The (obligatory) tours of Rick's Life in China--Comfortable Apartments

Wonder what life looks like in China?  Here's the walk-through of my world.  Step by step you'll understand why it's a gentle transition into China in that I am
-in a comfortable apartment
-on a high school campus
-closed off by a guarded gate
-located in the rich, new part of town
-40 minute bus ride away from the city center (the chaos).  It's peaceful--despite what you'd expect from China. 
Let's start at the apartment and work our way to the chaos.

Walkway towards the apartment (peaceful, yet oddly not lit at night despite all the light posts along the walkway)

I'm the 1st floor apartment of a 5-story building for teachers and Korean students

The living room that greets you as you enter.  Fully equipped (TV, DVD player, couch, fridge, table, water fountain)

Living room (from opposite end as above)

Incredibly tiny kitchen (surprisingly with microwave and stove).  Fortunately there's a dining hall on campus, so I don't need to cook

Opposite the kitchen one enters the large, spacious bedroom with internet access, full-sized bed, and desk

Turn around and in the nook is the bathroom and washing machine

The most amusing part of the apartment--the bathroom.  Note the showerhead hanging on the wall that sprays across the room--that's the shower.  The mop in the corner is to clean up after showering (and I thought I hated wiping down tiled showers--at least those were in a confined space)

The sun room.  This is just off the bedroom and for storage (note the single-speed bike), hanging wet clothes, or any fun purpose you can imagine. 

That concludes the walk-around of the apartment.  On weekends I find myself always doing a double-take as I walk outside because I forget that I'm in China.  I have everything I need in the apartment, so after a long morning coffee I walk to lunch and am surrounded by Chinese students--my wake-up call that, 'This is China!"

Thank you for choosing Mr. Li's Tour Team.  We hope you'll join us for the upcoming view of a (somewhat-ritzy) Chinese High School campus!

Later Days,
Rick