Our New Apartment

posted by Alan
click on the pictures to see them full sized


As we come up on 1 year (April 16th) in Shanghai, the lease on our apartment was also coming to an end. It was a great starter apartment. We liked that the building was pretty old and has alot of old, local Shanghainese people that have been living here for a long time and all know each other and has a very community-like feel to it. It's also in an AWESOME location, very convenient and central to the rest of the city. But it was also a little small. Because of the location, alot of our friends liked to come over to hang out and it wasn't suitable to fit too many people at once.



So we let our real estate lady know we were interested in finding something bigger but in the SAME location. If it wasn't on the same corner that we lived on, we didn't want to move. She said she had some places to show us the next night in the building right next to ours. Well, here we are 2.5 weeks later all moved in to our new apartment. It's pretty amazing how spontaneous things can happen in China. This keeps life here pretty exciting.



Our new apartment now has an open dining/living room area which makes it much more comfortable for people to gather. It also has a true separate guestroom/study. In our old apartment, our living room doubled as our guestroom. It also comes with some really good furniture. Most rental apartments in Shanghai come furnished, but you're often stuck with the furniture that's in there, whether you like it or not. Our new landlord even let us pick out a new dining room table. The only thing I'll miss about the old place is the view. We were on the top floor (25) there and had an amazing view of the city. Now we're on the 8th floor and the view is far less spectacular. But at least we have a shorter elevator ride.

Thanks to our friends who helped us move, it went pretty easily. We wasted no time in using the new apartment, as my boy from high school, Jonlin, was in town and staying with us AS we moved. So our first night in the new apartment also featured our first houseguest.

110 in Shanghai. Jenny, Me, Daisy, Jonlin, Mike and Melissa
We're really thankful for the new apartment. Our hope and vision for this place is to provide a comfortable and warm place for our friends here in Shanghai who are all away from home. It's also to provide a great place to stay for all of you who come visit. We're ready to start taking reservations.






Click here to see some more pictures of our New Apartment: Pictures of New Apartment

Apartment

posted by Alan
* Click on the link at the bottom to see a full gallery and full size pictures.

I know many of you have been waiting to see pictures of our apartment. It's starting to feel like home now, so it's time to show you. These are just a few shots of the inside. Click the link at the bottom of the post to see more in depth pictures.



I've already mentioned the location in an earlier post and we've come to appreciate the great location and proximity to the subway more and more everyday. It's right down the block from the place we go every Sunday, and its also in a really central location, so pretty much anywhere in the city isn't too far. Tonight we just had people over, watched Taken on DVD and ordered in pizza.







A friend brought up an interesting point today that rang very true. She mentioned that when we're living in our hometowns, we have family and friends around that even if they're not checking on us, there is some accountability there. But when they move here, that is missing and they can kind of do whatever they want and get away with it. And I've seen plenty of it already. I'm wondering whats the tipping point where some foreigners fall into that and others dont. Donald Miller wrote in the book, 'Blue Like Jazz', "intrinsically, the soul of a man unwatched, is perverse." It's a scary, but very sobering thought. I'm glad I have a wife.

Response to comments:
Robbie: Does that mean I'm getting skinny or you're getting diesel?....or fat?
Gary: It was actually as much fun as Mohonk... but even more fun cuz we got a house and stayed over.
Sung: The Chinese soccer fans were cheering like crazy. And yeah, they had one section where they had a couple of people leading all the chants. The germans chanted just as loud it seemed though. As for travelling, as Calvin says, "It's a magical world out there, Hobbes ol' buddy...Lets go exploring!"

Click here for pictures: PICTURES OF OUR APARTMENT

Alan Weighs In

(posted by Alan)
Click on pictures to see them full size.


76kg (167lbs in American language)

In a tribute to my friend Eric at www.ericweighsin.blogspot.com, I'll be keeping track of my weight while I'm here in China. But unlike Eric, I'm trying NOT to lose weight. My first year in China back in 2003, I dropped 10 pounds despite still working out regularly and eating plenty. There just wasn't enough meat in my diet to maintain muscle. Eggs and tofu are NOT a substitute for meat. But that was in a small town in Henan province. Here in Shanghai, meat portions still aren't as bountiful as back in the States, but there IS decent meat here. It's going to take some effort and my small stock of protein bars that I brought with me, but I think I can maintain.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Our excuse is that the last 5 days have been spent searching, securing and setting up our new apartment. We got a great place, right by the subway in an awesome area. For anyone that knows Shanghai at all, we're right by XuJiaHui, the Herald Square of Shanghai. We're right in the former French Concessions, a former French settlement in the 18 and 1900's that kept it's distinct architecture and is now a popular area for its shopping and international makeup. We're on the top (25th) floor of a high rise with two bedrooms, so we have a place to stay for anyone that comes out here to visit. We even hit up Ikea and got a really comfortable fold-out bed. My favorite part about the apartment besides its location are the unobstructed views to the north and the east of the entire city. I'm going to wait until we have our place more set-up before I show you pictures of the inside, but a picture of the view is below. To the right in the distance, you can see the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao Tower and the brand new World Financial Center, which has the highest observation deck in the world.
So within one week of arriving, we've made alot of good friends and contacts. I've joined an expat basketball league, we've played Ultimate Frisbee, found an apartment, discovered some awesome local restaurants and got to know the city really well.

Shanghai really is a dynamic place to be. We've marvelled at how interesting the people here are. It seems like every other person we meet has an interesting story as to how they ended up here and what they're doing. People are here from all over the world. Add all of that to the experience of learning and exploring another country and culture. Things here are SOO different and although I've lived in China before, there's nowhere else in China like Shanghai. It has a culture unto itself. Who knows how long we'll be here, but there's one thing we know for sure about our time here: it will definitely NOT be boring.

Check back soon for more frequent updates from now on. And as always, pictures:

IKEA Shanghai (the couch i'm testing is NOT the one we bought)

1 of many awesome noodle shops. 5RMB (75 cents) a bowl.


Daisy w/HaiBao. The 2010 World Expo (in Shanghai) Mascot.