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foreigninchina · 9 years

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My Apartment Caught On Fire

Yep, in the middle of the night – started from a light switch (and turned off).

It initially ‘popped’ around 2 am and the sound woke me up but didn’t know where it came from. Then at 3 am it popped again – and caused all of my electronics to go crazy because they are all linked to the same circuit. So I woke up again to my AC turning on and off, my alarm clock going crazy, and my phone vibrating from charging/not charging. As I sat up and looked around, the flames coming from my light switch caught my eye. I had clothes hanging around my room that were drying (China does not have dryers) and those started to catch on fire just as I was pulling the blanket off of me. Half asleep I ran over and grabbed my burning clothes, threw them on the ground, and stomped them out. Then, I grabbed a shoe and proceeded to stuff out the fire coming from my wall wondering if my elderly neighbors in my unit could hear me as I whacked the life out of that light socket. Note: for those who don’t know – DO NOT put water on an electrical fire, it makes it worse.

After everything was done, I opened my window and proceeded to cry until my neighbors got up, I have never been through a fire – and only now understand how much it messes with you emotionally. When they got up, I told them what had happened, called repair men to come and look at the damage while I was out, and then left for work. The repair men ended up examining the switch and ‘couldn’t find anything wrong with it’, so I decided it was time to finally move. The rent was the cheapest I had ever found (even my local friends couldn’t believe I was paying 1,500 yuan/month), my community was amazing, but it just wasn’t safe. Even if they had decided it was worth it to strip my apartment to replace the wiring – the entire balding is just as old (and just as much of a fire hazard). When telling my leasing manager and landlord what had happened, why I was ending my contract early, and requested my deposit – I had zero responses. Typical. For anyone who has dealt with Chinese land lords, you know what I am talking about. That topic deserves its own post at a later time.

So I started my hunt for yet another apartment again. I had already moved 3 times in 8 months, and here I was doing it again. One of my male co-workers offered to help me go to agencies to explain what I needed – I speak fluent Chinese but when it comes to legal terms within contracts, it is ALWAYS a good thing to bring a local with you – or else you WILL be taken advantage of. So I hunted, and one disappointment after another ensued over the next 6 weeks. From bogus ads and pictures posted online, or finding decent places but the person representing the property was ‘posing’ as the landlord – as if they wouldn’t get caught when it came to sighing the contract – which must be done with the landlord and no one else. All of this by the way was organized via legit agencies. It’s China.

I also had this male co-worker with me, who is a typical 28 year old still living with his parents, has zero household responsibilities (has no clue how to clean, cook, or move for that matter) – and thinks he can help me find an apartment… wrong. Bless his heart – but he did not help, mostly because he had no clue how. I should have found someone who had been through it before but that would have involved a married person (Chinese don’t leave their parent’s homes until they get married – whenever that is) and that can be an awkward situation to be in as a single young woman. So I told him ‘thanks but no thanks’ – from my experiences in accepting help from men, especially for a long process such as moving, they will intentionally do a half-ass job so they can look like they are helpful (or at least trying) but not do a good job so that they can prolong the time they have with me – and then at the very end, pull through with something swift and amazing to look like the hero from a long journey (that cost me time and money). This.Shit.Pisses.Me.Off. I am not stupid, I see what you are doing, and it is at my expense – you have a home, family, and money to depend on despite what happens. If you think that intentionally doing a so-so job and pulling the wool over my eyes will result in romance at the end of this circus that I paid for – you are dead wrong. My previous move involved a mutual friend that thought by the end of helping me move, it was a good idea to land a vacuum tube kiss on my mouth – and that I wanted it. Sorry but no. I never thought a man from Paris would give me the worst kiss of my life – but ladies, it is possible.

I went to a tiny local agency that doesn’t have over 15 properties – these are peppered all throughout the neighborhoods of Shanghai, they have the lowest prices you will ever find, you deal directly with the landlord, and there is no bullshit. However, you will live like a local – and a lot of foreigners feel uncomfortable living by a different standard than the one they come from. I prefer living like this, I didn’t come to China to live in an expat bubble. I came to China to understand it’s people, culture, and language more intimately. This kind of agency is similar to where my previous apartment was arranged – which I intentionally avoided due to my bad experience but I went for it anyway. I ended up finding a wonderful studio in an old French lane house – lots of character, a huge French style window that faces the south with lots of sunshine – all to myself.

At times – living off of a Chinese salary is really difficult – the struggle is real for someone who lives on their own, has heavy student loans, and cannot save despite picking up odd jobs to cover expenses. However – it has also lead me to having these experiences (which are usually paid for if you are sent here on an expat package instead of getting hired in-country) that have lead me to understand China in ways that others who have everything served to them will never understand. This alone will benefit me in great ways – not just in business, but in life as well.

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