My Apartment!

Okay so I've been in Shanghai about a wk now and it's been a pretty busy start! Arrived last Fri. night, checked out apts. on Sat., moved into my new apt. Sun. and from there just been going to meetings and stuff.

I got an agent to help me find a place just b/c it's easier that way being that I don't speak Mandarin (yet) and I don't know my way around that well (and I get lost very easily). My agent was really nice her name was Sophie and she took me around to a couple of different places. I even got to ride on the back of a scooter through Shanghai which anyone who knows Shanghai knows is an experience in itself!

It was between two places. The one was newer, smaller and a bit cheaper but not near as central. The place I ended up going w/ is about a 5 min walk from Xinzha metro which is 1 stop above People's Square line 1...very central which is exactly what I was going for since as I mentioned before I'm directionally challenged and when you don't know the language it brings the game of charades to a whole new level when communicating w/ ppl. It's a one bedroom...nice enough...nothing fancy but whatever I really just want a place to stay that doesn't have cockroaches! And so far I can safely say I haven't seen any...now I'll go knock on some wood!

As many of you know my apt. in Shanghai last Summer came w/ house guests aka cockroaches. I asked my friend Todd (Canadian photographer) during the Summer one request in apt. hunting- no cockroaches and no rats...well at least it didn't have rats. My second night there I saw two cockroaches in the kitchen...apparently it just can't be helped! Well I put out traps and only saw about one a wk...unfortunately I don't know if they were eating the dead ones or something but they started to grow to mutant size. At least I can look back and call it a character building experience lol.

One thing that majorly sucks here though is that they require 2 mths rent plus 2 mths deposit (that's 4 mths...with the Can. dollar in the crapper that's a lot!). Until I start working this has left me beyond poor...I haven't bought sheets for my bed yet but I think today I'm going to go buy a blanket b/c sleeping in my coat w/ a hot water bottle just isn't cutting it (no I'm not joking here). Thankfully I found out that the air conditioners in China are also the heaters as I was really beginning to worry that I had somehow rented an apt. that didn't have heat as I couldn't see a vent anywhere in the place... I was definitely cold and it's only Nov. so I was more than a little worried (esp. since I'm sleeping w/ a coat and hot water bottle lol).

Here's some pics of my apt.

Here's the kitchen

Living room...Love that orange couch lol...esp. w/ pea green wall off the kitchen!




Here's the bedroom - See no sheets! Actually I've just been sleeping on my orange couch until now!