Well today we agreed to a lease on a nice little 2-bedder walk up apartment, fully furnished, down on Wen’Er Lu a few blocks west from the office. We’ve got the keys now, but will make a proper effort to move our stuff there tomorrow (pictures to follow).
Signing a lease in China is an interesting event. For one thing, unlike in Canada or Australia you actually meet your landlord face to face, and all the paperwork is done at once.
We also will be paying rent directly to the owner, the real estate takes its cut up front and departs from the agreement. Pretty simple arrangement, huh? We sealed the arrangement with fingerprints on the lease documentation – an intriguing new step – before the usual condition inspection.
So.. basically we’re getting our life set up. The new place has a nice balcony overlooking the pool and water feature areas, and is pretty large, about 140sq meters (1,506 sq feet). When I get a chance I’ll put some pictures up.
My Mandarin lessons have been going somewhat smoothly, and Toni is still over at Uni (although she has been unwell, and unable to attend this week). Anzac Day was a capital affair held down at the Vineyard (near the Dragon Sports Complex), we (apparently) appeared on the local TV news that night, singing “I am Australian” with the Rugby League game screening on the LCD behind us. We went through (as a group) at least a case of Australian Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, priced at 88 RMB.
Anyhow, that is all from HZ for now. I’m off to Hong Kong on Sunday and return on Tuesday, so stay tuned for more info from Hong Kong.