I moved!

And it's the best. I now have two roommates, an American guy named Michael and his Chinese girlfriend Lydia. They both speak excellent Chinese and English, so I'm in a very bilingual environment. I love coming home to a warm house and I have my own room and a bathroom across the apartment all to myself. Hurray! Plus, it's cheap and much closer to my places of work.

 

The annoyingly small kitchen.

 

Pretty well-furnished room.

 

Nice and warm!

 

Living room. Way huge. A bit silly.

 

See in the corner? Huge heater!!!!

I didn't realize how cold I was at my old place until moving here. Even without the heater on, this place seems to be insulated and my neighbors also use heat. This efficiently keeps the indoor temperature above freezing, which I cannot say about my old place. One morning down there I woke up and my cell phone had condensation on it! What the eff? And I was sleeping (or trying to) in that environment?!

That was stupid. So I'm very positive about moving and meeting some new people. Lydia and I cook a lot together, sharing recipes and ingredients, though I am not a huge fan of her use of cornstarch...it weirds me out. But we both love making granola!

Also, in China they call all devices of changing the temperature kongtiao, or air-conditioning. So now I ask if places have air-conditioning in the dead of winter. Meaning heat. It's fine.

Love,
ellen