Step 3. Being There.

     So, I landed at Shenzhen Airport late on a Friday night and the guy who picked me up at the airport spoke NO ENGLISH.  Trusting this complete stranger, because I had so many other options, we headed out.  As I said previously, I was taken to what we all call, "the dorms", which, as it turns out, is actually a typical Chinese apartment building.  A good number of apartments in China come "fully furnished" so what was there was what I got.

     My "apartment" came "fully furnished with; a queen sized bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a bookcase, a "full sized" bar fridge, and a washing machine.  All of the furniture was brand new (bed still in plastic wrap) and likely from Ikea.  The first word that entered my mind, and apparently the minds of everyone else who moved in, was "dorms".  We all feel like we are living in a dorm and are back in college.  Only difference is they allow us to cook in our rooms and we are teaching the classes.

     Before I had arrived, I had decided that I would see where I was being put up in relation to where I was teaching and go from there.  As it turned out, where I was living was where City College of Shenzhen, the folks who hired me, were housing all of the new arriving teachers for Shenzhen.  So, almost everyone else I was meeting was in the same exact boat I was.  For some, like Paul, from Ireland and living across the hall, this was their first teaching job anywhere.  For others, like my new BFF Charlie, down the hall and from California, he had been in China for 2 years but this was his first job in Shenzhen.

     Charlie, as it turned out, spoke pretty decent Chinese and happened to be going apartment hunting my first day in China.  I was THRILLED to tag along with someone who knew where they were going and could speak to the locals.  It was Saturday, and I didn't have to deal with school until Monday, and I wanted to get an idea of what the apartments were like.  I can only say, that I am sorry I did not take pics, but trust me, what was out there was scary.  There are over a billion Chinese, they all live in apartments, and compared to what seemed to be out there, I was living like a queen in the Taj Mahal. 

     So, which school I was teaching at and how far a commute were the final questions to ask before deciding if I wanted to move out.  Suddenly, the dorms seemed immaculate and glamorous.  Did I mention I lived on the 5th floor of a building with no elevator?  Yeah, that was an issue as well, but a free workout every single day....and worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY to have a guy carry anything I bought up the steps.