Q. Do the six mid- construction buildings immediately surrounding your fancy apt disrupt your sleep?
A. Yes. The construction workers are building at all hours of the day, so if it's a Sunday afternoon nap, there is the noise of construction. If I get home at 2 am, there is the dull hum of construction. Late night it looks like fire works, no, it's construction. Fun for me.
FORTUNATLY, I HAVE FOUND A DOMICLE IN WHICH TO LIVE. Yes, an apartment just for me. And Summer. We move in this weekend. I will be paying about $146 per month, which is pretty on par for my salary. The place comes furnished, complete with a TV and a stereo, and also a giant [think covering the entire wall, five feet by 4 feet] painting of a fake waterfall. My bedroom is covered in furniture you might see at an old folks' home; light fake wood fills the whole room. I have an enclosed balcony, a perfect little place for my bike. The bathroom and kitchen are fairly new and all rooms have a lot of light. The apartment is east- west facing and a third floor walk up. It is in the Dong Zhi Men neighborhood, five minute walk to the subway, 15 minute walk to the San Li Tun bar street, and for those of you that really know the city, directly across from the foreigner compound "East Lake Villa". It is enclosed by buildings, and the gate entrance has a sign that reads: "Home of Tycoons." My apartment buildings is not where the tycoons live, but I think there is some fancy schmancy place being built next door. It is a cute neighborhood complete with plenty of old folks walking their many dogs. The woman who showed us the place came with her mini poodle, who recently had his toes painted pink. So, I really am excited to have my own place, Summer and I are very excited to decorate and make it our own.
I tried to wash my clothes a few days ago at the Hakim residence. I put the clothes and soap in, turned on the machine and the water, and no water came. The clothes went round and round, but still no water. I asked Hakim and he said that neither he nor his Chinese wife knew how the machine worked, so I would have to wait for the maid to return on Tuesday to get them cleaned. On top of that, the washing machine door locked so hand washing my clothes was not an option. Ha!
Waiting for the subway. A loud cell phone ring goes off and fills the whole station, it is the familiar "Jingle Bells." He lets it ring for a while before answering it. Cell phone courtesy is not a theory that has hit the mainland yet. I step onto the subway car, not so crowded for 11 pm on a Sunday night, but still every seat is taken apart from the ones surrounding a fresh pile of vomit. Everyone stares at it and then looks at each other as if to agree how disgusting it is. This country is full of pukers, you see them leaning into trash cans, over the railing onto grass, out the bus window into shoddy plastic bags, often. Hope y'all aren't eating while reading this. You know China is not always a delicious place.
On another note, last night I ate about five pounds or kilos or whatever of delicious crab, a giant bowl of crab parts arrived at our table sitting in oil and plastic gloves were passed around for easy access. Soon everything was covered in crab parts, oil, and the smell has yet to leave my hands. At one point in the chaos of eating I bit down on something that caused my tongue and mouth to go numb, literally like a trip to the dentist. I was a little worried I would start chewing on myself instead of the crab but a couple mouthfuls of beer, tea, and green beans brought feeling back. We ate at a restaurant called La Popo, literally Spicy Mother-in-law [husband's mother, no doubt not a popular person for who calls her mother-in-law!]
Side note, sorry about the double publishing of some blogs. Sometimes I worry it did not go through, but I'll stop. Can't delete 'em from China neither.
I am enjoying a book that I eyed on my mother's shelf for many years, called The Dork of Cork, dork meaning dwarf, Cork being the town in Ireland. A thick and detailed book, which I am learning is my style. I'll leave you with a quote from it, about the storage of memory:
"The image has been carefully processed, folded, and stored away, laid up like a special garment, a baptismal gown or a wedding dress, in tissue paper, dusted with moth flakes, tucked far back in the darkest closets of the brain. I unfold the memory. It is as fresh and bright as yesterday."
FORTUNATLY, I HAVE FOUND A DOMICLE IN WHICH TO LIVE. Yes, an apartment just for me. And Summer. We move in this weekend. I will be paying about $146 per month, which is pretty on par for my salary. The place comes furnished, complete with a TV and a stereo, and also a giant [think covering the entire wall, five feet by 4 feet] painting of a fake waterfall. My bedroom is covered in furniture you might see at an old folks' home; light fake wood fills the whole room. I have an enclosed balcony, a perfect little place for my bike. The bathroom and kitchen are fairly new and all rooms have a lot of light. The apartment is east- west facing and a third floor walk up. It is in the Dong Zhi Men neighborhood, five minute walk to the subway, 15 minute walk to the San Li Tun bar street, and for those of you that really know the city, directly across from the foreigner compound "East Lake Villa". It is enclosed by buildings, and the gate entrance has a sign that reads: "Home of Tycoons." My apartment buildings is not where the tycoons live, but I think there is some fancy schmancy place being built next door. It is a cute neighborhood complete with plenty of old folks walking their many dogs. The woman who showed us the place came with her mini poodle, who recently had his toes painted pink. So, I really am excited to have my own place, Summer and I are very excited to decorate and make it our own.
I tried to wash my clothes a few days ago at the Hakim residence. I put the clothes and soap in, turned on the machine and the water, and no water came. The clothes went round and round, but still no water. I asked Hakim and he said that neither he nor his Chinese wife knew how the machine worked, so I would have to wait for the maid to return on Tuesday to get them cleaned. On top of that, the washing machine door locked so hand washing my clothes was not an option. Ha!
Waiting for the subway. A loud cell phone ring goes off and fills the whole station, it is the familiar "Jingle Bells." He lets it ring for a while before answering it. Cell phone courtesy is not a theory that has hit the mainland yet. I step onto the subway car, not so crowded for 11 pm on a Sunday night, but still every seat is taken apart from the ones surrounding a fresh pile of vomit. Everyone stares at it and then looks at each other as if to agree how disgusting it is. This country is full of pukers, you see them leaning into trash cans, over the railing onto grass, out the bus window into shoddy plastic bags, often. Hope y'all aren't eating while reading this. You know China is not always a delicious place.
On another note, last night I ate about five pounds or kilos or whatever of delicious crab, a giant bowl of crab parts arrived at our table sitting in oil and plastic gloves were passed around for easy access. Soon everything was covered in crab parts, oil, and the smell has yet to leave my hands. At one point in the chaos of eating I bit down on something that caused my tongue and mouth to go numb, literally like a trip to the dentist. I was a little worried I would start chewing on myself instead of the crab but a couple mouthfuls of beer, tea, and green beans brought feeling back. We ate at a restaurant called La Popo, literally Spicy Mother-in-law [husband's mother, no doubt not a popular person for who calls her mother-in-law!]
Side note, sorry about the double publishing of some blogs. Sometimes I worry it did not go through, but I'll stop. Can't delete 'em from China neither.
I am enjoying a book that I eyed on my mother's shelf for many years, called The Dork of Cork, dork meaning dwarf, Cork being the town in Ireland. A thick and detailed book, which I am learning is my style. I'll leave you with a quote from it, about the storage of memory:
"The image has been carefully processed, folded, and stored away, laid up like a special garment, a baptismal gown or a wedding dress, in tissue paper, dusted with moth flakes, tucked far back in the darkest closets of the brain. I unfold the memory. It is as fresh and bright as yesterday."
posted by Claire at 5:04 AM
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