A long while ago, I changed jobs, houses, areas, life, basically everything.
I was unhappy at my old workplace in Jinyang and wanted to leave that place. The reasons for my unhappiness were: Jinyang is too far away from the centre (16 miles, about an hour on the scooter due to traffic, bad weather, etc.), I had to share a house with a noisy colleague, and things at work were really bad. I was patient for as much as I could, but one day I really had enough and quit.
Finding a new job was easy, although the salary isn't the same. I've had to face a 33% cut. But on the other hand I've gained a lot of freedom. I now live in one of the most beautiful areas of Guiyang, have a flat on my own on the 39th floor of a commercial building in downtown Guiyang, have a nice working environment, etc.
Moving my stuff from Jinyang to Huaguoyuan was a bit tricky. I decided to do it the Chinese way and put everything I could on my scooter (photos below). When Adlane, my Algerian friend saw the photos on WeChat, he said: 100% Chinese! Someone corrected him, by saying 99%. Why? There's no cigarette hanging down my lips.
I had to drive very slowly all the way down to Huaguoyuan and finally made it after more than an hour. Some of my old colleagues who helped putting all my stuff on the scooter said to be careful not to be caught by the police. The truth is, no one really cared. It is a common practice to carry whatever you can think of on a scooter or motorbike.
My old flat was on the 4th floor of a block of flats in a housing complex of a residential area. Now I live on the 39th floor of a commercial building. It's name is Central Business Unit No. 3. There are mostly hotels in this building, a few companies, restaurants, a tea room, a massage place and I don't know what else. Some floors are still under construction and there's sometimes a lot of noise. The locals call it the 'Fuck Building', due to some love hotels in the building.
Half of the 39th floor belongs to a hotel, the other half belongs almost wholly to a different hotel. It's only me and a music and recording studio who make the difference. Besides me, there are very few people renting a flat in this building.
Being the only foreigner in the building, I soon became a curiosity and got to know many of the employees. The people who work in the car park open the bars when they see me, so I don't have to show them my car park pass, the reception people greet friendly, one of them, Miss Du speaks little English and has become one of my helping angels. She receives whatever I buy on Taobao (Chinese version of eBay), showed me around the building and explained to me where I can pay my bills, throw away my rubbish, etc. I've got her on WeChat and she helps whenever I get stuck in communication or need help. Like the first time I had to pay my bills. She first called the people in the bill's office and then came round to see if everything was fine. She also helped me to get my car park pass. I now have two of the bill's office employees on WeChat, and things run smoothly. It's the Chinese way kind of service. The first time I had the pleasure of receiving and enjoying an excellent Chinese service was in Hull at the university, by my wonderful assistant Jing. Things are done, without noticing and even before you think about them. When you think that you need or have to do something, worry no further, it's already been done.
Another problem I faced at the beginning, was the question: Where to charge the batteries of my scooter? Since it is a new building and still under construction, there were no sockets in the car park. It took them more than a month to install and activate them. Now they are working, but they are not free of charge and stop after three hours or so. You need to call one of the car park employees and show them which socket to activate. The sockets are numbered and the employee uses a card with an RFID chip to activate it. You pay something like 30p for the service, but since the power cuts off, the batteries don't fully charge.
In the meantime, I looked around to see if there are any other sockets. My creeping around the car park, aroused curiosity and interest and I was approached by some employees. Since we couldn't understand each other, they phoned someone who apparently spoke English. But she didn't understand what I was looking for. Then another person was called, and thanks to his little English and the use of body language and mimic, the now seven employees surrounding me, understood what I wanted and took me to a storage room in a corner of the car park and showed me two adventurously looking sockets, hanging from wires coming out of somewhere. So, I used them for a while, until some expats told me that they take their scooters upstairs. When I saw a Chinese with his scooter in the lift, I decided to do the same.
Across my building is a shopping centre with many shops and a cinema, but no supermarket. The only supermarket until recently, is ten minutes walk away. About a month ago, a YongHui supermarket, including shopping centre opened downstairs.
Behind the Garland Shopping Mall is an artificial lake, where many people use to go jogging, dancing, walking, singing, etc. I have found a gym in one of the buildings along the lake, from where you have a marvellous view over the area, including the castle. The castle belongs to the construction company that builds this area. It is not open to the public, so no one really knows what it's inside, but there are many stories about it.
I will post photos of the area another time.
If you would like to read more by me, here are my novel and my diary from Ar'ar, in the northern Saudi desert. Both available on Amazon as soft and hard copy.
I was unhappy at my old workplace in Jinyang and wanted to leave that place. The reasons for my unhappiness were: Jinyang is too far away from the centre (16 miles, about an hour on the scooter due to traffic, bad weather, etc.), I had to share a house with a noisy colleague, and things at work were really bad. I was patient for as much as I could, but one day I really had enough and quit.
Finding a new job was easy, although the salary isn't the same. I've had to face a 33% cut. But on the other hand I've gained a lot of freedom. I now live in one of the most beautiful areas of Guiyang, have a flat on my own on the 39th floor of a commercial building in downtown Guiyang, have a nice working environment, etc.
Moving my stuff from Jinyang to Huaguoyuan was a bit tricky. I decided to do it the Chinese way and put everything I could on my scooter (photos below). When Adlane, my Algerian friend saw the photos on WeChat, he said: 100% Chinese! Someone corrected him, by saying 99%. Why? There's no cigarette hanging down my lips.
I had to drive very slowly all the way down to Huaguoyuan and finally made it after more than an hour. Some of my old colleagues who helped putting all my stuff on the scooter said to be careful not to be caught by the police. The truth is, no one really cared. It is a common practice to carry whatever you can think of on a scooter or motorbike.
My old flat was on the 4th floor of a block of flats in a housing complex of a residential area. Now I live on the 39th floor of a commercial building. It's name is Central Business Unit No. 3. There are mostly hotels in this building, a few companies, restaurants, a tea room, a massage place and I don't know what else. Some floors are still under construction and there's sometimes a lot of noise. The locals call it the 'Fuck Building', due to some love hotels in the building.
Half of the 39th floor belongs to a hotel, the other half belongs almost wholly to a different hotel. It's only me and a music and recording studio who make the difference. Besides me, there are very few people renting a flat in this building.
Being the only foreigner in the building, I soon became a curiosity and got to know many of the employees. The people who work in the car park open the bars when they see me, so I don't have to show them my car park pass, the reception people greet friendly, one of them, Miss Du speaks little English and has become one of my helping angels. She receives whatever I buy on Taobao (Chinese version of eBay), showed me around the building and explained to me where I can pay my bills, throw away my rubbish, etc. I've got her on WeChat and she helps whenever I get stuck in communication or need help. Like the first time I had to pay my bills. She first called the people in the bill's office and then came round to see if everything was fine. She also helped me to get my car park pass. I now have two of the bill's office employees on WeChat, and things run smoothly. It's the Chinese way kind of service. The first time I had the pleasure of receiving and enjoying an excellent Chinese service was in Hull at the university, by my wonderful assistant Jing. Things are done, without noticing and even before you think about them. When you think that you need or have to do something, worry no further, it's already been done.
Another problem I faced at the beginning, was the question: Where to charge the batteries of my scooter? Since it is a new building and still under construction, there were no sockets in the car park. It took them more than a month to install and activate them. Now they are working, but they are not free of charge and stop after three hours or so. You need to call one of the car park employees and show them which socket to activate. The sockets are numbered and the employee uses a card with an RFID chip to activate it. You pay something like 30p for the service, but since the power cuts off, the batteries don't fully charge.
In the meantime, I looked around to see if there are any other sockets. My creeping around the car park, aroused curiosity and interest and I was approached by some employees. Since we couldn't understand each other, they phoned someone who apparently spoke English. But she didn't understand what I was looking for. Then another person was called, and thanks to his little English and the use of body language and mimic, the now seven employees surrounding me, understood what I wanted and took me to a storage room in a corner of the car park and showed me two adventurously looking sockets, hanging from wires coming out of somewhere. So, I used them for a while, until some expats told me that they take their scooters upstairs. When I saw a Chinese with his scooter in the lift, I decided to do the same.
Across my building is a shopping centre with many shops and a cinema, but no supermarket. The only supermarket until recently, is ten minutes walk away. About a month ago, a YongHui supermarket, including shopping centre opened downstairs.
Behind the Garland Shopping Mall is an artificial lake, where many people use to go jogging, dancing, walking, singing, etc. I have found a gym in one of the buildings along the lake, from where you have a marvellous view over the area, including the castle. The castle belongs to the construction company that builds this area. It is not open to the public, so no one really knows what it's inside, but there are many stories about it.
I will post photos of the area another time.
99% Chinese
My building at night
and at daytime
First you have to go down some stairs
Garland Shopping Mall across the road
Part of the entrance hall where the receptionists work
The corridor where my flat is. (first door on the left, the second and third on the right belong to the studio, the rest to a hotel)
Lifts and hotel on the other side of the 39th floor
the music and recording studio (with new year wishes)
Voice of China
Caught on camera
My flat - nothing spectacular
A white board is essential for a teacher
The view to the left (part of Garland Mall)
The view to the right
If you would like to read more by me, here are my novel and my diary from Ar'ar, in the northern Saudi desert. Both available on Amazon as soft and hard copy.
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