Generally, Chinese kitchens don't come with ovens, although many of the housing developments catering to expats have been built with ovens to accommodate westerners. Ours was not, so Chris specifically requested one. Given that the expat-sized refrigerator is in the dining room, because it wouldn't fit in the kitchen, I was anticipating a stand-alone range next to the refrigerator in the dining room. No such luck. When we moved in, our new oven was here, resting on the counter of the kitchen, as you can see in the picture. The smaller appliance on the right is the microwave and the slightly larger one on the left is the "oven." I brought a 13x9 inch pan with me, because I really enjoy baking, but had to give it to Peter, because my pan wouldn't fit into our new oven. I bought a 11x7 inch pan at one of the local stores catering to expats and baked in the oven today and it wasn't bad. Unfortunately, the toast function doesn't really toast my English muffins, so we may have to buy a toaster as well.
The dryer was delivered yesterday. We have a small porch off of the dining room where the washing machine is located, so I asked that the dryer be stored out there as well. There was only one electrical outlet on the wall where the washer and dryer were located, so the maintenance man told me to buy a power strip, so I could plug them both in. But when I motioned to the dryer vent hose, where the hot air was to exhaust, he plugged his nose and shook his head, whatever that meant. I called the management company today, however, because the washer has flooded our back porch several times, including when the Ayi (housekeeper) used it today, so I asked that they fix it. I also mentioned that the dryer exhaust didn't go outside, so it was filling up our back porch with hot air every time we tried to use it. So, today they came to fix it. The maintenance guy and his interpreter moved the dryer to be in front of the windows and told me to stick the end of the hose out the window when I use it. Since there is no electrical outlet on the wall of windows, the interpreter told me to get a long extension cord to be able to plug in the dryer. I guess that's problem solved in China.
The recliner chair is still not here and no one seems to be able to give us any indication of when it will arrive. Fortunately, the couch is comfortable and we haven't had many guests as of yet. More importantly, I complain about the mold every day because I have a headache every day, probably from my mold allergy. Every time I mention it to the realtor, I remind him that replacing the wallpaper is not enough, that the moldy walls will have to be cut out and replaced as well, but I mostly just hear "okay, okay." Peter was told by someone during one of the orientation events he attended that the Chinese want to be able to help expats and will say "okay, okay" even when they don't have a clue what we're saying, so we should remember that "okay" means that they can see our lips moving and want to make us happy, but it doesn't mean any comprehension is involved in the conversation.
The good news is that we finally have a bed soft enough that I shouldn't have to sleep on the couch anymore. We went to IKEA on Sunday and picked up some necessities as well as ordering a new mattress and mattress topper. The IKEA delivery guys delivered the bed and bed topper this afternoon. They couldn't believe me that I wanted our new mattress on top of the other one - they were laughing and shaking their heads, and they didn't even see me put the bed topper on top of the two mattresses. I was wishing Chris was here so they could see a 6'3" man standing next to the high bed and maybe it would make more send to them. Either way, I'm hoping for a good night's sleep in my new bed.
Part of our lease is also that we have a housekeeper "Ayi" come clean twice a week. She came yesterday and cleaned for a short time, but told me she doesn't want to work on Mondays, so she returned today. We specifically asked for bedding in our lease and she was supposed to change the linens. However, the management company only gave us one set of sheets for each bed, so she washed our master bedroom sheets today, but then laid them all over the apartment to dry, which is certainly less than ideal. I think she laid them out flat so they wouldn't wrinkle. I need an iron and ironing board, so she dries the sheets in the dryer and then irons them. My big concern, though, is neither she nor the realtor seems to be able to tell me how long she is supposed to work on the two days she's here. In order to wash, dry, and iron the sheets, she'll need at least 4 hours, and I don't know that she's planning to stay that long. The rest of the cleaning isn't going to take that long, so I don't know what the plan is.
I know that moving into a new apartment anywhere has an adjustment period, but the language barrier is making this more frustrating. Everyone I speak to here says that those of us who are more type-A in real life will just need to let go and accept that things are done differently here. I don't consider myself a type-A personality, generally - I've got to be somewhat flexible to have moved our family to Germany for 2 years and then moved to China in the first place. But, I do find it difficult not knowing what to expect or when things will be fixed and finished, never mind that I can't sufficiently communicate my concerns to everyone. I'm trying to be patient, but I have bedding hanging all over my apartment and am constantly fighting the smell of mold, so some days, patience is a bit of a challenge.
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