Moving…Again…For the last time (well until I move to Hong Kong and then there is the move back to North Carolina…but let me have this one for a little while)

So it’s been 5 days since M-day.  Friday was totally crazy, but in an expected “we live in China things usually are crazy” kind of way.  We spent Thursday Night at our new apartment complete with hot showers and nastiness all over the floors (I honestly can’t figure out what the idea of “clean” is in China…the dirt was gone but there was a film over everything).  Friday morning I left with Adam to meet the movers while Adam went to work.  When I got to our building both elevators were stuck on the 4^th floor.  I waited for 10 min…wondering what to do.  Normally I could walk up the stairs but what were the movers going to do…we lived on the 24^th floor!  Next normal thought that came to mind is just call maintenance…easier said than done when your Chinese has basically disappeared in pregnancy.  I hoped that the lady waiting with me would go find someone but it seemed like she really truly thought that the elevator would come.  I knew Adam was in the car without anyone who could understand our problem in English and translate it to the maintenance worker.  I decided it doesn’t hurt to try so I moseyed on over to the management office and with my broken Chinese, some pretty clever sound effects and some skillful acting I explained to the guard what the problem was and they came and fixed it within 10 min! 
The movers came an hour early…interrupting my morning nap (yes I nap at 8:30 in the morning).  Two out of four of them spoke English, one was totally fluent.  I explained what needed to be done then I watched…I sat there and watched.  Every once and a while I would wonder around and get in the way, I know this sounds awful but it is really hard watching someone else do work for you!  I decided to lock myself in the bedroom and watch tv.  Adam came at lunch time and went to the management office with the head mover to get a letter saying that they weren’t stealing our stuff.  The management closes for 2.5 hours for lunch so they were unable to get the note until Adam bribed the secretary. 

The movers took 3 trips in their van to get our stuff from the old apartment to the new one.  Our driver took a couple trips with stuff and Adam met with the landlords friend (who handles the apartment stuff).  The landlord’s friend didn’t seem to care that we hadn’t cleaned (I was going to have the cleaner come after we left but I had her come to our new place instead), he didn’t notice that we had broken the bed, or that we had holes in the wall from pictures we hung.  He just came signed the papers, collected the money and stole the second hot water heater…the one the landlord didn’t know about.
Saturday, Adam and I organized the bedroom, the living room and the kitchen.  Sunday we finished those rooms and took it easy.  Monday I organized the baby’s room and took tags off the baby clothes (I know you aren’t supposed to do that until the baby is born so things can be exchanged if the baby is small or big…but the stuff I got here can’t be exchanged and nothing we received for Christmas can be exchanged without mailing it back to the US for way more than it’s worth).  All we need now is the crib I am borrowing from a friend, a couple odds and ends from IKEA, and the few things I am buying off another friend. 

Next little by little I plan on tackling the guest room (or for now the catch all room).