I live on the 6th floor and the flat is very spacious and nice. The key is a magnetic card (the bills are also payed by inserting a card at different slots in the house). There is a large double bedroom, a rather large lounge or office, large bathroom and kitchen. Here you can see my not so large bike that I was swindled into buying for ~35pounds (a second hand one would cost maybe two pounds?). My bedroom has a wide glass window but today I decided to draw the curtains. The reason is that whereas I usually wake up with some nice bright sunlight, today the sun hid pale behind the opaque polluted atmosphere. It was very futuristic and I could stare straight at the sun. It had lost its mite and I found the sight pathetic. So I thought I'm better off with some privacy from the outer world.
At the office I tried something stubborn like attending an apparently interesting group meeting held in Chinese. Depressingly today's highlight was simply eating the Wednesday free lunch. Somewhere midways my lunch I thought of showing you what it looks like (in case you are wondering it is, like most food here, delicious).
I couldn't do any work at the office and around 6pm I called the day off. Perhaps some Chinese lessons would do me good, so I took a walk listening to my audio book until the recently bought Duracell batteries (from Jialafu=Carefour) went dead. I entered a gym that I might join, but I felt the presence of the smog indoors too! Back at home I will take my daily evening shower and maybe do some work. On my way I was already planning this post!
There are many things I want to share with you. But for now, here are some pictures.
The first two are just random angles from downtown Beijing. The crowded room is one of the many student restaurants. The street photo wanted to capture some bicycle mayhem. There are no rules for when to cross, or ride. Generically cars can bully the pedestrians and cyclists.
Finally there is the detail of the famous "no name" lake in Peking university. The word famous in Chinese literally means "have name" while this lake, although famous, is called "no name". I thought of this pan myself 有名的为名湖:P
4 comments:
有yǒu 名míng 的de = famous
无wú 名míng = no name
fame is the "名míng" in 名míng 字zi (name) not the "明míng" in 明míng 天tiān (tomorrow)
They have same pronunciation but different character different meanings!!!
Hehe.... I told you you have to learn characters properly didn't I?
:P
I knew that ;P
Geo, you 've got a wonderful flat indeed (although you failed to show us the smartly repaired bathroom ;-) Next time I'd like to see a futuristic photo of the sky and town.
I am really happy that you are sharing your feelings with us, keep them coming.
Hi Chris. I am not flat picky what so ever and I wouldn't had minded a much worse trogli :) but I was suggested to pay more for this block that houses only postdocs. they said something of the sort that it was more suitable for europeans. it was built recently and i am not very surprised that they included very modern amenities (construction is very big as you know). besides not taking chances, the thought of cockcroaches (whether they infest here or not) was decisive. the bathroom is now crap-less. i am also missing an oven, but i might buy a clay pot to use on the stove. the stove is impressive too. i miss a fridge but i am wondering whether i need it. i also miss a washing machine but i have for now my clothes washed in a shop. i also have a water distiller (it was either that or boiling water). btw I am looking forward to your blog!
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