Apartment Hunting

Well, I had some warning that I might have to move out of my current apartment.  Sunday morning, however, in response to my e-mail, I was notified that I would indeed have to move out by the 23rd.  That gives me a little over a week to find a place, sign a contract, and move.

Fortunately, I'm not completely on my own.  Yi Feng has been very helpful.  Yesterday, I met her after the first service (where she was serving as an usher), and explained the situation.  She took me to an apartment agent, who was able to find a place for us to look at.  (The agent tried to find more, but the owners were not available.)

The place we looked at (a 4th-floor walk-up) might have been OK, but the owner wanted too much money.  (He was concerned about renting to a foreigner.)  So, we left there, and the agent promised to find us a place.  Yi Feng left her phone number with the agent.

After that, I needed oats, so we went to the open market.  Then, leaving the open market by a different route, we got a little lost in the alleyway.  But after walking for a little bit, Yi Feng recognized a school, and we found a stairway to an overpass which was part of a familiar road.  Then, we found another rental agent, and he had some places he could show us.

The next place we looked at, a 3rd-floor walk-up, had recently been redecorated, so it was in pretty good condition.  The only real problem was that the owner would not make any agreement until she met me, which can not happen until the 20th when she is back in town.  That doesn't give me much time to move, or to find another place if she doesn't like me.

The third place we looked at, a 6th-floor walk up, was in pretty good condition.  It had everything I needed, and the price was very reasonable.  It did have a used ashtray, but I didn't notice much smoke smell.  It was also available immediately.

I decided to put some earnest money down on 6th-floor apartment.  The problem was, I didn't have enough cash on me, and I didn't have enough time to go to the bank before church.  (Church was at 1:30, and it was then about 1 o'clock.)  So, we agreed that I would come back after church, and put the money down then.

After church, we returned with the cash, only to find that, in the meantime, someone else had already seen the apartment, and put money down on it.  Yi Feng was pretty angry at the agent for allowing this to happen.  I was initially a bit upset, too, but I realized there was nothing that could be done about it.  After a while, the guy offered me a discount on the agency fee for another apartment, but he didn't have anything he could show us right then.  On Tuesday, he will have something he can show me, but I'll have to go alone, because Yi Feng will be busy.  However, this guy speaks a little English, so I should be able to manage.

Prayer Requests

Please pray that God would help me get a good apartment.  This is much more challenging than it would be in the U.S., and I don't have much time to look.

That's all I have time for right now.  Thanks for praying.  God bless.