Looking For The Greener Grass: The New Apartment Unveiled

This week has felt like two weeks. A lot of life has happened in a few days. On Monday, my friend and I headed to the downtown area so I could pay for my language classes. (As a side fun fact, the class starts in 2 days and the university has yet to decide a time for the class to begin. Oh, Asia, how you stress out this little planner.) You can’t just pay for the class at the university, because that would make too much sense. Instead, they give you an account number at a bank and you go to that bank to pay for the class. At the bank, you have to take a number and wait until a teller calls your number. When we went, there was a line of about 8 people trying to get numbers and then another 25-30 with numbers waiting inside. One of the workers suggested we go to the other bank a block or two away because it was less crowded.

We made it to the bank having only 20 minutes until the bank closed for lunch. We stepped in, grabbed a number, and only had to wait 5 minutes before a teller became free. She informed us that I was unable to pay for the class with my credit card. Bummer. We stepped outside and tried to regroup. I had money in an online checking account but not enough for the class. After a few minutes, I realized that I had $1000 in my purse from my previous trip in case of an emergency. We breathed a sigh of relief as we headed to the money exchange place and got the right currency. We then briskly walked back to the bank, took a number, and barely sat down before we were called and I paid for my class. Shew! I can’t believe we did all of that in less than 20 minutes in a foreign country.

After that, my friends began to ferociously search for me an apartment. Things work quite different here. One thing we learned is that there are a lot of apartments for rent but owners won’t advertise it as available because they don’t want just anybody living there. Another thing I have learned is that the owners won’t give any information (cost, size, number of bathrooms, etc.) to interested parties until they find out who they are, how much they make, where they work, etc. Many owners won’t rent to foreigners or single women and especially not foreign single women. They don’t trust foreigners to actually pay the rent and they believe American women will let their boyfriends stay over and have raucous parties. In light of all of this, finding an apartment can be challenging. Outside of giving my preferences on location and things I value, I had very little to do with the apartment search due to limited language abilities.

On Monday afternoon, my friend and I visited with a local, respected businesswoman. She and her daughter helped in the apartment search by calling on our behalf and vouching that my friends and me vicariously through their reputation are good people and can be trusted. She also helped to make sure that we were not price gouged since we were foreigners. They gave many hours of their time to help me out and I am grateful.

On Tuesday, I stayed inside all day. The previous day of listening to the language and trying to follow the conversations for about 4.5 hours had worn me out. It was also snowing outside with freezing temperatures and ferocious winds. I spent the day working on reports, filing receipts, studying language, refilling my depleted introvert juices, and trying to stay warm. On a side note, I walked into the kitchen and could feel the frigid wind blowing in through the window. Upon further inspection, I discovered a 6” diameter vent in the window! No wonder it’s freezing in my apartment! I could see the wind blowing the curtains inside the house. Sheesh!

While I was bundled up inside and still freezing, my teammates were hard at work looking for apartments. I’m so grateful for all they have done on my behalf. At the end of the day, they had the hunt narrowed down to 2 places but were heavily leaning towards one.

On Wednesday, they decided on their first choice. They called to check on a few more details like building and heating fees. Suddenly it seemed that the owner was now unsure about having a single woman live in his apartment. He wanted to meet me before signing the rental agreement.

At my apartment interview, there were many people in attendance: myself, the owner, the real estate agent, the businesswoman, my friends, my friends’ 4 children. The businesswoman spent some time speaking on my behalf and telling him who I was and how my friends are quite trustworthy. We eventually had some chai together and signed the contract while sipping on some tea. Incidentally, the contract was made out in the name of Bebecca rather than Rebecca. Apparently misspelled names happen a lot around here on official documents.

The businesswoman later explained that the owner acted very honorably in his dealings with us. There was some discrepancy on my portion of the heating bill. He called to check on the amount rather than insisting I pay the larger amount. He also offered to send a guy to fix the lighting in the living room and to bring the stove back for my use. Typically, apartments are not furnished with lights or appliances so both of these were a blessing. He also called the security guard to let him know I was moving in, had little language, and asked that he make sure I’m looked after.

The following morning, I saw the apartment for the first time. Yep, you read that right. I signed a contract before seeing the place. My friend saw the place before we signed the agreement but the circumstances didn’t allow me to see it first. It’s a good thing I trust her judgment. While checking out the place, I met a neighbor. It turns out we have a lot in common and she offered to help me out if I ever needed any help. I think I’m going to like her.

And now for the grand tour:

My building - If you count up 4 balconies, I'm
the one on the left

My front door

The foyer

The foyer - shoe and coat storage (from the front door
looking towards the hallway on the right)

The kitchen - (from the front door looking left)

The kitchen - (looking towards the foyer)

The view from my kitchen

Enclosed balcony - (to the right of the kitchen window)

Enclosed balcony

The salon - the salon is used as a formal living/dining room
(Entry to the salon is across from the front door. This view looks
left towards the enclosed balcony.)

Salon - (Looking towards the back of the apartment)

The guest bathroom - complete with a squatty
potty. CA homes are not complete without this
feature. (From the foyer and to the right down
the hallway, this is the first room on the right.)

The squatty potty up close for your
viewing pleasure

Spare bedroom - so you can come visit! (It's
the first room on the left of the hallway)

My lovely pink bathroom - You can't see in this
pic but the bathtub has jacuzzi jets. Most CA homes
do not have bathtubs. (It's the 2nd room on the right)

Bathroom - It has lots of cabinets which is also
unusual for CA

My bedroom - (2nd on the left)

Family room - Most CA homes have the formal salon, which they
keep super clean for when guests visit. They also have a family room
where they spend most of their time. I plan to use it as a sitting room/
art studio/music room/extra place for guests to sleep. (Located at the
end of the hallway.)