My apartment

The television in the loungeroom. I have a faded couch.

The bedroom.

I have had few emails asking about the apartment. So I took a few photos. As I have said the bedrooms are rather large - but they also double as our "office" although we are provided with an office in the college. (No one seems to use the office though - except between some classes rather than walk back to the apartments)

The two bedrooms are almost identical - though different furniture perhaps. In each room there is a rather large double bed, two bedside tables and a cupboard/wardrobe and desk. One of the bedrooms has the computer - but there is a cable in the other bedroom to attach to the internet if you have a laptop.

The lounge/dining area is quite large really - and most apartments have a table and a few chairs, and the television on an entertainment unit in the corner.

The only television we watch is a government run program - the only English television station in China. Some of the programs are very interesting - and they repeat them frequently so if you miss out, just hang about.

The beds are interesting. One cannot tuck in the bottom sheet - or any sheet for that matter. The mattress is rock hard - no give at all. It is said that the hard mattresses are the expensive ones, but we doubt that is true. I have what looks like a padded electric blanket, though it is not attached to power, on my bed that has made it softer - at least comfortable enough for me.

And the sheets? No need to tuck them in. With a rock hard mattress, the sheet does not move. It is just placed over the mattress with the sides just hanging loosely. In the morning it looks just the same - with a few little wrinkles where one has been sleeping. Easy. No need to tuck or learn to do "hospital corners."

(Incidently the college hospital has very hard mattresses - I guess that helps people get well and get out of hospital quicker!)

The Teachers' Apartments

I was pleasantly surprised to see the teachers' apartments. There are six floors of units - with four on each level in our building. The doors are metal, and a bit tricky to open, but once inside it is OK. (I don't think it would be easy for anyone to break down the door!)

The apartments have two large bedrooms - (much bigger than my one at home) with a Queensized bed, two bedside tables, a desk, and a wardrobe.

In the main "living room" there is a timber table with four chairs (in my case only two were safe to sit on!), and a TV and phone in one corner on a "entertainment cabinet". (I have found one television station in English - where if you miss the program one day, it is repeated the next!)
A little kitchen with two gas burners, a microwave and a hot water system, a huge sink, and marble benches - no drawers, and in my case almost nothing else. There were two glasses, a grotty mug, a small tea cup, and three plates.

The bathroom is quite good - large with two hand basins, the shower and toilet. The shower is really just a corner of the room and a shower curtain, so after showering one has to mop up all the water with a squeegee. The toilet is pretty much a western toilet, with two flush buttons, just like home. However, there is a trick to making them function correctly (which I won't go into here), but easy when you know how.

In the living room there is a fridge/freezer, and something that looks like a water cooler. It is in fact a water sterilizer - with big bottle on the top and two taps. One for boiling water, and the other for warm water. Water directly out of taps is not potable. (My water machine makes awful noises - like a buffalo drowning.)

Also in a corner is a Chinese washing machine - no instructions, either in English or Chinese. I wonder if I will find it easier to wash by hand?

I have had to purchase eating utensils, glasses, dishcloths, towels, tea towels - almost everything, and I still have a small list of things to get to make my life more comfortable.

I have the two bedroomed apartment to myself at this point - which has advantages and disadvantages. I've been able to choose the best room without negotiation (it has the softer mattress - the other one was like sleeping on granite!), and as I have my laptop I don't need the Chinese computer. (I hope my roommate, if I get one, can manage the Chinese one, or bring her own laptop.) I understand three new teachers from Australia are due in the next few weeks.

I have bought one small lamp - the bright lights of the fluorescent lights in my bedroom and the loungeroom cry out for a dimmer switch, so it is easier to purchase a couple of lamps. I have one on my bedside table, and will get another one for the living room.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have a couch - something that no one else has. It is a bit faded, but it is a three seater, and is good if I want to watch television or have guests. (The wooden chairs are a bit hard to sit on all the time, so I am lucky!)

I must say there are some foreign teachers who have been here for long periods, and they do spend money on making their apartments more comfortable. I think the bare walls will get to me at some stage, and I'll find it necessary for some decor. I'd love a pot plant too. An orchid perhaps?

(My apartment is on the fifth floor and there are no lifts/elevators. I have already lost weight!!!)