... planned, spent an estimated 1000 years hunting for material for, and held four extracurricular events for each of the four Advent Sundays at our school. On each of those four Sundays, a group of students and I lit another candle on an Advent wreath I'd managed to put together, munched a lot of Christmassy sweets and did some Basteln- a god bit of it in fact. We made colourful Christmas stars, Christmas cards, lanterns and even cookie houses. The cleaners at the school weren't too happy, but the students loved it.
... looked at 29 apartments as part of Himself's and my flathunt. He is moving to Beijing from Shenyang, and our search for the perfect 2-bedroom flat involved all of the good, the bad, and the ugly. There were places that were too big, some to small, none too cheap unfortunately but a good few of them too expensive. There was the dirty, there was the messy, the traditional Chinese furniture (Emperos's new sofa) and there was the wetroom. And, there was one place that was still inhabited- with the Waltons! When we came to have a look at it around 2 in the afternoon, there was about six or seven people in this 2-bedroom flat, some of them on the couch, a couple still in bed and many in their pyjamas. They were very nice, and the place was clean (though covered in the Waltons' personal treasures), but we still fled pretty quickly.
... found and signed the lease for a new place. We eventually decided on an apartment situated in a new development right next to the metro with two bedrooms, brand new furniture and appliances including a flatscreen TV. I sounded like an estate agent there didn't I? We weren't so sure about it at first as the location, despite the handy transport links, isn't as lively as the student district of Zhongguancun, but after another eight or so viewings decided that this was the nicest place we'd seen and that we could just catch a train or cab to the more vibrant spots. So I called the agent, who happily informed me that we'd be able to get this flat with a 10% discount no problem. I happily agreed and arranged to come and sign the contract over the weekend. This was Wednesday afternoon gtwo weeks ago, and Himself was set to fly back to Ireland for Christmas the next morning, the lucky sod. On Wednesday evening, the agent calls me saying that there was another person interested in the flat who was willing to pay the full amount and that she could show us another few places instead. I objected, saying that this was the place we wanted and that I'd do whatever it takes to get it. Whatever it takes was exactly what I had to do, and more- early on Thursday morning I went over and gave them part of the deposit to secure the apartment, late on Thursday evening I went over again and paid the remaining deposit along with three months rent and signed the contract. The negotiation and the million times that everyone wanted to go over the contract took over two hours, so that by the end of it it was near midnight and I was exhausted.
... moved house. Last Thursday morning my crazy Chinese friend and I moved all my stuff to Himself's and my new house, which took us over an hour and two taxi rides due to the amount there was to move. I apologised to my friend for this, saying I was sorry we had to go twice. The response I got was something like, "I move, need four taxi. Haha!" Ah well. Needn't have worried.
... lost the key to my new (!) house, my credit card and my bank card. All within one week. During the move, one of the two keys I was given was suddenly gone. I nearly had a nervouos breakdown trying to understand how on earth even I could have been ditzy enough to do this before I'd even moved in. Again, it turned out I needn't have worried though: It turned up a few days later, mysteriously intertwined with the lining of my bag. Phew! Wasn't so lucky with the two cards though. They had both been lost in ATM slots because I'd forgotten that you had to press a key to eject them.
... fully unpacked and settled into my new place. It's lovely. And it'll be even nicer when my boyfriend returns and we'll be living here together. After a year apart working in different cities, it'll be good to return to, well, a normal life again.
... realised that not being home for Christmas does hurt a little more than I'd thought. Luckily though, I have managed to make some good friends in the year that I've been here, some of which I'll be meeting for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow, and some of which will come over to be my first guests at the new house on the 25th. I'll be preparing a big, Mama-style Christmas dinner, including my mum's own special fillets in creamy sauce. (By the way, did I mention I was a vegetarian?) That meal's a surefire success. Ahem.
Anyway, Frohe Weihnachten, 圣诞节好 and a very merry Christmas to you and the yours!
Bis dann,
Nadine
My Advent group with their stars... 
... and some of the utterly gorgeous candy houses they made...
... and finally, my new living room- yes, that's a flatscreen TV. Muahuahuahua. 
Happy Holidays!
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