Apartment found!!!

After a week of apartment hunting we finally found one today.  We toured another 8 places today, 16 yesterday, etc, etc.  The apartment is just over $1200 USD, plus power, water, etc.  It actually has an enclosed shower, which i like (and is completely different from every other apartment we visited, the smallest kitchen in the world (the microwave and refrigerator are in the living room), a very big living room, and 2 bedrooms.  i'm going to convert one of the bedrooms into an office.  i'm going to have to replace one of the beds as it's 185 cm, and i'm 183 cm tall (6'0"), plus, i wouldn't mind actually being able to purchase a real bed.  there's actually a simmons bed store on the first level of the apartment building, and there's a few expats who are actually good guys and who rent apartments there for a total of about 6 months a year.

Mei bargained the rent down, bargained down the real estate guy, and got me a new kitchen table.  the landlord is out of town for Chinese New Years, so, we'll do the paperwork when he gets back.  i'm allowed to move in right away though, and we've already changed the locks, and deposited one month's rent into his account.  the agent didn't speak english, the owner doesn't, and that's why we got the deal that we did.

it's interesting, but being back in asia has me thinking like i did in south korea, so, i say we, constantly (you can think of it as a "royal we" if that makes it easier), and speak in backwards, broken english...oddly enough, this is helpful because they have the same sentence order as koreans.

tomorrow is the official start of Chinese New Years.  we're going to the windows of the world to the celebration there, there will be fire works, and a whole bunch of traditional chinese bands, and other cultural displays...dancing, etc.  on the 10 - 15, there's a huge party at wa chung bei, i don't know how to spell it in pinyin, and i give up.  it should be a ton of fun, there should be at least a million or two people there.  they have huge cultural displays, and everyone is excited about the Year of the Snake that begins on the 9th.

you would not believe how many stores are closed now, and how deserted the streets of Shenzhen are.  people are still rushing out of the city.

something that i haven't written about, because i keep forgetting, is the presence of the military everywhere.  you almost always see the Chinese Army guys around.  Anyone who tries to rob a bank is stupid here, there's usually 2 or 3 soldiers inside every bank.  they are also out on the streets.    they don't actually harass anyone, or anything of that nature, and i've seen them help out a lot of people, i think they are more of a comfort than anything else, and contribute to the overall feeling of safety that you have everywhere you go.

the ATM's here are interesting.  they only dispense cash in 100 RMB notes.  so, the machines constantly run out, and you never know when the ATM you want to use is going to have cash.  you have to have a chinese bank account to use 90% of the ATM's here anyway.  the others are few and hard to find.

In a lot of ways, China is an assault on your senses.  you can be walking down the street and smell the most incredibly wonderful cooking aromas, then turn the corner and walk next to a grated sewer main....there's smells of mold, mildue, everything.  some things are really good, others not so much.

at night, there's lights everywhere, the buildings all have either light displays, or even tv's going full time, my favourite building looks like a waterfall, the lights run down to simulate water.  there is always something to see, one of the buildings here is a replica of the empire state building, and the top changes colour from red to green to blue, it's beautiful.

in the daytime, there's so many interesting things going on around you.  the size of the buildings is staggering.  you can be walking past the largest building you have ever seen, turn the corner and you're in a very chinese, traditional looking marketplace.  we walked through one today, and a guy kept kicking a chicken to watch it put it's wing out and steady itself.  i think he was about to kill it, and was just playing with his food.

speaking of food, i'm going in search of dinner.....

Different way of thinking

It seems to me that in the USA and Canada, what you pay for a place or a thing is a matter of pride in a lot of cases.  if you're renting a $2k/month apartment, you can expect that everyone in your area will know what that entails.  if you purchase a tv for $5k, everyone knows what that means, and how nice your tv is, and even have a general idea as to what options that tv will have.  chinese people don't think like this.  it's not what you paid, it's not what the discount was, it's what they didn't pay, if that makes any sense?  if you are paying 5000 RMB and your neighbor next to you is paying 6500 RMB for the same thing, that makes you better, in a lot of ways.  you had a lot of face going in, and you didn't give up any.

face is extremely important here.  it's a concept that you better get down before you try to do business here. it becomes even more crazy when you consider the fact that because you're a foreigner, you have no face.  that's what allows us to get out of trouble that a chinese person would go straight to prison for.  it also allows us to look down (face down) a person who is in much higher authority than we are, because he can only lose face, we can't gain it, and we can't lose something that we don't have.  it's a concept that i'm finally starting to understand, but it's going to take a while.

as an example, my girlfriend, Mei, invited me originally to her hometown for new year.  things went sideways for a little while, and we ended up cancelling that trip.  i was convinced that it was some sort of announcement of our betrothal, or something, and that was from reading blogs, and newsboards, and talking to foreigners in china.  it turns out that that was all wrong.  if i had gone, her parents would have lost a ton of face because:  1.  their daughter is dating a foreigner who can't speak chinese, and 2.  they don't speak english.  that kind of loss of face in a village is really not a good thing, and it would take years, if ever, for them to get their status back.

i'm going to bed, i'm having phone issues that i hope to resolve tonight or tomorrow morning, then i'm going apartment hunting again in the morning.  i will say, that going out tonight was absolutely insane.  we were in an area that is normally fairly busy, there's almost always people everywhere you go....it was deserted, new years unofficially starts today, the official start date is on the 9th, don't ask me what the difference is, i don't understand.  this place is becoming a ghost town though, it's amazing to see.....the train station is completely sold out of tickets, there's millions of people in line there waiting to get on, and it's truly staggering to see.  i think it's something like 7 million or so, actually leave this town for their home town for new years.

2 weeks in China, and I got arrested……

Don’t worry, I’m fine.  Here’s the story:

Last night, I found out that the Chinese price on my apartment is 5,000 RMB, I’m paying 10,000, and the real estate guy said that we couldn’t bargain because the owner was out of town.  I was supposed to pay the deposit today of 30,000 RMB, but they actually wanted 38,000 RMB, cash.  I refuse to walk around with that kind of money, it’s unsafe…everywhere.  So, I thought I would have a friend and his Chinese friend, i.e. interpreter try to bargain down the rate before going to the bank, together, again, I’m not getting that kind of cash together and going for a ride on a subway, or taxi. 

Next thing you know, things are out of control, everyone is yelling, and that’s when I find out that my rental agent was taking a huge kickback for the deal.  His English went away during this time as well.  We argued for a good 2 hours, the owner left, and the real estate agent decided to go talk on his phone on the balcony for an hour.  At this point, we decided it was time to escape the contract.  There is a clause in the contract that if you don’t pay the rent within 5 days, then they keep the deposit.  I figured that that was a 4,000 RMB lesson, and I could afford to do that.  The real estate agent stopped talking to us, and the owner was nowhere to be found, so, we got up and left, took all of my baggage and went out to catch a cab.  On our way out, the real estate guy, Standy Li, (never ever use him, I will post his name, company, email address, etc later on, at the bottom), said that he was calling the cops.  We ignored him and walked out.

We hailed a cab, shoved all of my luggage in, and climbed on board.  Meanwhile, outside the cab, the landlord, her friend, the real estate agent, and some random old guy (a witness, maybe?) were yelling, standing in front of the cab so that we couldn’t move.  We offered the cab driver a 100 RMB tip to get us out of there, he tried reversing, and the landlord’s friend ripped open the door.  So, obviously we weren’t going to get anywhere.

We unpacked the cab, and put all my luggage on the side of the street to wait for the police.  Our interpreter was still with us, thank goodness, and he was giving me advice, along with Thomas, also very grateful, and I think that this experience is going to cost me in favours for the rest of the year!

2 hours later, the cops showed up.  The landlord told her story, the interpreter told ours, and the cop said that he didn’t care, didn’t want to get involved, and walked away.

20 minutes later, a car pulled up, and I was told to get into the back.  (I’ll post pics of me arrested in the back of the car later).  The interpreter came with me, and Thomas hailed a cab with my girlfriend, Mei.  He dropped Mei off at a hotel, I don’t know what it’s called, I’m writing from it right now, I have no idea where we are, we’re just nowhere near the hyatt, so I can’t be found by the real estate agent and the landlord.  We got off at the local police station, and met with a mediator.  It turned out that he has no authority, so a captain-ish mediator was called in. 

We had been at the cop shop for about 3 hours by this time, and Standy decided to leave and send his partner in to deal with all of the craziness.  His partner walked up to us, told us he had a foreign lawyer that he was going to call, and started yelling at us for being bad people, talking about how there are laws, blah, blah, blah, I’m protected, you’re going to pay, etc.

We went back into the room and argued some more.  They turned to me and asked at this point what I thought that the apartment was worth.  I told them that I didn’t want to live somewhere where my landlord would have hard feelings against me.  I still don’t think that it’s a good idea.  They offered to settle if I paid them another 6,000 RMB, but for that price, I could get a lawyer and have him take them apart.  Their willingness to keep changing their offer for the contract breach fee told me that I was in the right, and that they didn’t have a chance.  I have no idea if that was a reality, or if that’s just how I feel after 4 hours in a police station.

Thomas called one of his contacts here, he’s not a lawyer, but he’s high up in the city, I’ll leave it at that.  This guy showed up with 2 big friends, they were all wearing casual clothes, and leather jackets.  They walked in, yelled for 15 minutes, and got everything taken care of.  The mediator filled out a report, I signed my name (kind of), and stamped my fingerprint on it. 

I’m out of the contract, and tomorrow I need to change my phone number.  Apparently, because I’m a foreigner, and nobody knows how to find me, the hassle will go away.  Because they hadn’t officially charged me with anything, they couldn’t hold me, so Thomas’s friend said, “just walk out”, and we left the police station.

The amazing part?  It’s 9 pm right now.  What a long, long day.  I need to go out and socialize, and thank a pile of people who made everything work out in the end.  I’ll have to look up Standy’s contact stuff later, I have to go now.

Original Expectations

As i was attempting to get back to the hotel from visiting my new apartment, I had a great deal of time to think.  I actually got off on the wrong stop, and then got lost in yet another underground mall trying to find the right exit.  i eventually found my way back to the surface and knew, beyond doubt, that there was no way that i was going to spend another hour wandering around trying to find the metro, when it was only one stop, and i could probably walk home.  that turned out to be an error, as i really didn't have anything but the foggiest notion of how to get back to the hotel.  it only took me 3 hours, so, i'm going to say that that was a good thing.  the bad thing...sort of bad thing, i guess, is that i was not in a good neighbourhood at all.  if i had been at home, or in many other countries, i would have been in a great deal of danger.  in China though?  absolutely safe, and in no danger whatsoever.  i didn't once stop to wonder if i was going to get mugged, shot, or kidnapped.

so, while i was wandering the back streets of Luohu past "massage parlours", and things of that nature, i found myself thinking about my original expectations about china.  I did some half-assed research, watched some discovery channel documentaries on China (netflix), and watched a vlog of a guy who lives in Shenzhen, but there were certain expectations that i had for when i landed.  In the past i lived in South Korea for a year and a half, but that was 20 years ago, and i think that some of my expectations were based on that experience.

So, here were my expectations (along with what i actually found):

1.  landing in a foreign, dirty airport, completely lost, spending time in a customs line with thousands of other people, being treated like a dirty foreigner, and generally a miserable experience.

landing in Shenzhen, China was actually one of the best airport experiences of my entire life.  it still seems strange to me.  we disembarked from the giant plane straight onto the tarmac, and then walked into where the baggage came off the plane.  there was none of that running around, attempting to discover where your luggage was going to appear.  everything was clearly marked in chinese and in english.  because i had purchased an upgrade to first class on the trip from phoenix to la, my luggage was first off the plane.  it was easily the best $60 USD that i have ever spent.

after collecting my luggage, i wandered to a clearly marked sign that said, "foreign visitors", and walked up to the customs agent.  he looked at my passport, looked at my form, and waved me on.  that was customs.  i walked through some doors, and there was my name on a sign with a guy waiting for me.  he grabbed my luggage cart, took me out to the waiting car, and we were on our way.  i was in that airport for the grand total of 15 minutes.  when is the last time you were able to get off a plane, get your luggage, and clear customs in 15 minutes?

(to be continued)

Make your own Reality

I got my lessons switched today from group to private lessons.  I didn't really know the difference when i signed up, i just thought i got a great discount if nobody else was in my class, i got 1 on 1 lessons, right?  that's actually not how the thinking goes.  if you're in a group class, you're considered a group even if there is no one else.  thus, you can't take time off if you have to leave town or work comes up, or whatever.  you just lose those classes.  you can also fall way behind doing that as well, so, i finally decided that it was best to just sign up for the private classes, which will probably teach me better pronunciation anyway.  with private lessons, you pay a bit more, but, you can take time off whenever you want as long as you give 24 hours notice.  there's also no shortage of people available to be tutors here, i'm almost positive that i don't have to pay one if i want one either, which is kinda cool.  it's more likely though, that i'll just harass random people in coffee shops  and restaurants, that train of thought amuses me, and must be acted upon.

Have you ever noticed that those who live in China then return to the USA or Canada tend to be much more confident, or possibly egotistical (depending on your point of view)?  I think i finally understand why.  Every woman you meet here seems to laugh or giggle at you.  I've come to the conclusion that it's because i'm highly desirable  attractive, and they all want me.  It's the same reaction you see in middle or high school when a girl likes a boy.  this train of thought probably has zero basis in reality, but...reality is what you make it, after all!

i was headed down in the elevator today to go start a serious amount of errands, and a girl started running towards the elevator, yelling "please hold!!  please hold!!", i held the elevator, and she was absolutely shocked!  when she got in, she said, "i'm so lucky you're not chinese!!".  i thought that was funny as well as true, a chinese guy would have been rapidly pressing the close button.  i think that when i'm really bored one day, i'm going to see if i can switch the wiring in my building elevator between the open and close button and see what happens.  i know that it will push someone over the edge, i'm betting the resulting explosion will be pure entertainment.  thinking about it now, i'm betting that that's just about the one thing that i could do to get myself kicked out of this country.

i got my bank stuff all finished off today, by tomorrow, i should be able to log on to the internet banking, and actually pay my rent by online banking.  i find that rather handy.  the interesting thing, i thought, was that i showed up without an appointment, and my normal account rep was out of town.  one of the other account specialists cleared part of his schedule for me, and helped me get everything done, as well as adding some features to my account that he wasn't supposed to, to make it easier for me to get things taken care of online.  the difference in service between HSBC Canada and HSBC Shenzhen is absolutely staggering.  i noticed a comment form, and filled that out while i was waiting for them to convert money from CAD to RMB, pointing out the positive experience that i have had from this bank, and they grew even more helpful, if it can be believed.  They will actually go out of their way to do everything possible for you, including getting you water, tea, coffee, or espresso while you're signing documents.  this is how banking should be....being treated like a valued customer is a different mentality entirely in a bank.

I've lost i think about 5 or 6 pounds in the past 2 weeks that i've been here, and i think it's purely the amount of time you spend walking and sweating.  because it's winter, you need to wear a jacket.  it's 28ºC outside, but, you need to wear a jacket because it's winter.  i don't get it, i accept it, and i sweat a ton!  additionally, i don't drive here (and will not, because i still possess a little sanity, making me incapable of driving in SZ), so it's either walk, or use the metro.  i think i walked an easy 3 or 4 miles this afternoon, and have a pile more to do going in search of stuff for my new apartment.  i'm just writing while waiting for rush hour to go away so i can take the metro to the mall.  i'm also pondering where in the world you go to buy a safe.  perhaps google knows?

i got lost in underground Shenzhen today.  There's a map, but it's not very helpful unless you know where you are and where you want to go.  perhaps the chinese writing on it will tell you something.  i thought it was just an underground way to go across the street without getting hit by a bus, but, it also connects to the metro station, and i think some sort of underground mall.  i was running up and down stairs, and through all kinds of places, popping up above every now and then trying to figure out if i was going the right way or not.  i think it would be helpful if i had had a compass....or better yet, make the walkways straight instead of curving randomly and making it difficult to figure out which direction you're going.

looks like i'm off for Coco Park, perhaps i'll drop by my apartment and make sure that my key works, as well as figure out where the apartment is again, i'm not sure that i can remember....should be fun.  If nothing else, i may see how my friends are at one of my favourite games.  "i'm going to describe a place.  now you guess where it is, and then see if you can figure out how to get me to where i need to be."  seems like it's always an adventure here!

Feel the burn.....

I went apartment hunting on saturday feb 2nd.  i met up with this new 
guy, Standy, and his buddy, Andy, at 10 am, and we proceeded to tour 
Shenzhen.  We walked at a brisk pace all over Futian, Luohu, and were in 
fact all of 20 feet away from the Hong Kong border.  I figure all 
totaled, we saw somewhere around 20 apartment, and walked 10 - 15 miles, 
and took somewhere around 20 different trains, and climbed more 
staircases than i could have believed.  i found my place though!  it 
took me a bit to realize but when i had originally contacted him, he 
asked me what my "lucky numbers" were.  it was about the 18th place that 
we visited before i realized that every single apartment we went to, the 
floor had either a 7 or a 3 in it (my two lucky numbers), kinda 
surprised me.

i found my apartment!!!  it's a fairly spacious place (fairly - you'd 
want to really love your family before moving 2 or 3 of them in with 
you!!) at 85 sq meters (you do the conversion.....actually, you send me 
the conversion, i can't figure it out right now, and looking it up 
sounds like so much more work than just talking about it).  the deposit 
and fees are what kill you, you need 2 months security deposit, 1 months 
rent, and another month's rent to pay in fees to the real estate agent 
(which is a thankless job if i've ever seen one.  we finally finished at 
9:30 pm, and did not take any breaks....at all.)  there's also a fee for 
internet (you pay for the year), utilities, and you have to set up for 
registering with the local police agent, making sure that your agent 
explains what you need from the owner.  the contract process is crazy, 
and essentially the 3 pages say, "Pay your rent by the 5th of the month, 
or you get thrown out!"  the apartment is furnished.  but....(there's 
always a but in china), the bed is possibly the hardest bed i've ever 
seen. there's no such thing as a box spring here (even though they are 
made here), i think the mattress is stuffed completely with rice or a 
rice like substance (there's no space inside to allow for a little 
flexibility), so you need to go out and find some foamies and one or 2 
mattress pads.  replacing the matress is a waste of time, these ones are 
new anyway, but they're all the same.

going apartment hunting you see so many crappy, meth head like hangouts, 
that you start to wonder if you're too american, and perhaps your 
standards are too high.  the truth is, though, that you just have to pay 
more than you'd expect....it's more expensive than scottsdale for a lot 
less.  my furniture is all ikea, (there's an ikea here somewhere, i'm 
going to go in search sometime soon), and things can be a bit strange.  
my shower goes into a wooden or wicker tub...(some japanese thing, i 
don't know), which i actually kinda like...i'm not sure i'd take a bath 
in it, but it will make less of a mess.  i have the smallest dishwasher 
that i've ever seen (i thought it was one of those toaster oven things), 
and the buttons all have chinese characters, i look forward to 
experimenting with it.  i do have a washer, but i didn't see a drier 
anywhere.  i know they exist, i just don't have space for it.  balconies 
in china were all meant to hang clothes, regardless.  i don't have the 
first clue as to how to use my washer, i'm going to experiment with that 
as well.  i have a 27" LCD tv, that will probably need replacement soon, 
(it's cracked, if it spreads, it's done), and the most awesome purple 
sectional in the world.  the apartment is located in the famous 
(infamous) futian district of coco park.  coco park has the most awesome 
restaurants that i've seen thus far.  all western style dining, and 
maybe one third of those sell western style food.  i'm craving random 
meat on a stick....i didn't see any, i may go in search tomorrow when i 
go in search of the superbowl, which starts at 7 am here.

the apartment is one of those crazy end units (they don't have things 
like that that i've really seen, unless you count penthouses, i 
think.....so it faces north and south.  i do have air conditioning, no 
heater.  i can just open up windows on both sides of the apartment 
though, and get a natural flow.  i'm facing the hong kong side and i 
think i can see the mountains (i'm not sure if i can see them through 
the smog....they're far away, but it depends on the day....something 
like 5 or 6 miles away....do NOT compare us to Beijing, they can't see 
across the street....so, our air is Clean (ish)!!!)  i don't think it 
actually gets cold here, and if you get cold in my apartment, i 
recommend finding a blanket.  i didn't see a heater in any of the 
apartments that i saw today, i'm going to firmly believe that they 
aren't needed, regardless of what reality may hint at.

there is zero storage.  there are no closets, just wardrobes, or you can 
go find yourself an idea wardrobe (choices in the affordable area are 
ikea and walmart, and i'm not sure how to get walmart to deliver, so i'm 
going to find ikea....there's a train, a certain bus, and a random walk 
through an alley to get you there, i'm going to get directions, then 
coerce thomas into joining me, maybe he can convince them to delever to 
my address.)  i live on the 32nd floor, there's only 33 floors in my 
building.  so, i have a fantastic view, and no risk of pests, the bugs 
all live on the first 5 to 10 floors, i'm way above that, so they won't 
come to my place!  (again, theoretically...believe what you want to 
believe, then concentrate on that thought until it's reality....an odd 
truth to life in china...).

i went to mcdonalds for dinner.  i pointed to what i wanted, and i got 
it.  i thought it was a chicken sandwhich....who knows what it was, it 
was dark meat, i think it was pork.  it had mushrooms, lettuce, and an 
amazing amount of mayo on it, it was a bit messy.  i don't know why 
sandwhiches here make me feel retarded, but they always put so much 
sauce on whatever you eat in sandwhich form, that it kinda leaks all 
over you.  i don't know how to say no sauce, so, best to live with it.  
it came with easily the best curly fries that i've had in my life.  the 
drink.....that's the funny part, actually.  because i'm american, i 
consume more soda (chinese perspective), so, because i'm american and 
consume more soda, i must need the biggest glass of pop ever.  
but....and this is the good part, i don't pay the price difference.  i 
actually feel like on this one thing, the chinese aren't getting the 
best of me, so, i believe i will continue to go to mcdonalds.  plus, 
let's face it, curly fries are awesome!!!

i'm not sure if i'm moving in today or tomorrow, but, whatever day i 
move in, will be the day that i lose internet... until later this week.  
i'm tempted to wait to move in for the locks to be changed, and the 
money to be in hand, so that things don't go wrong (that is to say, 
missing....how many real estate agents in the city have a key?  i'm 
guessing lots!)

i need to take a long hot bath, i'm still dead tired and sore from 
yesterday.

I feel really tall.....

went apartment hunting today, and the ceilings are all really low, i 
felt like a giant.  the first place we visited was tiny, the second 
place huge...they were both trashed and looked like a meth head had 
spent some quality time there....  i couldn't seem to communicate to my 
agent that i wasn't looking to live in a slum, and trying to give him a 
price was kind of a waste of time, he just ignored what i said, said 
that it was too expensive, let me show you other cheap place.  i'm still 
wondering how to combat this problem.

i went to some fairly american districts today, and i'm still amazed at 
the couples i see.  you see a big american...like 6'6", 250+ lbs, 
dressed like he just crawled out of a gutter recently....possibly an 
hour ago...stained shirt, no style, ripped up trashed jeans, lousy 
sneakers, badly in need of a shave and a shower....and on his arm is a 
very well dressed, tiny girl, 5'0", 90 lbs, wearing prada and every name 
brand you can think of....clinging to him and looking ecstatic.  i can't 
figure it out.  there's some articles written about this, they refer to 
the american as an LBH (loser back home), but, apparently, because he 
treats women so much better than the average local guy, women with money 
are going for the LBH.  it's shameful to pay to be in a relationship, 
so, instead they pay for his apartment, his clothes (they're probably 
still brand new in his closet as he hasn't changed or showered in a week 
or a month), and are happy.  it still blows my mind a little....mostly, 
i find it depressing.

it's winter here.  regardless of the fact that it's 28ºC, humid, and a 
little stifling, wear your jacket.  i think i sweat off 5 to 10 pounds 
just following this custom.  it's unfortunately something you need to do 
to be perceived as a non-target (i.e. FOB - Fresh Off Boat=Target....can 
usually be identified by wearing a t shirt, shorts, an RFID wallet 
hanging around the neck, and flip-flops...which is all summer wear, 
minus the wallet around the neck, that's just a bad idea), so, it's 
worth doing for the lack of hassle, but wow, i'm in serious need of a 
shower.  when the sun was beating down today, i saw a guy take off his 
jacket, and his kids jacket, and placed them on their heads to hold so 
that they wouldn't get a tan, so, i guess perhaps i should have done 
that....or just worn a hat...that seems like a better idea to me.

the last apartment i looked at was fantastic.  you can actually see hong 
kong from it.  the guy kept saying, that the price he was quoting wasn't 
the chinese price, so there would be no bargaining. it was on 2 levels, 
and was a little cramped, but, i think i can deal with it, if i can't 
find an agent who will actually find me a place that i want.  the 
language barrier is a little frustrating at times.  nobody can seem to 
understand why i want to learn mandarin, they think i should learn 
cantonese, or better yet?  go find a chinese girl, she'll either teach 
me mandarin, or do everything for me, so, it's perceived as a win, win.  
everybody i talk to here has the same opinion, perhaps it is in fact the 
way to go, but...i'm stubborn, i've paid, and i'm going to get fluent, 
no matter how crazy it seems.

i think it's time to find a new real estate agent who understands that 
when i say "Coco Park CBD" (CBD - Central Business District, i.e. easy 
shopping and metro access), i mean that i would like to be central and 
not living next to hong kong, which is not quite central.  i've now 
finished off the 4 bottles of water in my room, i'm going to take a 
shower and go in search of electrolytes!