We arrive safe and sound on the Day 108 and after a few days of reorienting ourselves to the city, Pierre teaches his first classes on February 23. Verdict: likes it. The next few weeks are a mix of classes, visits with family, trips downtown to get set up, and so on.
Best of all (for me, at least), we get to check out our new place. As part of Pierre's salary as a English teacher/prof at Huizhou University, the school provides us with a furnished apartment in the teacher's residences for the duration of his contract.
Our first visit on day 110 is just a re-con mission - we aren't sure what the apartment does or doesn't have, or what kind of shape it's in. The previous tenant was another teacher who moved out in January, and before that were a string of other English teachers who have come and gone.
Since it's an apartment that changes hands often, it's in good shape but mildly neglected. There are plastic hooks glued to the walls at strange heights and lots of smudge marks. We move around the furniture and tuck away any stuff left behind that we don't plan to use - miscellaneous computer cords, picture frames, Christmas tree, Santa hats still wrapped in Christmas wrapping (prizes for students?). Once it's done, the place feels more like ours, smudges and all.
When we move our stuff in on Day 114, it's sad to leave Dre's comfy place with all the amenities and the option of insta-visits at the kitchen table or living room sofa. Still, visits are only a short walk away (about a 10 minutes) and it feels good to unpack our bags, get some groceries in the fridge and settle down for awhile.
Our dining room/living room are different ends of the same room. (All the furniture, appliances, linens, hardware, etc, belongs to the school and came with the apartment).
The kitchen is bright and has a screened in balcony so on nice days we open up the door to let in fresh air.
Next to the kitchen and our bathroom, is a bedroom that I'm using as an office. Great desk, great light...
...and a broken couch that we spruce up a bit with some material we bought in Cambodia. We also dry our laundry in here most days.
There's also a computer room...
...right next to our bedroom:
The view outside our window is not very picturesque at the moment - half of the hillside behind us is being torn down and reinforced. The area reclaimed (taken?) from the hill is being used to build a swimming stadium for an upcoming competition that Huizhou will be hosting. (Asia Games? Junior Asia Games?) From our living room we see this:
...and when we go on that balcony (where our washing machine is) we see this:
...and when we go on that balcony (where our washing machine is) we see this:
The construction crew works steadily - on weekdays they start around 7:00 am and wrap up around 7:00 pm; on weekends, they seem to work a bit later. Work stops for lunch (12:00 to 2:00/3:00) and when the rain is heavy.
The balcony closest to the construction site is very dusty, so we just dry clothes in the house and keep the windows closed on that side of the apartment. The noise is pretty constant during the day, but it doesn't bother us. We rarely notice it and even manage to sleep through it. Usually, it's nomore disruptive than having a dishwasher and a washing machine running indoors at the same time.
photo credits: all D
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