Getting Settled In

Suffice it to say, I made it safely to Wenzhou. Aaron and I were greeted at midnight at the airport by throngs of short Asian people waiting for loved ones, liked ones, and probably even a few barely-tolerated ones.

After getting our bags (which all arrived with us! Air China:1, Delta: 0), we walked toward the entrance hoping that someone would be there to meet us. From the crowd of vertically-challenged Zhongguoren stepped a slim, well-dressed (yet casual), good looking man wearing glasses. Shaking our hands and speaking very good English, he introduced himself as James Miao. Finally, a face to put with the name and well-written, yet occasionally typo-prone emails!

He and his associate, one Mr. Mao (no, not that Mao! In a country like this, last names are an exercise in repetitiveness), and "unnamed van driver #11735" drove us to the part of the city where our apartments where, which is called Xia Yu Pin. Apparently it's one of the nicer mid-level districts in town, set aside for educators and the like. In the middle of the night, we debarked on last time. First Aaron at his apartment, and then me a mine, a good 1.5 city blocks away

My apartment is very nice, actually. It's a combination of what I expected, and some things I did not. A 1-bed, 1-bath, with a kitchen, study area, living room, and balcony/washroom, it's completely self-contained. I won't need, ostensibly, to find the Chinese Laundromat here... not that that'd be overly difficult.

It is, however, an old place. The building itself is what I think of when I think "Soviet-esque tract housing" It's a 6-story complex, just one of row after row after row of the exact same building. To look at it from the outside....well, let's just say it's not the world's prettiest sight.

(I'll input some photos as soon as photobucket decides to quit being so ornery...)