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Aug. 5th, 2006 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizzybennetFinally, I have some pictures to share. It turns out that I just need my own laptop when it comes to editing and uploading my photos. Now that we are settled in, I've been able to get back to my old faithful computa'.
This is our apartment building. I snapped this picture from the taxi as we were pulling up to it for the first time. It is amazing how quiet our apartment is, considering that we are in the middle of a bustling city. I suppose this comes from being so high up off the ground. Yes, all the windows in our home open wide. We've had many strict talks with the kids about never, ever opening a window. Fortunately the windows are high, about 4 feet off the ground, so the kids can't reach the latches without climbing on something. Hopefully we'd notice if they attempted such a thing. There are at least 11 buildings in this complex, not all of them as tall as ours. There is a guard at the front and a fence all the way around the complex. There are also guards who patrol the area, and every time I've left our building there has been one right outside the door. I feel very safe here. The guards have already realized that I don't speak Chinese but Chris does therefore they always direct their questions/comments to him. They are super nice guys.
Behind the cut you'll find pics of the inside of our new home.
Our living room. You can see that it is very sparse and in need of some expert decorating tips. All the tables had red velvet clothes on them, underneath a pane of glass. We took all the glass off and put it in the closet. The glass had sharp edges, just waiting to slice open an innocent young finger. That is if the innocent young finger didn't smash it first…
Our dining room. This table is inlaid with mother of pearl birds and trees, as are the chairs. It is also carved with a groove all the way around that catches lots of crumbs. This table was covered with a beautiful embroidered tablecloth and on top of that was a gross plastic protective cover. It is stained and too big for the table so it hung off the edge. We put both of those things away, but I need to figure out something to place on the table. It's too beautiful to be left unprotected. Notice those cabinets? They are built in to the wall in the dining room and every bedroom; Very handy for much needed storage space. Also, we keep finding hidden "treasures" in these cabinets left behind by past tenents. Twine, shopping bags, old teapots, an abacus—in the kitchen I even found a pot full of ashes. That freaked me out, as I immediately wondered if it was a cremated body. Curse this over active imagination!
Our kitchen. You can see the water heater mounted up on the wall. We also have one of these in the bathroom. The kitchen is very dirty and in desperate need of a good scrubbing. I've started on that job today, but only made a small dent in the filthiness. There is a drain in the floor from which a foul odor is emanating. I poured cleanser down it tonight and hopefully that will help.
Our stove. We have no oven. I know you're so jealous of my bright blue cupboards and
Starry night-theme tiles. Too bad, you have to come to China to have such a fab kitchen
The fridge. The top two sections are freezer and the bottom is the refridgerator. It's the size of a mini fridge. I don't have much in it yet but drinks because I'm not sure what or how to cook here. I have a lot to learn.
Our bathroom. This shower is tiny. Chris' head practically touches the ceiling. I fit perfectly inside. The shower head is the hand-held type and Zack loves that. He had a great time with it this morning. The other boys haven't tried it out yet, but I'm sure they'll love it as well.
Our washer is in the bathroom. I'm not sure what the sink thing next to it is for. Perhaps it's used for hand-washed items? We met our housekeeper today. Her name is Chen and she did all our laundry. After the clothes are washed she hangs them out on the enclosed balcony to dry. She spoke to me several times in Chinese as if I could understand her. Fortunately, I was able to figure out what she needed (hangers). She also swept and wiped down the bathroom. I think she might do dishes to, I'm not sure. Heck, laundry alone will save me a lot of time. Chen is the housekeeper for everyone in the program.
Our bedroom. I love it. The doors open up onto the balcony. Connor loves for me to hold him up so he can look out the windows. All the beds are quite firm, almost like sleeping on a slightly padded box spring. I sleep surprisingly well on them.
The view from the balcony. The park you see is in our apartment complex. There is a playground right next to it. Our kids haven't had a chance to visit it since we're still all jet-lagged. We'll check it out tomorrow. (which is now today because I typed this up last night and never got to post it. The kids LOVED the playground. It has a teeter totter, which I haven't seen at an American playground since I was a kid. It was one of my favorite playground items and I was happy to see that my kids had a great time on it too.)
An Engrish sign I saw on the train. Just for you![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
beepboop
An artistic shot by Zack and Petey, taken at the Shanghai hotel. Petey loved those glass vases and took pictures of 5 or 6. Zack contributed his beloved Yoshi doll to the shot.
It's very humid here, although not *too* hot. It's strange to be sweating like a pig, yet not feel too overheated. I went out with Sai-Ling and Marianessa today to Wal-Mart. It was my first outing without Chris to depend on. I had a great time. We took a taxi to Wal-Mart and ended up walking home. I need to remember next time I go shopping that I have to carry whatever I buy all the way home! On the way back, we walked through an underground shopping mall filled with all kinds of cool kids. The clothing styles here are so different but not at all what I expected. The girls (teenagers and young adults) mostly wear dresses and high heels all the time. I can't imagine wearing heels just to hang out. The dresses these girls wear are not very casual, either. They are flowy, frilly, ribbon-y and sparkly. (btw, Marianessa is the Anthropology professor's wife. They have two kids, ages 4 and 1. We get along pretty well so far. That's a good thing.)
The kids fell asleep pretty early tonight, without eating dinner. While I was at Wal-Mart I bought stuff to make a spaghetti dinner. I thought the kids needed some "normal" food for a change. They sell Hunts spaghetti sauce, although it is pricy by Chinese standards because it's considered an import food. I got home and cooked up the noodles. Next, it was time to heat up the sauce (I just have one pot) but I suddenly realized that I had no can opener! It didn't matter because everyone was asleep by then anyway. I ended up eating plain noodles and a peach for dinner. Ah well. Chris had gone to eat with the group and I called him to see if anyone had a can opener (that reminds me, we both have cell phones now, which is a first for us. Whenever I make a call to another cell phone, instead of ringing, there is music. Today when I called Chris the music was "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, lol) Anyway, when Henry(Chris' boss) heard we needed a can opener he went out and bought us one. They really are trying their best to take care of all our needs.
I'm sorry my entries are so long lately. I just have so much to say and I'm not able to pop online all day long like before whenever the fancy struck me. I like it here much better today than I did yesterday. No crying today!
This is our apartment building. I snapped this picture from the taxi as we were pulling up to it for the first time. It is amazing how quiet our apartment is, considering that we are in the middle of a bustling city. I suppose this comes from being so high up off the ground. Yes, all the windows in our home open wide. We've had many strict talks with the kids about never, ever opening a window. Fortunately the windows are high, about 4 feet off the ground, so the kids can't reach the latches without climbing on something. Hopefully we'd notice if they attempted such a thing. There are at least 11 buildings in this complex, not all of them as tall as ours. There is a guard at the front and a fence all the way around the complex. There are also guards who patrol the area, and every time I've left our building there has been one right outside the door. I feel very safe here. The guards have already realized that I don't speak Chinese but Chris does therefore they always direct their questions/comments to him. They are super nice guys.
Behind the cut you'll find pics of the inside of our new home.
Our living room. You can see that it is very sparse and in need of some expert decorating tips. All the tables had red velvet clothes on them, underneath a pane of glass. We took all the glass off and put it in the closet. The glass had sharp edges, just waiting to slice open an innocent young finger. That is if the innocent young finger didn't smash it first…
Our dining room. This table is inlaid with mother of pearl birds and trees, as are the chairs. It is also carved with a groove all the way around that catches lots of crumbs. This table was covered with a beautiful embroidered tablecloth and on top of that was a gross plastic protective cover. It is stained and too big for the table so it hung off the edge. We put both of those things away, but I need to figure out something to place on the table. It's too beautiful to be left unprotected. Notice those cabinets? They are built in to the wall in the dining room and every bedroom; Very handy for much needed storage space. Also, we keep finding hidden "treasures" in these cabinets left behind by past tenents. Twine, shopping bags, old teapots, an abacus—in the kitchen I even found a pot full of ashes. That freaked me out, as I immediately wondered if it was a cremated body. Curse this over active imagination!
Our kitchen. You can see the water heater mounted up on the wall. We also have one of these in the bathroom. The kitchen is very dirty and in desperate need of a good scrubbing. I've started on that job today, but only made a small dent in the filthiness. There is a drain in the floor from which a foul odor is emanating. I poured cleanser down it tonight and hopefully that will help.
Our stove. We have no oven. I know you're so jealous of my bright blue cupboards and
Starry night-theme tiles. Too bad, you have to come to China to have such a fab kitchen
The fridge. The top two sections are freezer and the bottom is the refridgerator. It's the size of a mini fridge. I don't have much in it yet but drinks because I'm not sure what or how to cook here. I have a lot to learn.
Our bathroom. This shower is tiny. Chris' head practically touches the ceiling. I fit perfectly inside. The shower head is the hand-held type and Zack loves that. He had a great time with it this morning. The other boys haven't tried it out yet, but I'm sure they'll love it as well.
Our washer is in the bathroom. I'm not sure what the sink thing next to it is for. Perhaps it's used for hand-washed items? We met our housekeeper today. Her name is Chen and she did all our laundry. After the clothes are washed she hangs them out on the enclosed balcony to dry. She spoke to me several times in Chinese as if I could understand her. Fortunately, I was able to figure out what she needed (hangers). She also swept and wiped down the bathroom. I think she might do dishes to, I'm not sure. Heck, laundry alone will save me a lot of time. Chen is the housekeeper for everyone in the program.
Our bedroom. I love it. The doors open up onto the balcony. Connor loves for me to hold him up so he can look out the windows. All the beds are quite firm, almost like sleeping on a slightly padded box spring. I sleep surprisingly well on them.
The view from the balcony. The park you see is in our apartment complex. There is a playground right next to it. Our kids haven't had a chance to visit it since we're still all jet-lagged. We'll check it out tomorrow. (which is now today because I typed this up last night and never got to post it. The kids LOVED the playground. It has a teeter totter, which I haven't seen at an American playground since I was a kid. It was one of my favorite playground items and I was happy to see that my kids had a great time on it too.)
An Engrish sign I saw on the train. Just for you
beepboop An artistic shot by Zack and Petey, taken at the Shanghai hotel. Petey loved those glass vases and took pictures of 5 or 6. Zack contributed his beloved Yoshi doll to the shot.
It's very humid here, although not *too* hot. It's strange to be sweating like a pig, yet not feel too overheated. I went out with Sai-Ling and Marianessa today to Wal-Mart. It was my first outing without Chris to depend on. I had a great time. We took a taxi to Wal-Mart and ended up walking home. I need to remember next time I go shopping that I have to carry whatever I buy all the way home! On the way back, we walked through an underground shopping mall filled with all kinds of cool kids. The clothing styles here are so different but not at all what I expected. The girls (teenagers and young adults) mostly wear dresses and high heels all the time. I can't imagine wearing heels just to hang out. The dresses these girls wear are not very casual, either. They are flowy, frilly, ribbon-y and sparkly. (btw, Marianessa is the Anthropology professor's wife. They have two kids, ages 4 and 1. We get along pretty well so far. That's a good thing.)
The kids fell asleep pretty early tonight, without eating dinner. While I was at Wal-Mart I bought stuff to make a spaghetti dinner. I thought the kids needed some "normal" food for a change. They sell Hunts spaghetti sauce, although it is pricy by Chinese standards because it's considered an import food. I got home and cooked up the noodles. Next, it was time to heat up the sauce (I just have one pot) but I suddenly realized that I had no can opener! It didn't matter because everyone was asleep by then anyway. I ended up eating plain noodles and a peach for dinner. Ah well. Chris had gone to eat with the group and I called him to see if anyone had a can opener (that reminds me, we both have cell phones now, which is a first for us. Whenever I make a call to another cell phone, instead of ringing, there is music. Today when I called Chris the music was "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, lol) Anyway, when Henry(Chris' boss) heard we needed a can opener he went out and bought us one. They really are trying their best to take care of all our needs.
I'm sorry my entries are so long lately. I just have so much to say and I'm not able to pop online all day long like before whenever the fancy struck me. I like it here much better today than I did yesterday. No crying today!
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Date: 2006-08-05 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-05 12:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 01:31 pm (UTC)I opened a new window so I could comment on your pics and type at the same time *lol*. I have so many questions and comments for you!
That apartment building is absolutely amazing! It looks so modern and beautiful. I don't think I really knew what I was expecting from your pictures. I know that alot of Asian cities are very modern (I catch every show I can find on Asian cities on Discovery Channel), but I guess...no, I don't know. I was so surprised. It's a beautiful building. And I love the windows! The fact that the guards take their jobs so seriously is really awesome too. No one is like that in the states. If someone is a security guard they're a "rent-a-cop". It's a hated job, a job for someone who can't get anything else. Forget politeness and a sense of security. I wish Americans would find more respect and honor in their jobs (myself included!)
Those hardwood floors are gorgeous! And part of me really likes the entertainment center. I think it's pretty neat how they decorated some for you too *lol*.
Classic We Are Insisting
Date: 2006-08-06 01:51 pm (UTC)I opened a new window so I could comment on your pics and type at the same time *lol*. I have so many questions and comments for you!
That apartment building is absolutely amazing! It looks so modern and beautiful. I don't think I really knew what I was expecting from your pictures. I know that alot of Asian cities are very modern (I catch every show I can find on Asian cities on Discovery Channel), but I guess...no, I don't know. I was so surprised. It's a beautiful building. And I love the windows! The fact that the guards take their jobs so seriously is really awesome too. No one is like that in the states. If someone is a security guard they're a "rent-a-cop". It's a hated job, a job for someone who can't get anything else. Forget politeness and a sense of security. I wish Americans would find more respect and honor in their jobs (myself included!)
Those hardwood floors are gorgeous! And part of me really likes the entertainment center. I think it's pretty neat how they decorated some for you too *lol*. How long are you going to be in this apartment? I'd wait until you got settled into your campus housing before we start decorating your place. But color - you just need some color. So beautiful prints on the walls, maybe some throw blankets on those oh-so-80s leather-looking couches. The entertainment center is awesome though. You can put up pictures and trinkets you find. I think it's neat. What's up with the red velvet on the tables? And all the glass? Ca-razy! Well...isn't red supposed to be a lucky color or something?
I would love to see a picture of the top of the table, with the inlaid mother-of-pearl. I am not a big fan of Chinese furniture, but the artisticness/craftness of the pieces is to be respected. It's always amazed me that people can take some wood and carve delicate scenes into it and make it seem so life like. And mother of pearl inlay is just gorgeous. I think it's neat that a table like that would be in an apartment, a rental. You know in the states furnished apartments would never have anythign that exquisite in them.
The built in cabinets! Oh, what a dream!! I can only wish for built in cabinetry and storage! *sigh*
I personally LURVE your blue kitchen cabinets. I do. I will not lie. I love it! I think they are cheery and happy looking. Embrace the happiness that is your kichen cabinets! The water heater hanging on your wall is very weird. I think I prefer ours nicely tucked away out of site. I have to ask - do you think the Chinese spend more time out of their homes than in, so maybe that's why things like a water heater are just hung on a wall - it's not such an important thing because they're not home really to say, "Gah, I hate that thing sitting there!"
Re: Classic We Are Insisting
Date: 2006-08-06 01:51 pm (UTC)Why was your apartment dirty when you moved in? Are they not required to clean it before someone moves out? That would have freaked me out so much. I wouldn't have been able to sleep knowing that someone else's dirt was in my home. I can stand my own dirt but not anyone else's!
Why is there no stove? Do they not bake things in China? I mean, that's just so different? What does Chris say? Is not having a stove common place?
Your bathroom freaked me out. It's so small! I'm telling you - you are one of the bravest people I know. I'm such a freak - all that stuff being so close would have set me off. Clausterphobia - add it to the rest of my nueroses.
Can I just say I love Chen? I want a Chen! I think it's amazing that you have a housekeeper! You're going to be so spoiled when you come home to the states! First, you are a celebrity and now you have a housekeeper *lol*. This will free up so much of your time for exploring.
I love your bedroom. There is just nothing more appealing than big French doors opening onto a balconey with your view. Again, it's so bright and cheery. Who knew you could find that kind of peaceful vistas in a big city?
That rock garden/pond area looks so amazing! You're in a city but there is nature and loveliness. It just seems so awesome!
What the heck is Classic We Are Insisting supposed to mean? What's the translation of the Chinese written above it, better yet, what are they really trying to say? I'll have to show this to Grant and ask him.
I love Zack and Petey's artistic shot. Yugi-Oh is a lovely contrast to Petey's bright happy red vase (that vase is really neat! What's going on in there?).
Wal-Mart? China has a Wal-Mart? Is it very much like ours? Totally weird. Wal-Mart just seems so American. Dang those Wal-Mart greedy CEOS wanting to spread American cheapo worldwide, cluttering up the landscapes with emptry shopping centers! *shaks fist* But I guess on the other hand it would be a welcome site for an American in China - Wal-Mart, kind of reminds you of home. What's in their Wal-Mart?
Okay let's see if this comment is too long (edit: it was). I can't wait to read more. Take you camera, woman! I love seeing your pics!
Re: Classic We Are Insisting
Date: 2006-08-07 01:29 am (UTC)People buy their baked goods, for the most part. As you know, most Chinese food is stir fried, thus they don't need ovens. I saw some ovens for sale at a store this weekend and they were very expensive. It's just not part of their culture to bake much.
I love Chen too! Although, she doesn't sort our clothes when she washes them, and I now have white fuzzies all over my black shirt. I decided the answer to that problem is to sort the laundry myself. I left the whites in there for her to do and hid the darks for tomorrow. We really need an iron because since all our clothes are hang dried, they are all really wrinkly.
I love our bedroom too. It's definitely the most comfy place in the house. The couches are not a place to lay and lounge on. The bed is my solice. I love the doors and the balcony. I really do like it here, and i hope it doesn't sound other wise with all my complaining!
"Classic we are insisiting" was a clothing add, according to Chris. That's all he told me. Strange, isn't it?
Yes, Wal-Mart has invaded China. It's a little sad to see how "Westernized" they are here. They love it though. McDonalds, KFC, Wal-Mart, they all flock to those places.
I promise to take my camera out today. I'll go put it in my purse right now! *grin*