Apartment hunting

 Andy told me that if I liked a place then I should take it, because apartments were taken up quickly in China, due to the shortage of living spaces and huge population, with most children living with their parents into adulthood; a concept British people struggle to understand because we're brought up being told to pretty much leave as soon as being admitted to university as a way of developing distance with our parents, thus less interference. 

Yoyo came to meet me at the centre, as she had set me up with an agent to find apartments who could speak English. We met the agent at the first apartment complex, who showed me to a studio apartment on floor 24, which had a huge bed, a bay window, a modest kitchen sideboard to prepare food, and a bathroom with a shower. I didn't love it, but didn't hate it. It was small, private and also modern, with the reception hall resembling that of a hotel. But at 3800RMB per month-it was expensive, and the landlord was asking for a deposit of two months plus four months rent up front-in total six months which accumulated to 22 800RMB. 

After loving and leaving the first apartment, the agent took us in a brand new black BMW to see the next one. This 'ramshackle' apartment with stone stairs was in stark contrast to the previous modern-looking one. Carpets and flooring were still non-existent, and in an unsafe area, though at 2900RMB, it wasn't an option I could consider. 

I had to make a decision soon, because apartments are taken quickly in China, and Hangzhou is one of the most populous cities, making the need even greater. Although I had been given a whole three days to hunt for more apartments, Andy and YoYo put pressure on me to find a place, and also because YoYo couldn't spend more time away from work helping me or she would get into trouble with her boss-something I didn't even think about. 

I was calculating the cost of the first apartment, and I had taken out a 10 000RMB loan from the company to help me out, but that still wasn't really enough. I didn't listen to the advice of the initial EF induction before leaving England, and only came with around 10 000 RMB in cash. 

I went back to the apartment to continue to count what I had, but I was still left around 3000RMB short on cash, and I still needed money for the rest of the month to live. I continued to count the money with YoYo, hoping that I would get a different calculation, but that never happened. She managed to negotiate with the landlord for only three months of rent up front, and then to pay the extra month in two more months, so to basically pay four months of rent up front every three months, plus an administration fee, which was around 2000RMB, plus the agency fee, which was another one month of rent, for finding the apartment. I thought that the agency fee really was a bit of a con-I didn't feel they really did anything, they didn't even negotiate with the landlord, YoYo did that. 

YoYo told Andy, my Italian boss, about my money situation, and I received a call at about 7pm while I was in the hotel, and he offered to lend me 8000 RMB. I was shocked at his trust and generosity, totally surprised by his willingness to help me out. I guess he assumed that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He didn't say when to give the money back. I agreed, and took this as my first experience of expat camaraderie, something I had never experienced, even from friends in the UK-it would never happen. 

The next morning I came to work, and he returned with an envelope full of cold hard cash. As soon as I finished work, me and YoYo went to pay the landlord, counting out all the cash, including that for the agent too. We went into a little office next to the apartment building. YoYo explained that the landlord is not happy that I was only able to give three months of rent rather than four. I felt conned and poor at the same time, and my first lesson of 'money upfront' culture in China. Once the money was all accounted for I got the keys, checked out of the hotel and moved my luggage to my first apartment. It was also within about 15 minutes walking distance of the training centre and about 5 minutes from the nearest underground station, though I always walked-mostly because I had no idea how to use the subway by myself. 

My next challenge would be geographical. It was always a problem of mine-I was always geographically challenged. I could get to the training centre for 9am in the morning no problem-with the use of Amaps, as all I had to do was follow the arrow. But leaving the centre and getting home in the dark proved to be a challenged. I took pictures of various landmarks to try and find my way, but they looked so different in the dark. The Westlake area had so many underground stairways and exits, with all of them looking almost the same, it was difficult to find my way home. So embarrassingly after trying to find my way home for two hours, I had to text YoYo and ask if she could help me find my way to the apartment. 

On the way, we had some 'girl talk', and told me that she was in love with a married man, with a son. I'm not sure why she was telling me her secrets, I guess as a foreigner she could trust me more than regular Chinese. She had just told him that she loves him, but he didn't seem to reciprocate. This seemed complex, and I wasn't sure what to say. I just listened, because perhaps all she needed was someone to tell. 

I hadn't even had the time to call home, or think about the UK during all of this. I was occupied, I was gaining freedom and independence and having the adventure I craved-this was all part of the journey.