my place, my water meter

The hype is true, I found a place to live! My humble abode is near the Gulou Station, just north of Houhai Lake, which is a fantastic and happening district in central Beijing. I am thrilled to be here, as some may know, this apartment deal has been in the works for a while with a fellow Fulbighter. First I had the place, then the landlord said it wasn't ok (4 days before I arrived!), then just this Tuesday, my room-mate let me know, their quarrel had ended and I was again allowed to move in.

Before getting to the insane quirkiness and glory of the actual abode, let me comment that such a landlord tenant situation in Beijing is quite normal these days. Only in recent years have apartments become privately owned. Before recent reforms apartments were owned by state-run companies where the workers lived, with huge rental subsidies, and generally located adjacent to the work place (makes sense!). As apartments have turned over to the private market, the system for ownership, taxes, and property rights is murky, especially to me. Now add a little American blondie moving in to your apartment, and profile of your place becomes much more "on the radar" as foreigners both attract attention, and require require more in depth registration with the local police. The attention of the police/city means that the landlord has to pay more taxes, and would be reluctant to have any extra trouble that we could cause. The level of anxiety here toward foreigners is high right now as the Oly. Games approach. The landlord really didn't understand all of the aspects involved with having foreigners live here, as my roommate is Chinese-American and is treated like a daughter by him. The landlord seems to be more comfortable with the situation for now and I will do my best to keep gossip and stories from this apartment to a minimum, and not cause trouble! (not always so easy for me!)

My roommate is from San Francisco and is a documentary film maker and fellow Fulbright scholar. She has introduced me to the local dumpling restaurant, the coffee shop, the vegetable market, and the beer/sundry market in the neighborhood. The apartment itself, and the relationships and dynamics with the neighbors could fill this page! My roommate calls our apartment recycled chic. We flush the toilet with the run off from the sink, the clothes washer in the kitchen is attached to the tap in a very particular way, the level of ingenuity to keep the electricity, water and sewage working is impressive! Both the gas and the water meters are in plain sight which keeps one aware of the usage, to the cubic meter of water.

I am amazed and excited to be comfortably situated here, and will keep updating this page on stories and perhaps next, more impressions of the city and culture itself. I head to the countryside (Ningxia Province) on April 10 for 2 weeks to participate in a survey on irrigation water management with my host institute, the Center of Chinese Agricultural Policy. I hope to be able to post from the field.

For those looking for a mailing address, you can't mail me at home because apparently the post office put in brand new secure, shiny boxes downstairs last year, but never provided keys! too funny! I can receive mail at my office:

Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jia, No.11, Datun Rd, Anwai
Beijjing 100101, China