Nǐ hǎo!
A little flu, a little rain, and not much to do tells me I should do the blogging I've neglected...
Some background...
Seven weeks ago I moved to Shenzhen, China, on the southeast coast and adjacent to Hong Kong. In 1979 it was a moutainous fishing and farming village of about 30,000 people promoted to city status and declared a Special Economic Zone the following year. The military blasted the area down to size and the government started experimenting with ideas of "reform and opening". Today it is a very modern planned city with a population proper of over 10,000,000 ranking 4th in China. Also, it is ungodly hot and humid. Like I am drenched through and through, sweat dripping from me after a short walk, salt stains on my dress shirts by the time work is done. It is considered the Silicon Valley of the nation. Authorities use the city as a laboratory and export successful ideas throughout the rest of the country. There are countless huge shopping malls. It is known for its amusement parks, and there are beaches as well.
I work at a British international school called Green Oasis School as the Whole School Head of SEN (Special Educational Needs), a Head of Department responsible for any additional support to all students from Year 1 to Year 11. A lot about the job is similar to my position in Morocco, except that I'm also middle management. I have a young teaching partner (think, teacher's aide), the lovely Litchi and I am getting another teacher in January. My only complaint is that half of the staff are Chinese and the other half from the U.K. - I can't understand a word anyone says!
I live in a 54.5 sq. m. 1-bedroom apartment on the 23rd floor of a 31-story building. It is a good bit smaller than the average Shenzhen apartment yet a lot more expensive, but it's all about location, right? It is in what's called Shuiwei village, a very short Metro ride either way from the Central Business District and the HK border, a mere 5 bus stops from work. Shenzhen caters to a huge expat population, so living a comfortable Western lifestyle can be readily had (at a price). The view is pretty cool. I love the light show from the skyscrpaers in the CBD every night!
Anyway, some more about that apartment...
It has a few features that I would say are somewhat unusual. The teeny washer (no dryer) is on the balcony:
The bathroom shower has no stall; the water just flows across the floor into a drain. It's called a wet room or wet floor and is common here. Smh...
That rates a very close second in my book, but the best just has to be the glass wall between my bedroom and living area. A view from my living room:
I'm thinking peep shows to help defray the cost of my rent?
I'll leave you with that disturbing image as I get ready for next week, the last one before I go to Japan for the National Week holiday. Tokyo, Kyoto and a day trip to Hiroshima are on the docket!
Zài jiàn!
