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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A Chinese Apartment

Many people are curious about my living arrangements here in China, so I thought I'd give you a little introduction to the new apartment my roommate and I have for the year....it was an awesome deal, came furnished, and is in a great location close to our universities. Here are some snapshots of our new place, which is a fairly typical example of a Chinese apartment.

(front door...a double door..good for security, but also for wintertime)

(a touch of home in the form of TX pot holders!)


(decor in our dining room...photos of our city)

(decor)

(more decor in the dining room)

(another awesome touch of home)

(decoration in the living room)

(view from our living room windows)

(dining room and kitchen)

(living room...our landlords have a traditional Chinese style going on)

(fridge fun: Shakespeare word poetry magnets!)

(view of the dining room looking towards the living room)


(view from our kitchen window)

(kitchen...the red thing is our oven!)

(propane stove top)

(view of the kitchen)

(bathroom: the machine on the bottom right is the washing machine...no dryers here! the thing above the toilet is the water heater)

(ceiling in the hallway)

(shower room...everything just drains into the floor)

(no air conditioning, but fans work!)

(and the most important feature of an apartment in our region: heating!)

We're definitely grateful for this place to live, close to our local friends, small enough to be suitable, and large enough to host people!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Back to the Land of my Birth

I am currently home in the U.S. for a month. It's been a bit weird, but natural, to be back in my homeland. I love the place I live in China, but being back in the States has reminded me of some things that I really do miss (besides the obvious things of friends and family):

  • My chihuahua, Oliver.
  • Cleanliness
  • Open internet!
  • Movies, cable
  • Texans. I love my home state....they really are friendly people.
And finally......ENGLISH BOOKSTORES/wide availability of English reading. I am a voracious reader, and I have SO missed my library.

Of course, there are things I've missed about China as well....my faithful "steed" (bicycle), my friends, etc. One more week to enjoy the States, then back to China I go!