One year anniversary

Immediately after I returned from Hong Kong with my new visa, we moved to our new apartment. Ling Ling had made arrangements with a local tricycle driver to move the heavy stuff (my fridge, some furniture, etc.). We had already moved most of the smaller items during the past two weeks, in between cleaning and painting our new quarters. It's only about 100m away from our old place, so it was little work to move stuff in bits and pieces from the old place to the new.
Today, one day after finally moving in, and spending our first night in our new bed, also happened to be the first anniversary of the day we met, here in Zeng Cuo An. At the time, there was no indication that we would move in to a new place together one year later, but so it happened, and we celebrated the occasion by launching a traditional hot air lantern or kǒng míng dēng （孔明灯） from our roof terrace shortly before midnight. The lantern went straight up, headed first for the mountain, but quickly turned around, floating over the village towards the sea, while gaining altitude and slowly burning up its fuel, eventually fading out of sight and probably plunging into the dark sea.

Hong Kong visa run

My one-month tourist visa, which was a stop-gap measure after my residence permit expired last month, was about to expire, so in order to obtain a new visa with longer validity, I had to make a quick trip to Hong Kong, to visit the office of Forever Bright Trading, a company dedicated to offer its clients Chinese visa in record time. They offer different types of visa, with a validity of up to a year, without the need for any documents or interview, besides your passport and a photo (the latter can also be made on the spot for a modest fee). I choose the six-months business (F) visa, since this gives maximum flexibility at reasonable cost (2000 HK$ or about 200 Euro). The people at Forever Bright Trading are extremely efficient, you can pickup your passport with your new visa within half a day after application. This makes it feasible to arrive in Hong Kong in the morning, and return to mainland China the same evening.
To minimize expenses, I had taken an overnight sleeper bus from Xiamen to Shenzhen (9 hours, 180 RMB), and arrived at the border well before they even opened (which is at 6:30). I was on the train to South Kowloon at 7, and arrived at the visa office at 8 o'clock, and they were already open. Within 5 minutes I was out on the street again, on a already warm and sunny day, with lots of time to kill. I could pickup my passport after 2pm, but by then it would be already too late to be in time for an afternoon bus to Xiamen to arrive before midnight, so I took my time and went sightseeing and did a little bit of shopping before heading back to Shenzhen in the early evening. The next morning at 7 I was back in Xiamen, with a fresh visa valid until March 27, 2013.

My Merry power drill

One of the few frustrations of living in China is that the vast majority of everything I own is not here, but in Amsterdam. More than once I have been forced to buy something new again that I already have lying in a closet, but in another part of the world. This time I needed my drill. I could possibly borrow one, but in the current situation, moving to a new apartment, I foresee many uses for such a tool (and many other tools as well), so a purchase makes sense.
I first went to visit a few hardware stores, and also Walmart and Carrefour, but was not impressed by the offerings (if any). So, I turned to online shopping. I should have done that in the first place, but it's still not the most obvious place to start for me, unlike most Chinese, who are probably the most fervent online shoppers in the world. The biggest online shopping mall in China (and possibly in the world) is taobao.com.
I quickly found what I wanted, basically something very similar to the Bosch power drill I bought many years ago at Gamma in Amsterdam. The big difference with the stuff here is the price. A drill very similar to the Bosch, which I bought for 125 Euro, if I remember correctly, costs only 105 RMB (12.50 Euro) on taobao. Add 15 RMB for shipping and you're done. I switfly went through the ordering procedure using my Chinese bank account, and three days later the drill arrived.
The most hilarious moment was when I umwrapped the package and found myself staring at a sturdy cardboard box with a colour photo of a drill almost indentical as the one back in Amsterdam, labeled Bosch GSB Professional. I opened the box and there it was. A Bosch power drill with one minor difference: the red Bosch label on the side of the machine was replaced by an equally red Merry. That's all!
I first thought this was a typical low-cost Chinese rip-off of a German quality product, but then I realized that it could just be the real thing, but labeled for the Chinese market. Bosch probably assembles its power tools in China, and this Merry drill must have come from exactly the same production line as the Bosch product.

Bamboo

Today we visited a bamboo specialist in nearby Shangli, who makes furniture, ladders, divider walls, or basically anything you want out of bamboo, and bamboo alone. He does not use any glue, nails, or even rope or string. All connections are secured by small bamboo pegs, cut to the right size. Even the little cabin which functions as both office and warehouse is constructed entirely out of bamboo. It is stuffed to the bamboo roof with bamboo stools, bamboo chairs, bamboo baby cots, bamboo coffee tables and just raw material: bamboo sticks. It's a little house of bamboo magic.
The first day we came, the bamboo master was not there, but his wife showed some examples, and outside I spotted a flat bamboo bed, so it seemed. It appeared to be just the horizontal part of a single bed, without legs and headboard. I immediately imagined using it as a low couch, just by adding some legs and putting some pillows on top. I discussed my plan a few days later when the master was in his shop. He let me draw what I wanted, named his price, and it was a deal (150 RMB). He stepped outside to look at the bed for a moment, and then said he would make a new one, but I told him I wanted the old one standing there, he only had to add six legs (just to make sure it doesn't bend too much when more than one person is sitting on it). His wife explained that I preferred the older bamboo, already aged slightly, with a nice patina. On my first visit I had bought a pair of low stools (25 RMB each), obviously made by someone with a love for bamboo and who knows what he's doing. Fit's perfectly in the environment of our new apartment.

Contract signed

When Ling Ling returned from Zhuhai yesterday  morning, we immediately went to see the new apartment again. The landlord seemed happy to see me again, and had even remembered my name. He welcomed us with the words: 马克，你回来了, which means "Marc, you came back!". We went upstairs to show the place to Ling Ling. She liked it. I had already sent some photos while she was in Zhuhai, and we had talked about it online, using QQ.
We discussed some details with the landlord, mostly about the use of the roof terrace, and about kicking out most of the furniture, which was not to our taste. He was reluctant at first to take it away, but agreed to take out the ugly couch, some chairs, and glass tables. What remains are two beds, two wardrobes, two desks, two chairs, and three stools. The apartment lacks any appliances, so we have to bring a fridge (which I have), and have to buy a washing machine (or keep using the laundry service, but it's a bit far from here), and a stove. I have a electric rice cooker and hot plate, but cooking on gas is much better. I'm very much looking forward to be able to cook at home again! We might even put up a barbeque on our terrace.
The terms of the contract are quite simple: lease is for a year, and we pay one month deposit, and a penalty of one month rent if either we or the landlord wishes to terminate the contract within a year (with one month notice).
We still had to inform our current landlord of the plan to move out, just a few weeks after I renewed my contract, but to our relief, they didn't mind at all that we are moving out at the end of the month. So, today I signed the contact, and paid the deposit and first month of rent (1800 RMB each), effective from September 15th. We now have two weeks to prepare the new place before moving in. There is quite a bit of cleaning to do, and we plan to paint all interiour walls, and even the outside wall facing the terrace.

Stitches removed

Exactly two weeks after my right leg's shin got stitched up at the hospital, because of a deep cut caused by hitting some sharp shells on a submerged rock after jumping off a catamaran, I went back to the hospital to get the stitches removed.
It's just a routine procedure of course, but a first for me, and it did hurt more than I expected. When the stitches were placed, I got a local anaesthetic, but the nurse did not seem to be bothered now. The wound had healed quite nicely already, expect for a part where the cut was complicated by a laceration perpendicular to the actual cut. I assume the hole will be filled in by new tissue sooner or later, as my body still seems to be perfectly capable of repairing itself after minor injury.
Hopefully I can go swimming again within a few days.

Found a new apartment

While Ling Ling was away to Zhuhai for a few days, I talked to the owner of the Absinthe bar one evening, and she pointed out a post on one of China's most popular blogging sites douban.com. The post was a few days old and about an apartment in Zeng Cuo An available for sublet. Not that I'm interested so much in a sublet, but I called the blogger the next morning to inquire. He told me the address, and just advised me to go and take a look, the landlord should be there, he said.
I found it after some effort (house numbers have very little relation to geographical location in this village) and talked to the landlord. My Chinese worked out remarkably well, and I could understand that the landlord was not so happy with the plans of his tenant, and had basically kicked him out already. The guy had left town for work somewhere else, but he didn't need to come back as far as the landlord was concerned, unless to pick up some personal belongings. He had broken the terms of his contract.
The landlord showed me the place. It's a 50 square meter apartment, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom, and a adjacent terrace. It's build on top of a single storey building holding a multitude of rather small rooms, all rented out to a variety of people. The building is in the yard of a old village house, itself two storeys high, where the landlord lives with his family. The atmosphere is very rural, situated at the road to Shangli, all the way in the back of Zeng Cu An, at the foot of the hills rising behind the village. It's actually not far from my present home, but the feeling is quite different. Because of the slight elevation, you actually have some nice views, even from the second floor.
The apartment has windows on all sides, eight in total, with each of the three rooms having two windows on adjacent walls, and also a window for both kitchen and bathroom. Very breezy and light.
The terrace is the best part. It's adjacent to the living room, and reached from the top of the stairs leading to the second floor, a.k.a. rooftop. At the front of the apartment is a small balcony, from which you enter the place. All in all a very interesting place, and I had to persuade the landlord to wait five days until Ling Ling returns, before we can make a decision. I want her to see it before I sign a contract. To enforce the agreement, I gave the landlord 100 RMB, just to make sure he doesn't forget his promise, and gives it away to someone else. That's how much of a Chinese I already have become...

Visa renewal

My residence permit expired last week, August 31st. After I registered as a student at Xiamen University last year in September, I obtained the residence permit from the Public Security Bureau. It's convenient to have a residence permit, since it allows you to leave and re-enter China without limitations. I have used the opportunity only once (to go to Thailand in January), but the fact that you are free to go and come back as you please gives peace of mind.
This semester I won't enroll again though. The main reason is to save money. Xiamen University's tuition fee is quite high (16.000 RMB a year), and by far my biggest expense (second biggest is rent, but that was only 9.600 RMB for the past 12 months). Since I now live with Ling Ling, we are expecting to move to a bigger place, and in general spend more, while she still did not find a suitable job here in Xiamen. Also, my new career as a sailing instructor is slowly taking off, and with a private teacher at my side I won't need daily classes at school anymore :)
However, without enrollment at the university, I can't apply for a residence permit, so I need to stay on a regular tourist visa. For this month, I was able to convert my almost expired residence permit to a one-month tourist visa at the PSB, without much hassle. I did have to go to the downtown office twice though, since the officer on duty requested a proof of sufficient funds, which in China means at least 100 US dollar per day, so $3.000 for a visa valid for a month. I will never spend this much in a month, maybe not even in six months, but I did have more than enough on my Dutch bank account to meet the requirement. The problem was I had to return home to download a bank statement, using my security calculator for logging in, copy it onto a USB stick, and print it out at a copy shop. Nevertheless, it didn't take more than one morning to finish the whole process.
This morning I picked up my passport with the new visa, valid until September 28. Before that date, I have to leave the country to obtain a new visa abroad with a longer validity. A Chinese visa valid for half a year, with multiple entries, is easily obtained in Hong Kong, so that's where I will be going at the end of this month.