Our House...is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

I really like our house.  It's a duplex with lots of space for our entire family.  There are wood floors throughout (I've always wanted all wood floors!), there is a separate laundry area (not just a closet), we have a “full size” washing machine and refrigerator, oven and dishwasher (all hard to come by in China), it has a garage, it's fully furnished, has a small fenced-in yard, an office with book shelves, and there's even an extra play area for the boy's toys!  We really feel blessed to have found this place.  To boot, the landlord is extremely nice and accommodating.

There are, however, some quirks about our new home away from home...things that you just don't even think to look for when you're looking for a place in the U.S.  Here they are in no particular order: there aren't any drawers in the kitchen or bathroom (I guess you don't need a silverware drawer when you only eat with chopsticks), there's no coat closet, you have to take off your China-street shoes when you come inside so you need lots of shoe storage at the door, those wood floors get nasty fast (even without shoes on!),   the dryer is half the size of the washing machine (at first I though it was broken, then realized I had put so many clothes in it, it couldn't turn over), the oven is so small our "standard" size baking sheets won't fit!, the dishwasher is so small our dinner plates won't fit!, to say the mattresses are "firm" is an understatement (thank you IKEA for memory foam!), there are a zillion stairs (see picture below), and (big shocker) EVERYTHING IS WRITTEN IN CHINESE!  If we hit a stray button on the TV remote (say, anything other than channel or volume), we have a mini freak out!  We just push buttons on the dishwasher until it sounds like it turns on and then we hope that during the cycle the soap compartment opens (we’re about 50%).  It's not like Spanish or French where you can guess your way through things - its hieroglyphics!

Of course there's a silver lining to every dark cloud - I've been able to go shopping to accommodate our new home and it's strange quirks...it's hard to be upset about that!  Plus, now that the ayi has started, there's someone to clean, wash the dishes and iron clothes.  In fact, I like this house more and more!  Now, if only we can figure out how to set up the karaoke machine that came with the house, we'll be in business!