Home Sweet Home

I’ve showed some photos from around the campus but I haven’t shared any from our little patch of paradise. So here it is in all it’s glory: our little apartment.

On the initial ride from Shanghai to the school our friend Zhu told us that we had the nicest apartment. Since we were a married couple they gave us a two bedroom apartment (most teachers have one bedroom) with real bamboo flooring (most of the other teachers apartments have concrete floors). We also lucked out by having a corner apartment so there is a lot of natural light and we feel really lucky that we have such a nice place.

Of course as anyone who has lived in China knows, it’s hard keeping the place clean. Even now in the cooler weather (with the windows closed) everything gets this mysterious layer of grime. We figure it is because of pollution (although the fact there is a lot of construction on a dirt road right next to us doesn’t help either.) Within days of mopping and cleaning a thin gritty layer covers the floors. We try to wear slippers in the house to keep our socks clean, but it is a really annoying, constant problem.

We have a little kitchen with a propane cooktop, a hot plate, microwave and water boiler. Our microwave caught fire, the propane cook top explodes every time you turn it on, and the hot plate warms up so quick and fast that once it set oil on fire. Yeah, so our kitchen is a little scary! Luckily going out to eat is so cheap here that we don’t need to do much cooking. While Ryan loved cooking at home he is happy for the little break from it right now.

The bedroom is the only room with air conditioning and heating and it is the room where spend 80% of our time in because the computer is in here too. You see that big purple ball right by the desk? That is one of those yoga balls we got for free when we signed up for cell phone service as a promotion. We’re happy we got it because there are no comfortable chairs in the house so we use it at the computer. Supposedly it’s good for our abs, but that’s just a bonus. It’s pretty comfy to sit on (thought it can get tiring as well and sometimes all we want is our old computer chair.)
All in all we fell really grateful to have such a nice place because I’ve heard some real horror stories from teachers (at other universities) about their accommodations. We also have a bathroom with a shower/toilet section and a sink section that also has a washing machine. Dryers are not standard issue in China so we hang our clothes to dry just like everyone else. It works out great right now (our clothes get a little wrinkly) but I’m worried about how it is going to work once the temperature gets in the 40’s. Supposedly your clothes never dry, they just freeze and stiffen. Well, it’s all part of the adventure, right? ha ha!