At last, the photos can be published! Welcome to my humble home, everyone. I live in building number 18 (I think), third floor, apartment number 5.

C'mon in...you can see on the left the door to the spare bedroom, and on the right the door to my room. On your immediate left is the dining room, which leads to the kitchen, and on the immediate right is the living room, which faces out over the city.






My kitchen is small, so my appliances spill over into the dining room. Notice in the center the oven I salvaged (saving a lot of money in the process) and the water distiller the PC issues us. I try to only drink distilled water, so that not only is it free of parasites, etc, but also of heavy metals which are probably still present in bottled water.



I love the cheery yellow paint in my kitchen. I am so happy to have this space. The tap in the kitchen runs only cold water, but the gas heater on the wall heats the shower water (for which I am very thankful). Because the gas vent pipe goes out an open window, this room of the house is sooo cold right now. I keep the door closed at all times and only go in there when necessary.



And on to the bathroom...


I have a very Chinese style bathroom, meaning a squat toilet that serves also as a shower drain. I've nicknamed this room "the swamp" because it almost always is damp. It is basically a shower room with a toilet in the floor and a tin sink in the corner. It does the job, though. Incidentally, on Wednesday of last week (before this photo was taken) the inside doorknob on the bathroom door broke, leaving me trapped inside after a shower. After trying Plan A (jiggle the handle) Plan B (use some wire to try to jimmy the lock) I moved on to Plan C: I took a mop that had been in the bathroom since I moved in and rammed a hand-sized hole in the door, so that I could reach around and let myself out with the outside knob. I still haven't called the Waiban staff to inform them of the broken door. Mark, aren't you glad I didn't resort to the mop treatment on your door last fall?





This is the spare bedroom, which I have yet to pay much attention to. But have no fear, future guests--I plan on being a very good host.


My living room is great, and very spacious (especially in absence of a couch!). I have a TV that I rarely watch, and a great bookshelf for my books.


I have a great view out of my window, so as I sit at my desk and work, email or blog, I can gaze out over the city. In the distance is the Yangtze River.


Notice in the photo below the space where a couch will go one day, as well as the jade plant I've named George, a reflection of its bush-like shape.


And lastly, my bedroom. It is increasingly drafty, but I still like it. As the only heated room in the place, I spend more and more time here.






And that's the tour, folks! Hope this gives you a better idea of what my life is like here. My apartment is a haven for me, my little island of privacy and homeyness. I am very happy with it, despite the quirky doorknobs, etc, and enjoy being a homebody. Until next time...