Our Apartment

Well our apartment is not that thrilling, but the more we are here, the more it is not so bad, and the more we realize how nice it is in comparison to others.  We have come to know the neighborhood much better and are starting to have some favorite restaurants and know where things are like the grocery, the pharmacy, etc.

They have stopped doing construction at night next door, so it's much easier to sleep.

I had to take a picture of our water cooler, below, because I ordered water service, IN CHINESE, OVER THE PHONE, and, surprisingly, IT CAME!  I have been patting myself on the back for hours.

I also bought a used cell phone on the street, along with a SIM card to put in it.  Here, everything is pay as you go.  So you prepay your minutes, and then take it to the store and recharge the minutes when you're running low.  The local rates are very cheap; about $.05 per minute.

Here is our space-age shower capsule.  There is a little electric water heater that is very efficient.  We have not run out of hot water yet!

Here is our Master Suite, complete with its own bath and a walk-in closet.  The device on the wall is the heater / air conditioner.

Another shot of the Master Suite. Sophie likes to play in the walk in closet.

Here is Peter's room.  That lump in the bed is Peter, trying not to be photographed.  The whole apartment has sparse, but very nice furniture.  It is also quite clean, which is a rarity among Chinese apartments from what we can tell.

The kids' bathroom.  That tank above the toilet is a hot water tank.  The water in it always appears to be hot, whether it is plugged in or not - something I haven't figured out yet.  To the right is a little washing machine whose instructions are all in Chinese so we will probably have to get someone to show us how to use it.