It's been a few days, but I'm finally posting. Feel free to skim if you don't want to read the epic novel this will probably turn out to be. I'm on Jonathan's computer, because he has a VPN (virtual private network?) that lets him access the internet as if he's in the United States or about 20 other countries. It turns out Blogger is blocked by the Chinese firewall.
So, to pick up the story where I left off. I got off the plane and took a bus to the main train/bus station. From there, I took a taxi to the intersection close to Chandler's apartment. It was raining lightly, and there were five or six guys just hanging out by the crosswalk. They found me a cab, and my belongings and I trundled off. Once I got to the intersection, it was 10:30 or so, and I had no idea where to go. I walked up the street and found a hotel, so I stood outside and borrowed a guy's phone to call Chandler. He didn't answer, so the guy and his friend (who were quite definitely drunk) invited me inside to stay with them and have a few drinks. They were really friendly and jovially insistent, but I decided it would be wiser to spend the night with Chandler. The guy whose phone I borrowed told the bellhop to take my luggage, so I left my luggage there and went in search of Chandler's apartment. I found him on the street looking for me, so we went back to get my luggage. On the way back to his apartment, one wheel on my big suitcase fell off, but we managed to get to his place.
I spent the night on the bed in his other room - it doesn't have a mattress yet, so it's basically wooden slats covered with a sheet. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well. However, I was grateful to escape the well-intentioned hospitality of the friendly drunks!
The next couple days are a blur. I went to the flagship office first thing in the morning and checked in, and then I started looking at apartments. That day I saw four or five. The last one was decent, so I told them I would sign the next day. That night, though, I came over to Jonathan's apartment and saw how nice it was. It's a bit small, but higher quality than the other one I looked at, and he lives 50 yards from the flagship office, whereas mine was a fifteen minute walk away. I spent the night at Jonathan's place, and the next morning, I called the one realtor and said I wasn't interested anymore, and Jonathan introduced me to his realtor.
She's incredible! First off, she's really direct and energetic, which makes her seem more American than Chinese, and she's really competent. Half the time she would spontaneously burst into a sprint - across the road, up a flight of stairs - and we would have to run to catch up. Jonathan came with me to look at houses that day. We saw some that I liked, but most people aren't willing to rent for just five months, which is a hassle. That evening she took us and some other flagship students out to dinner, and then right after dinner we ran to see more apartments until 9:30 at night. She let me borrow her daughter's bike, and we rode all over looking at places. We didn't end up finding one, though.
Yesterday, she didn't have anything for me to look at until evening, so Josef (who had just arrived) and I went out looking for realtors. We found a few, and the first place we saw was really good. An old man manages the apartment, and the rent is only ¥2300 a month (about $360 for a two-bedroom apartment, not bad when I have to pay for the whole apartment - our tutors live for free and tutor us in return). It's kind of a loft - diagonal wood ceilings and two spacious bedrooms and a nice living area. And he was willing to rent it out for five months! So I signed yesterday.
Now I'm going to go over and sweep and mop and dust and clean probably until late tonight. I also have to go to the police station and check in - every time you move in China, you have to go to the police station right away and let them know where you've moved to - and buy food for tomorrow. I've eaten out every single meal here, so it's weird to think that tomorrow's the Sabbath and I'll have to eat in. We'll probably do a Sunday dinner calendar or something. I'm excited to go to church here - I love branches, because they make me feel like my calling matters a lot more than when I'm in a ward of 200 BYU students.
It's hard to be detailed in such a long overview. I like Nanjing a lot. It's a fairly large city with a smaller feel to it. People here are really friendly. Nearly all the people I've met - policemen, cab drivers, realtors, students - go out of their way to be helpful and welcoming. There are trees lining all the streets. The weather has been cooler than usual and rainy, maybe in the 80's or so. It's at least 90% humidity, though, so you still sweat all day long and it doesn't cool off much at night. I'm happy to finally have a place - I spent one night on Chandler's other bed, two nights on his couch, and one night on Jonathan's couch. Better than paying for a hotel for four nights, but it will be nice to sleep on my bed tonight.
There's so much more I could say, but I'll leave it at that for now. I don't have internet in my apartment yet, so it may be a while before I post again.
So, to pick up the story where I left off. I got off the plane and took a bus to the main train/bus station. From there, I took a taxi to the intersection close to Chandler's apartment. It was raining lightly, and there were five or six guys just hanging out by the crosswalk. They found me a cab, and my belongings and I trundled off. Once I got to the intersection, it was 10:30 or so, and I had no idea where to go. I walked up the street and found a hotel, so I stood outside and borrowed a guy's phone to call Chandler. He didn't answer, so the guy and his friend (who were quite definitely drunk) invited me inside to stay with them and have a few drinks. They were really friendly and jovially insistent, but I decided it would be wiser to spend the night with Chandler. The guy whose phone I borrowed told the bellhop to take my luggage, so I left my luggage there and went in search of Chandler's apartment. I found him on the street looking for me, so we went back to get my luggage. On the way back to his apartment, one wheel on my big suitcase fell off, but we managed to get to his place.
I spent the night on the bed in his other room - it doesn't have a mattress yet, so it's basically wooden slats covered with a sheet. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well. However, I was grateful to escape the well-intentioned hospitality of the friendly drunks!
The next couple days are a blur. I went to the flagship office first thing in the morning and checked in, and then I started looking at apartments. That day I saw four or five. The last one was decent, so I told them I would sign the next day. That night, though, I came over to Jonathan's apartment and saw how nice it was. It's a bit small, but higher quality than the other one I looked at, and he lives 50 yards from the flagship office, whereas mine was a fifteen minute walk away. I spent the night at Jonathan's place, and the next morning, I called the one realtor and said I wasn't interested anymore, and Jonathan introduced me to his realtor.
She's incredible! First off, she's really direct and energetic, which makes her seem more American than Chinese, and she's really competent. Half the time she would spontaneously burst into a sprint - across the road, up a flight of stairs - and we would have to run to catch up. Jonathan came with me to look at houses that day. We saw some that I liked, but most people aren't willing to rent for just five months, which is a hassle. That evening she took us and some other flagship students out to dinner, and then right after dinner we ran to see more apartments until 9:30 at night. She let me borrow her daughter's bike, and we rode all over looking at places. We didn't end up finding one, though.
Yesterday, she didn't have anything for me to look at until evening, so Josef (who had just arrived) and I went out looking for realtors. We found a few, and the first place we saw was really good. An old man manages the apartment, and the rent is only ¥2300 a month (about $360 for a two-bedroom apartment, not bad when I have to pay for the whole apartment - our tutors live for free and tutor us in return). It's kind of a loft - diagonal wood ceilings and two spacious bedrooms and a nice living area. And he was willing to rent it out for five months! So I signed yesterday.
Now I'm going to go over and sweep and mop and dust and clean probably until late tonight. I also have to go to the police station and check in - every time you move in China, you have to go to the police station right away and let them know where you've moved to - and buy food for tomorrow. I've eaten out every single meal here, so it's weird to think that tomorrow's the Sabbath and I'll have to eat in. We'll probably do a Sunday dinner calendar or something. I'm excited to go to church here - I love branches, because they make me feel like my calling matters a lot more than when I'm in a ward of 200 BYU students.
It's hard to be detailed in such a long overview. I like Nanjing a lot. It's a fairly large city with a smaller feel to it. People here are really friendly. Nearly all the people I've met - policemen, cab drivers, realtors, students - go out of their way to be helpful and welcoming. There are trees lining all the streets. The weather has been cooler than usual and rainy, maybe in the 80's or so. It's at least 90% humidity, though, so you still sweat all day long and it doesn't cool off much at night. I'm happy to finally have a place - I spent one night on Chandler's other bed, two nights on his couch, and one night on Jonathan's couch. Better than paying for a hotel for four nights, but it will be nice to sleep on my bed tonight.
There's so much more I could say, but I'll leave it at that for now. I don't have internet in my apartment yet, so it may be a while before I post again.
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