Meagan's World: Qing Feng Hua Jing Yuan

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Qing Feng Hua Jing Yuan

My apartment complex (called "Qing Feng Hua Jing Yuan)is brand new, and this is both a good thing and a bad thing. When Audrey and I came to Beijing, we did not plan ahead and so did not have a space in the dorms. We had a really hard time finding a landlord who would give us a lease for less than one year. The only one we could find was this one, and it is huge (1800 square feet seems like a mansion after of living in Hong Kong), clean, and gorgeous. It has hard wood floors, furniture that matches and is modern, a big screen tv, large kitchen, and nice bathrooms. The problem is that it is far from campus (about a 20 minute bike ride), and that it is brand new. We were among the first people to move into our complex, and it was sort of eerie...the construction workers work nonstop, and when they aren't working they live in a little shanty village with huts made out of corrugated tin. When we first moved in, the road to our complex was not completed, so we had to ride our bikes over mud, and then gravel, and then we didn't even have access to the road while it was being paved. The buildings were surrounded by dirt and then gradually the workers put in fountains, imitation pagodas, grass, and ponds. It looks very nice now; it is amazing the progress they have made in two months. People are gradually moving in, but for the most part our huge apartment complex is empty. A Chinese massage place opened up about a moth ago, and that is great. Now I just have to go downstairs to get a foot massage, and it only costs 30 kuai and hour. That is less than 4 US dollars! I am really going to miss my foot massages when I move back to the States...Also, there is a maid service in our building, and it costs only 9 kuai an hour. That is 1 dollar...It makes me feel bad to pay that price so we don't get the maid very often. (Yes, I know that is illogical.)

Since our complex is so new, taxi drivers have usually never heard of it, which was horrible for me when I was so new to China and insecure about speaking Chinese. Also, they are still working on our building and the electricity goes out ALOT without any warning. Our popsicles keep melting and refreezing! It sucks. I have invested in a head lamp for when the power goes out. Also, everything is dusty because of all the construction. And don't even get me started on the staring problems that seem to be prevalent amongst construction workers across the world.

Our building has a huge number of security guards. They are SO bored. There is no one living here and nothing to guard, so they roam around in packs and act like little boys. I think they ARE little boys, actually. They look about 12 years old, I think I could beat up any one of them! Their uniforms are really funny, they look like kids dressed up as military men or toy soldiers: they have a white sash and hats with shiny silver badges on them. They are pretty funny to have around actually, except for the fact that every time I ride my bike past them they call "Hello" after me and break down into fits of giggle. They think it is hilarious, even after 2 months of seeing me nearly every day. It is funny most of the time, but not at 7:30 in the morning when I am biking to school in the icy cold Fall weather.

I posted a picture of my bike below also...It is my pride and joy and my constant companion. Beijing is flat, so lots of people ride their bikes. I ride mine everywhere. It is also symbolic of my independence in China. When I first got here, I spent hours by myself checking out bikes and trying to bargain for them. This was not easy since I had no idea how much it should cost and I didn't even know how to say the numbers in Chinese. I got my bike for 135 Kuai, which is about 17 US dollars. That included the basket for the front and two bike locks. I was SO proud of having bargained for my bike on my own, without asking my roommates for translation help. I hated relying on other people when I first got here so I was elated to have successfully obtained a bike.