I'm...Never Leaving This Place, Am I?

---

I've now been working here for two weeks. I've gotten my own apartment,* I now possess a bike, and I've had a pair of shoes made at the cobbler's, seeing that my only shoes in the world are now beyond help: my sandals were already worn down through the sole when I (forcibly) left them in Jining, and my horseback riding boots have been destroyed to the point of no return. I also got my first paycheck today. Woo! They are not paying me nearly enough to teach those young 'uns!

I like my new apartment a lot actually. It's about a 5 minute walk away from my current institution of employment, about 5 minutes away from Sorya Mall, and about 5 minutes away from Central Market (Psar Tmei). It's also 5 minutes from the riverside and 5 minutes from the Royal Palace, and below me there is a shop that has free cheese and wine on Fridays. It's a penthouse apartment on the 4th floor of a town house--living on top of a four-story house has been my dream since I was a small child. It came furnished, with cable TV but no houseplants. It's rather small--about the size of my efficiency back in Cincinnati, with more walls in the way and no bathtub. I have a splendid view of fireworks from my balcony.

There was an apartment I liked somewhat better, and included a poster about Climate Change on the bathroom walls, but it was a lot farther from the school and was physically difficult to access (as in the door was wedged Harry-Potter style beneath the stairwell) so I had to say No (another sign ignored! 😞 ). One thing is for sure--it's not shitty like Er Yuan Su She. Everything is locked up: the apartment gates, the apartment doors, the windows, the wardrobe, the dishes and silverware, ALL OF IT. So no one's getting in and demanding money, either!

When I signed the lease, my landlady kept asking if I was alone and was going to be alone the whole year *wink wink nudge nudge*, oh shameless hussy that I am. And I can give you a long treatise on what it's like to be a lone white female in Asia--on another day. (I'll clear one part up now: you are NOT an object of desire.)

For now, I'm still living at Okay Guesthouse until I get some goods--like food, water, and internet. But the apartment is mine for a year. Damn: a year. Who wants to start wagering bets on this one?




*FYI, if you want to write to me, send me money or goods, or break in and steal everything I own, forward me a message and I'll give you my address.

---

Photos

My House
Mine is the one on the top floor, upper left corner.

Comments

[Danna]

Want your address!
Congrats on the new place. I'll pray the Climate Change poster wasn't another sign ignored! I have some black flip-flops your size I'd love to ship you! Plus, you never know, I may want to come and break in someday, too. (Pregnant women have been known to take desperate measures before, you know.) So, email me your address...and then lock your doors! :)