On the street where we live......

I think it must be time to talk about our luxurious retirement housing.  We live on campus in the University Faculty housing area in a gated community with a security guard 24/7.  The gate is really about serious security but not the kind of gated community that you were expecting. 

Chinese professors are expected to be accessible to students whenever they might need support so on-campus housing for staff and faculty is provided as part of a professor’s salary. We live in a one-bedroom apartment among families with two bedrooms and one child. It really does have that dormitory feel with a whopping 360 square feet of living space on the second floor of an eight-story building. 

 Master Bedroom

 Office area for both in one tiny room

 Living room, exceptionally comfortable furniture, even the two inch foam padding doesn't help.

 Kitchen table, love the bamboo, it has a college dorm appeal.

 Two burner stove and a bar sink completes the kitchen.

This sterilizes the dishes after they are washed in Guangzhou water.

 Shower

 Shower room that is equipped with a toilet and sink all in one tiny room, shower and faucet on the left.  

 Our water is delivered every week, never thought I would have my own water cooler.

 Double metal green security doors.

 Small capacity front load washer

 Mother nature built in dryer

 Yes, we do have air conditioning!

And a heater to plug in just incase we might get cold.

New golden brocade drapes and valance hanging on our sliding glass door.

We have garbage pick up twice daily, once early in the morning and once in the evening, I bet you can figure our why.

 All university employees are subject to the Chinese One-Child Policy so two bedrooms are the capacity of the family apartments.  I asked our Department Chair what would happen if a professor had two children how that would be accommodated.  Peter promptly told us if he had two children he would loose his job and his housing, and still be required to pay the hefty fine.  Government employees are expected to follow the rules and laws to the letter of the law, no exceptions! So really there will not be a need for a three-bedroom apartment for professors because they would no longer be professors! 

There are campus cafeterias called canteens for students and faculty, campus grocery stores, school supplies, bakery, pretty much everything a student would need could be found on campus.

 Long lines at the campus bakery every morning.

We are comfortable and love the Guangzhou weather now.  It has been in the 80s with lots of sun and clear skies.  I hope it lasts for six months! 

The streets on campus are packed with bicycles.  Students ride their bikes to class, students are not allowed to have cars, only faculty members drive cars on campus.  I confessed to my students last week that my biggest fear since arriving on campus was being hit by a bicycle.  They fly down the hill by our housing complex and it is dangerous to cross the street when you have to dodge the bicycles. Walking on campus at night is safe, except for bicycles, they do not have lights and they zoom past you within a few inches before you can hear they are approaching.  Pedestrians have no rights, we are at the bottom of the mobility list so bicyclists expect you to dodge around them and never slow down or stop.  Sidewalks are safe but crossing the street presents its own set of dangerous circumstances.  We see at least two bicycle crashes a day and hope and pray not to be come a bicycle statistic!