Ants on a Tree

So on Friday afternoon Becka and I went to see our new flat and decided that we definitely wanted it. Becka was getting cold feet as we were leaving to see the flat but when she nipped back for her passport and reappeared again she'd encountered some annoying Koreans and was once again set on moving out.

The flat is rather comfy. It's on the 1st floor but with grills over the windows so it seems secure. There is a large living room with a big bay window. Through some rather pretty sliding doors is the kitchen, of course without an oven but with a fridge and rings. On one side are two bedrooms, mine and Becka's, with the bathroom inbetween. On the other side is our new flatmates' shared room and a bathroom that has no bath or shower. My bedroom faces south, so gets lots of lovely light, and has a larger than single-sized bed with a surprisingly soft mattress. Mattresses here, at least ones I've encountered, tend to be rather hard so that was quite nice although I've kinda got used to the hard... I get a large wardrobe but no other furniture. Becka doesn't even get a wardrobe. This has provided me with a perfect excuse to go and find me some lovely antique Chinese furniture so I'm not complaining!

Our new flatmates are called Boram and Sara. Both are from South Korea and are in our class. I'm not sure how old they are exactly because when I asked they said they were born in 1989, "year of the Snake, like you!". (Technically I was born in 1990 but as it was in January it was still the year of the Snake as it was before the end of the Chinese year). What I know about Sara is that she has a boyfriend in South Korea and is very pretty. Boram has a younger brother who is just about to go into the army (compulsory in SK) which must be a daunting prospect given the situation there.

So today we headed off to the 派出所, local police station, to register that us aliens were moving house. Did it work first time? As expected, no. We all trooped in and handed over a tree's worth of paper but the snag came when we found that only Sara's name was on the lease. Apparently all our names had to be to prove that we were going to live there. Which is silly. Because whether our name is on the lease or not makes no difference to where we live surely! Anyway this took a while to be communicated but after the policewoman started to get annoyed we rang the owner's son who spoke English who translated. So then we trooped off to the Estate Agents and told them the problem and they muttered that some other Germans had also had this problem and then proceeded to make many phone calls. They had a sign on the wall in English commemorating their work in "promoting the System's global expansion". I think this estate agent has plans for more than just 3bed flats! They also had the door to their toilet open. I dislike Chinese toilets.

After waiting for a while the agent asked for our passports and then copied our names from them. Or tried to. When he got to my passport he stared at it for a few seconds and then asked me which bit was the name. I then tried to explain that Louise Elizabeth Jones really was my whole name yes I know it's long but that's laowai for you haha no it doesn't mean anything no Jones is my family name not Louise here let me write it. Then we did the same thing with Becka's name. Then we put a fingerprint on the lease and then we headed back to the 派出所 and lo! everything was all done.

麻烦, mafan, means bother. There's a lot of mafan in China.

The policewoman's son was hanging around playing computer games on the police computers. He looked a bit bored.

I've found out why the street vendors disappear every now and then. Some of them, or most, don't have licenses so the police occasionally wanders around and gathers them in to tell them off. Annoying.

Last night Becka and I headed off to the night market in 台东路，Taidong Road. (A lot of roads here seem named after areas in Taiwan- I think they think it strengthens their claim). We bought a bag of popcorn and sat on the bus happily munching away. The passenger next to Becka was eavesdropping our conversation. I think he was enjoying the chance to practise his aural skills. Near the end he asked Becka for some help with some question he had. The guy next to me just seemed annoyed by my constant munching on popcorn.

Taidong road, and environs, are covered in stalls selling pretty much everything. We spent quite a while walking among them. Some guy brushed against me and dug his hand against my pocket but couldn't get at my phone. I glared at him but as it could theoretically have been just an accident and if I picked a fight it would very quickly be one of me against every Chinese person there, I didn't do anything else. Becka bought a woolly hat and I nearly bought a jumper but decided against it (too much glitter). I bought a bowl instead. At the end of the road was a square. Here in China, which I admire very much, in the evening the adults go and congregate in squares to dance and play music. In every corner women would be doing some strange dance in unison, with or without fans, that I couldn't work out were just well-known steps or if someone had choreographed it or if it was a rehearsal for something. The odd coupled were dancing this almost salsa-like dance, except it was very slow and sedate and to Chinese music. In other corners were a group playing the drums and cymbols. In another some people were "playing" on the playground-like equipment you see here and there. As a whole it was rather nice to see adults doing something other than drinking to socialise. Keeps them fit as well I imagine.

Then we walked back down to meet Daisy and go to Beer Street. Beer Street was a tad disappointing as when Daisy had last been it had been hustling and bustling but last night was a bit empty and forlorn. Not really peak time I suppose. So we backtracked to Taidong to another restaurant. There we ordered 蚂蚁上树 which is literally translated as "ants on a tree". This aroused our curiosity so we ordered that, some deepfried chicken and some 红烧茄子, aubergine in brown sauce. Sadly the ants on a tree turned out not to be ants but noodles made from potato starch with miniscule bits of animal here and there. Ever had potato starch noodles? They are a bit jellyish and I can't say I recommend them.. We also slurped our way through some beer and started chatting about weird Japanese things (bit of a tautology there- everything Japanese sounds weird) and our most embarrassing moments. Great topics of conversation and I was so glad noone else understood us in the restaurant!

The restaurant loo was disgusting.

Then we went on to LPG for more beer and to see if our future husbands were there. No luck so we went to 88 bar, but not before I'd dropped my new bowl and smashed it. Daisy swore she'd fix it and ended up carting it around for the rest of the night. I had never been in to 88 before and was very glad we did as it was priceless. The decor was 19thcentury Dutch brothel meets STROBE LIGHTS. It was filled with Chinese, and one westerner who was a classic example of someone who has found that the looks and intelligence he was born with fetch a better league of woman in the East. There were some uninhibited dancers on a platform near the bar (must be Korean- I can't imagine a Chinese girl like that) and a cute guy in a gangster-type suit and hat singing. After a while Daisy, Becka and I got given drinks by a group of Chinese men which was great for the free drinks, but not so great as we figured that we didn't want these guys as our new best friends. So Becka faked being sick and we ran away out of the bar, Daisy waving the broken bowl. Then we tried Feeling Club, which is shiny and has metal detectors. It also was equipped with pole and possible Phillipina, as well as tvs showing the Victoria's Secret fashion show. After 5 minutes we had again made friends with some drunk man which again led to a hasty "Oh I don't feel well" exit. At this point we called it a night and headed home...

Confusing moment of the week: Passed a man and his dog waiting to cross the road. The dog was standing on its hind legs and the man was holding its front paw like a hand.

Confidence-boosting moment of the week: drunk sleazy guy telling me my Chinese wasn't very good. He didn't really seem to cut me slack for being a bit tipsy and having to hear him over some very loud music!

Eavesdrop of the week: some guys brushed past and although I didn't hear it, Daisy said they said the 2nd laowai was the fittest- which was me:P

Unexpected Price Tag of the Week: tried a jacket on in a shop. It was furry on the inside with hide on the outside trimmed with fur and lace. It was lovely and snuggly to wear even if I would argue that it wasn't the most tasteful garment I've ever seen. We wondered if it was real fur and asked the price. It was 450 pounds. Must have been unicorn fur or something!

Rarist Item in China: none of the supermarkets near me sell bowls. Only one stall in the whole of Taidong sold bowls. And I broke it. And Taidong is 30 minutes away by bus. All I need is one bowl!