lemonsrsweet-thnk-write: Home and Hearth, October 4

October 4, 2012

My last update responded to questions about my teaching job. This time I will respond to a question about circumstances of daily living. So many of you have been to so many places, exciting, isolated, impoverished and developing. China is some and all of these, in different places. Here, Nanjing is a modern thriving metropolis with 2500 years of history. In short, this is a very different culture. I write these posts as much to keep myself keeping track of my experiences as anything, with the faint hope that someday I might make more of it. Still, whether I do or not, I enjoy this way of keeping track, and I hope you do too. My posts are also on the inappropriately sub-titled http://lemonsrsweet-thnk-write.blogspot.com/ . I have posted my photos there, and on Facebook.

So many things we take for granted as being the way things are, are not. Many are such small things, but when put together in a day, are a lot to get used to, and can be stressful. It’s different if the changes are things one notices and that, in a week or two, will return to “normal” when you “get home”. They are the little things one must adapt to. They reach into every nook and cranny of life. It may take several entries, over time, to cover them all. Reviewing past updates, I see that I went on and on. So, I will try to focus on one area of existence in a posting. This time, my apartment and getting food.

My apartment is really little different in many respects from what one would be in a Canadian city. (see photos). But the payment of rent, and negotiations with the landlord are different in many respects. That being said, it’s been a long time since I was a tenant, dependent on someone else for any changes or improvements, so maybe things have changed in Canada, too. To begin, I had to pay four months of rent, or the equivalent thereof, in advance. Three months was rent, .5 month was the damage deposit, and .5 month was the real estate agent’s finder’s and maintenance fee. The School actually absorbed this last cost. My apartment is 98 sq m, the same 1054 sq ft area as the house I co-paid for in Mill Woods in Edmonton, and nearly 300 sq ft. bigger than the Bonniedoone house I shared with Che and Xian, main floor only mind you. The landlady claimed the place usually rents for 6500 Rmb, whereas I am paying 5000. My neighbour tells me the 5000 is much more in keeping with the market, even at this complex which was built in 2005 and then made quite a splash on the market. It is still nice, but not flashy, except for the grounds.

Back walkway

Usually there is also a “management fee” as well, but in my case it was waived. As with many costs, the management fee is a set rate. However, upon arrival, foreigners seldom know this fact, nor the amount, and can be exploited. Initially, for example, I was told the management fee would be 600 Rmb. However, I was also told it was 2.5 Rmb/sq metre. I was more recently told that it is 1.8 Rmb/sq m. What the actual rate is, I cannot say. My neighbour told me the latter.

exercise on the back entrance walkway

Pretty Posies

Considering the grounds at my complex, I would gladly pay 1.8 or even 2.5 if necessary. They are lush with trees and flowers, water features with fish hiding, labyrinthine walkways, exercise spots and three communally fed cats, Orangey, Gray Tabby and Splotchy.

Gray Tabby at the Tennis Basher's and Tai Chi spot

My Master Masseuse, 3 beds,
10 hrs a day, 6 days a week,

Gate and Guard, some polite and welcoming,
some dour and bored

They belong to no one, nor do they wish to. They graciously eat what is left for them, but have no desire to be beholden. There is even a playground for the children of whom there are some, though not as many as one might expect. From 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. one will see women quickly walking the paths, doing TaiChi in the open spots, and an elderly man who bashes a tennis ball on an elastic leash several times a week. The complex is 10 high rises of about 54 apartments each on 18 floors accessed via a gate guarded 24-7 which is very common, and includes a 400 sq m penthouse in each building.
Within five minutes’ walk along any of three side streets are shops selling everything from household goods to sweaters, florists, tailors, masseuse, fruits, bakeries, and the best chestnut roaster in all of Nanjing – or so we claim.

Chestnuts, the best in the area

There is always a line-up, that I do know, and they are delicious hot out of the oven.
There is a major marketplace just below street level which, in addition to household goods, also sells fresh produce and meat, dead or alive, butchered on the spot if you want. Unfortunately, there is little ventilation and the most unappetizing smell from those tiny bits of super-aged meat that falls in cracks and crannies wafts, unappetizingly, out into the street. Nonetheless, curiosity got the better of me and I braved descending into its depths, to find fresh meat and veges, and very friendly venders calling out hello, hello, and what is your country?

Fresh, fresh veges

Crammed Crabs

Only the hooved animals have been butchered before arrival at the market. Though I am not yet a vege convert, those poor forlorn crab, fish, turtles, ducks, chicken and rabbits have me eating much less meat than usual. Still, I could not resist three pork tenderloins for a total of 23 Rmb (or $3.58 Cdn). I froze them immediately and just don’t know when I’ll get around to eating them. The local Suguo Community Store caters to the middle class Chinese market, but also carries many western goods and manufacturers with a presence in China, Coca-Cola, Crest, Tide. Recognizing the logos and colours becomes critical to knowing what you are buying, since the packaging is Mandarin. Community Store is really what we would think of as a Convenience Store; there seems to be one in every neighbourhood.

seafood, florist, households

Suguo, family arrives for shopping,
3 to an e-bike very common

In Canada, a tenant has the initial 30 days in which to revise the damage inspection report. Being impulsive, and anxious to get settled in before school started, and just thankful this place was still available three days after seeing it, I took it, noticing only a few things that were problematic. Contrary to claims, the walls were not clean, nor the hood fan, and the fridge leaks. Apparently, Nanjing cooking is known for its oil, a fact that was noticeable in my first cleaning job!

First cleaning job, cleaning the clean hood fan

It is typically sold in 5 litre jugs, though smaller one litre jugs are available at the BHG Market for foreigners. The fridge would be a small repair job as I’m confident all that’s wrong is that the drain at the back is plugged. Still, the landlady is replacing it. On the other hand, I noticed drawer pulls missing on the bathroom vanity, but neglected to pull the drawers out. Too bad! They are misaligned and do not close properly, aside from simply being ugly. Though I mentioned this within 30 days, the landlady, supported by the real estate agent, say if I want it replaced, I may do so. And I just might. I saw something at IKEA last week that is much more modern and attractive and would do just fine. She also says she will not paint the walls but I’m waiting for my copy of the inspection report as I believe I did note that. Nanjing is largely an industrial city, and dust and dirt seeps in from outside. Que sera sera. I love the apartment, and for the time being, am quite content with my home.

Floors are marble looking, ceramic perhaps, stone even. My neighbour is appalled that I often go barefoot, saying I will catch my death from walking on these cold stone floors, but I do not find them cold at all. To conserve electricity, I often have my a/c set to 24 degrees, quite warm really, and so the floors are approximately that temperature too. I turn it to 21 degrees by times. People keep a supply of flip flops or slip-on footwear for guests. One leaves one’s street shoes outside the apartment one visits, and wears the guest footwear inside. Seeing that I had only one pair of slippers, Tian Lillian brought me two more pairs, gifts, and was happy when I turned off the air conditioner. Insensitive, I did not think to realize she would be cold in my 22 degree environment but I did turn off the a/c when she said she found it cold.

When you enter and switch on the electric lights you note the “up” is off, and “down” is on. When you finish using the washing machine, you turn off the power supply in the wall outlet, simply to conserve latent electricity to the unit. You turn off the air conditioner while you are out, and the heat in the winter. So, when I get home from work, I turn on the air conditioner/heater and go out shopping while it cools off, or in the winter, until the apartment heats up. Though many if most Chinese shut down the electric breakers when they leave for the day, typically expats like myself, do not.

The kitchen is small and poorly lit from a heavily screened recessed window in an alcove. There is no oven but rather the stove is what is referred to as a two burner gas “hob”. Cupboard space is very minimal as most people obtain the bulk of their meals in the street, and little.

Indeed, I most often get breakfast on the way to work, red bean steamed buns, or sesame covered fried ones, and lo and behold, tho a little out of the way, bing, the wonderful honey sweetened bread we used to have daily in Xuzhou so long ago, baked clinging to the walls of a 45 gallon cooking drum, blackened and scraped clean with a coiled steel scrubber after each baking. The fridge is half freezer. A colleague bought a portable but full oven, most buy toaster ovens, the principal in his 6000 Rmb two floored suite has a full oven. I haven’t decided what I will do, but I am surprised at how much I miss baking. I’d got to the point with the B&B that I thought if I never baked another muffin, it would be too soon. But I was given a delicious homemade pumpkin and raisin muffin yesterday; it was soooo good it made me yearn for my own rhubarb royales. But then I saw rhubarb at the market today. All brown it was and the yearning expired.

The dining area and living room form the common area of the apartment, about 3.6 m X 7 m. The bedrooms each have a closet and plenty of room to get around the queen beds. There is a washing alcove in the hall preceding the toilet/laundry room. The toilet, thankfully, is a non-aiming, non-squatting, western standard, i.e. no bidet. There are sufficient lines and hangars on the balcony for several loads of washing, the products of the apartment sized front loading washing machine. The middle class do not have driers; wash boards are sold for 20 Rmb so I count myself very lucky indeed.