The compound looks OK but in the dark it’s hard to tell. There seems to be a lot of plants, cars and very tall buildings. One thing was clear it is very different to Zambia.

I was sent first to find the front door while husband supervised the kids and the unloading of all our luggage. First challenge was the key pad to enter the building. I had been given an envelope which had some hand written Chinese on it and a few sets of recognizable numbers. One surely was the code for the door. After unsuccessfully trying each combination a few times I asked the driver for help (via hand gestures). He also failed, shook his head and walked away. Now what? Its 3 in the morning local time, not really the time to call anyone from Husbands new job.

I was about to try the combinations again when I noticed some numbers scratched into a metal section of the keypad. Worth a go? And wallah the door beeps, I’m in to the building. Now to find the apartment… the piece of paper says a 3 digit room number, I assume the first digit is the floor, so in the lift I go and press 9.

When I get out I’m in a small hall with two doors. One has the wrong number on it, the other no number. Conscious that it is the middle of the night I quietly try the key in the lock of the numberless door. Doesn’t fit. I try the other key (a strange star shape) but it doesn’t fit. As I’m stood there wondering what to do next it goes pitch black. Slight panic I turn back towards the direction of the lift and thankfully the lights come back on.

So now what? I get back in the lift, and press 10. Again I alight in a small hall with two doors. This time both have numbers on but neither the one I’m looking for. Back in the lift I decide to go to 8, just to confirm the pattern of the room numbers. And yes they were as I expected. So the door which the keys don’t fit must be our new front door! Back in the lift and to the door, I look more closely at the lock. The outer casing is at a funny angle. I hold it back in the right position and this time the key fits! I open the door 🙂 …

To be faced with another door! This door has nothing that to me looks like a normal key hole. It has two circular disks which I assume must fit the strange key star key? Unfortunately again the key doesn’t seem to fit.. but this time i am more persistent and after a few twists and wiggles I have the door open.

Time to go get my boys and show them their new home. Back on the ground floor we load all the luggage into the lift, sit the children on top and squish ourselves in.

The boys rush out the lift and into the apartment, quickly going from room to room investigating. Caught up in the excitement Lego boy announces this is the “best house ever”. I’m not as enthusiastic as Lego Boy but I am pleasantly surprised with the size of the apartment and overall pleased with our new house.

Click to see the boys explore.

It takes the boys a long while to unwind and finally fall asleep probably around 5 am the house is finally quite. I can not wait to fall to sleep. I collapse into bed expecting a soft comfy surface but no the mattress is solid… I wouldn’t even call it a mattress. (I have since been told it is normal for beds to be hard in china!) Despite the hardness of the sleeping surface I fall to sleep quickly, my last thought “tomorrow we find a mattress cover”.

Boys new room

Start of unpacking

It has a bath!

The hardest bed in the world!

View

Boys settling in

First photos of apartment

Supplies left for us!