Apartment in the sky

For most of my stay in Beijing, I have been residing at my colleague's apartment while she is on home and work leave in the US. In essence, I have become her, living there, using her bike and overseeing the day-to-day activities of the office. Us foreigners are easily interchangeable. (Photo: view from the apartment.)

The apartment "city" is called Stone Garden and from what I can tell is made up of about ten 25-plus story apartment buildings. There is also a nursery school, central plaza, store, snack kiosk which is also responsible for delivering water jugs, and a community center which houses a farmers market/grocery store/food court in the basement, restaurant on the main level and at least a gym on one of the upper floors. In the mornings, the older residents practice their tai chi in the plaza and at night their ballroom dance moves in the community center. Last night a group of them were outside practicing some sort of synchronized routine involving flags and a pom pom. We also have a guard house and elevator ladies. All the ladies do, from what I can tell, is memorize where every single resident in their building lives and press the floor button and door open and close buttons for you. (Note: The Chinese are very big into the open and close buttons in elevators. After some very scientific research, I have discovered that in fact the door will close two seconds faster if you hit the door closed button just as soon as the door opens. For people who move so slowly, they sure are an impatient, pushy bunch.)

Kate's apartment is very nice. A two bedroom, two bath, overly heated, 11th floor, lovely apartment completely kitted out in IKEA decor (yes, IKEA is in BJ). I have access to one Chinese based international TV channel, plus an intriguing music video channel (although mostly modern love ballads, last night there were Asian cowboys line-dancing outside a diner and in a barn, drinking milk all to a very catchy tune), and a channel entirely dedicated to western extreme sports. Thus, I have been working my way through an eclectic selection of pirated DVDs that Kate inherited from, if the choice of movies is any indication, a friend who reveled in angst. See the list on this blog (I can't see it but I think it's located to the right) to see what made the watched-list.

Did I mention, this apartment also comes with a weekly cleaning lady? Having a cleaning service is very common in Beijing - both my female coworkers employ one. Zhao Min's also looks after her daughter in the afternoons and starts dinner. Kate's comes every Thursday morning, at which time, I leave let her in, leave her some money (~$6) and then go to work. Presto - a cleaner apartment and sometimes laundered bedding, when I get home.

But before this begins to sound like bliss, let me point out that for whatever structural defect, one man's ceiling is literally another man's floor. I have come to learn the daily schedule of the family above me. I know when it's food prep time (sounds of chopping), cleaning/washing time, instrument practice time (keyboard or most recently, clarinet), and I know when it's time (10p) to put the little daughter to bed (clickety-clack of little shoes running to and fro followed by five minutes of fussing and then quiet).

Photo: This is not the little girl, but a cute as a button baby I saw in Xi'an who was outwith his grandfather. If viewed from behind (literally), the little guy was sporting traditional split-crotch pants exposing his bare bum as he toddled around.