Just for you risingpheenix

[lizzybennet]

As requested, here are pics of our apartment. Ahem, I seem to remember another certain someone moving into a new apartment that we are yet to see pics of! *nudge, nudge*



Here we have the living room. I've bought the red throw pillows and blanket in effort to add some color to the space. I'd love a nice soft area rug too, but it would be pricey and then we'd have to buy some sort of vaccuum. Best to do without.

Now, if I were to walk to the other end of the living room,



Yes, our laundry is constantly hang drying in the living room. There is no where else in the house for such a large amount of laundry to dry. I've gotten over my embarressment about all my neighbors/friends/Chris' co-workers seeing our undies hanging up to dry. If I go to any of their homes, I see their undies too. It's just life in China.



The dining room, with Zack and Petey hard at work on their toilet paper roll pilgrims. See that box on the wall directly above Zack's head? That is a security system. When we have visitors, they have to buzz our apartment from outside the front door. This will activate a security camera that allows us to see who is calling up. Very high tech. Unfortunately for me, all the buttons on the control panel our in Chinese. For the first few times, I'd simply push every button until I learned which one opened the front door.



This brings us to the kitchen pics. I really like my kitchen. It is the cleanest, newest, shiniest kitchen I've ever had! It is small, but I'm used to that from living in apartments in America. No change there. I love having a large window to look out of as I wash dishes. Although, come to think of it, there is never much to see out that window. TMI warning! Twice, Chris has looked out that window and seen someone in the woods below taking a poo. He alerts me to it, but I never have the desire to see it for myself.



Our stove top. Again, no oven, but I'm used to that by now.



I like the cabinets, but they are pretty high for me to reach. I've smashed my fingers in the doors numerous times already. That large gourd type thing on the counter top is a pumpkin...so says the lady at the market. We shall see. I haven't cut it open yet, I'm waiting until Wednesday and then I think I'll try some pumpkin bread.



I had to purchase this kitchen cart because of the outlet situation. There was an no place to plug in my microwave and toaster oven where they wouldn't either get wet from the sink or over-heated from the stove. This works out well, except we can only keep one plugged in at a time. I have to constantly move the shelf and switch the plugs. Yes, I know, I know. We'll get a power strip when we think of it.



Zack wanted to pose with the pumpkin :)



Petey and Connor's room. I know, the beds look like I have them in there oddly, but I had to arrange it this way in order for them to have the most room for playing. All the bedrooms have those awesome window seats. The kids (especially Petey) will play for hours up there. It's just like having your own personal stage!



Zack's room. We all have these huge wardrobes in our rooms, instead of closets or dressers. They take up a lot of space, but work well for storage.



Our bed. The bed and mattress are very cheapy made and uncomfortable. After sleeping on it for 1 month (it was brand new when we moved in) it has already sagged in several places, making for a very lumpy sleep. Although we were given a comforter, it is too small for our bed, so I went out and bought a king size comforter. Our first king size bed! I do like that about it. Some mornings I wake up to find all three boys in bed with us. We all fit :) Anyway, I LOVE the comforter and duvat cover that I bought. I'm definitely bringing it home.



The view from our bedroom window. On a clear day (a rare treat) we can see all the way to Nanjing. Those yellow buildings across the way are the student dorms. Ours look very similar to that.



This is taken from our bedroom window and is a view of the front of our apartment. They've gotten a lot of work done. When we moved in the brick walkway wasn't there. It was all mud. Still, you can see there is a lot of work left to be done. The man you see in the photo is Li Weiping. He's one of the admin. assistants. He has his degree in Chinese law and was hired to help the program directors follow (or circumvent, which ever you prefer) the complex array of laws in this country. However, lately his job has fallen to scheduling transportation for students and faculty and making sure the apartment repairs are kept up. It's quite clear that he doesn't like either of those jobs, and who can blame him? It's way below his level of expertise.

All in all, we really like living on campus. The kids are even more lonely out here, though. We only have one neighbor their age and she is in school all day. We see her very rarely. As you can imagine, the kids are counting down the days (several times a day...) until we fly home for Christmas break. They cannot wait to see and play with their cousins.

I can't wait either.

Comments

[heidial.livejournal.com]

I love your new apartment! I studied over all your pics to try to get more of an idea of what life is like for you in China. Everything looks so clean and shiny.