Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

The school arranges for temporary housing when we first arrive.  All new staff have apartments in the Jing Xian Apartment and Condominiums in the 789 Art District.  We have this apartment for the first month while we settle in and find permanent housing.  The first impressions of our ‘home’ are mixed; the space is not too bad, but the girls have to share a small room with 1 bed and the kitchen is pretty small.  It’s a very interesting first month in Beijing living in this little apartment on the 14th floor.  We had some good times here and the girls really enjoyed swimming while we were there.  But it was also a time of culture shock, transitions, and struggles with a lot of changes at once.

This is the entrance to our large apartment building.
This is the master bedroom that Matt and I shared, and our main living space including our table and couch.  That couch was awful though (the cushion along the back was not secured with anything more than velcro so we would often fall through it when trying to relax!)
Nola and Ivy had to break in their new room with a good old bed jumping.  They made the best out of the small space.
Our small gallery style kitchen was minimal but sufficient.  We had an organized trip to IKEA during our first week that helped provide some necessities in the kitchen.  The swimming pool was a lifesaver during our first few very hot weeks.  The girls enjoyed going for a swim after school and on the weekends.
The girls enjoyed the novelty of being on the 14th floor above a busy city.  We had a small balcony outside the master bedroom to enjoy some of the sights.  It was a beautiful at night, but could get very loud from traffic and horns.
We often saw interesting happenings from the 14th floor.  Like this gentleman who liked to water his plants in his underwear.
The street view of the entrance to our apartment building.