabbage.
Right now I’m packing up all my stuff and trying not to freak out. I’m looking at rooms to rent in the Chengdu area and I have a lead on an apartment-share not too far from campus. In the meantime, a farewell to room 111, which has served me faithfully these past six months.
UPDATE: I have moved into the new dorm room. The scholarship rooms were everything we had feared and more: a small double, no bathroom, public squat toilets (without doors on stalls, mind you, so anyone walking down the hall could watch you), and locker room showers of similar “privacy”. To what should be absolutely no one’s surprise, I said no to this* and upgraded to a single room with a tiny en-suite toilet and shower**. No internet though, and I have to pay for electricity. It’s not exactly a bargain, so I’m still in the market for a cheap alternative, although there is something to be said about not lugging my stuff around again.
*Actually, what I said is completely unfit for print.
**Yes, I realize I’m an absolute prima donna about this as compared to what the Chinese students on campus deal with, but frankly, unless I’m camping in the woods or backpacking, I expect a certain minimum standard of living. I’m a middle-class American girl and I have my limits, okay?
In the Country of Heaven 
Career idea… Just heard the VP of China is meeting with Dreamworks today in LA to discuss building a studio in SHang Hai. What a great place to showcase your amazing writing skills. Apply today. Good luck with the move:)
If you find an alternative living place, now’s the time to do it (while fully/somewhat packed up).
I have an unfortunate feeling that my camping tent and backpacking scheme are more pleasant than your new set-up. Are there any rules against constructing your own camp on the school lawns? :)