The Apartment

 This post will focus on the interior of the apartment I'm staying at.  On campus here it's the International Guest House.

This is the entry.  Technically the floor you see there is "outside."  That's where you remove your shoes.  There's a small step up to the "inside."  You can wear socks or house slippers.

This is the selection that come with the apartment.  They are in the cabinet on the right in the first picture.  If I were expecting people, I could put several pairs out so they could step into them as they came in.  There's a short hall and the toilet is on the right.

 Yesterday I learned that you never ask to use someone else's toilet.  Unless that someone else is a foreigner.  A little further on is the laundry/shower/bath area.

The washing machine hadn't been used for 2 years, so there was gunk in the lines.  Having moved more times than I can remember, I had the wherewithal to run an empty basin before doing any of my laundry from quarantine.  Stepping inside this space and turning to the right puts you in the "unit bath."

There I am.  When this door shuts, that space is water-tight.  The floors, walls, and ceilings are all fiberglass.  To the left of the mirror is the shower head.  You scrub yourself down to get nice a clean, then get in the bath to soak for a while.  Normal bath water temperature is around 40 C, which is about 100-105 F.  Yesterday neither Susan nor Brooke nor I could figure out how to get the drain stoppered, so I didn't take advantage of that last night.  I figured it out today, which means I will do it tonight.  I've been warned absolutely everything in that room gets wet.  Most people get dressed and all that in the space I'm standing in the picture.  I have no problem with that.

A little further down the hall are two bedrooms.  Since no one has been here for a while, these rooms are being used for storage by the University.  That does not bother me at all.  It's not like I'm needing the space.

This room is next to the laundry space.

This room shares a wall with the adjoining apartment.  The bedroom where I'm sleeping is at the other end of the apartment.

The bed was comfortable.  I took this picture before I unpacked anything.  The closet in this room is ginormous.

It's as big as the living room in our first apartment in Waltham, MA.  Tami said she purchased a fan, and I assume it's the one sitting there.  The bookcase to the left has many gifts for people here left by previous faculty.  Lots of SVSU stuff.

This is the living room.  I'm standing right next to a dining table and just in front of the desk where I'm typing this post.  The far couch is a futon.  The door you can just see peaking on the right side leads to the hallway.  Straight across from that is the laundry.  My bedroom is kind of behind me and to the right.

Here I've just rotated a little and I'm looking straight at the kitchen.  There were lots of pots, pans, dishes, cups, all that stuff.  Some of it was needing a good cleaning.  I figure for the first week or so I'll be doing dishes before and after I eat.

And this is from the opposite wall.  I don't have an oven, but the microwave has buttons and settings for bread and cake.  I'll try that out as soon as I get some flour and yeast.  If I have trouble finding yeast, for whatever reason, I'll just make sourdough.  Tomorrow I'll make a post about cooking.  The stove is induction, and there's a wee grill suitable for a chicken breast or maybe two thighs.

I will go into the office tomorrow.  I plan to show up around 8.  At 1:30 I meet the "VIPs" (CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board).  I need to dress nicely for that.  And I need a business card holder.  That is what I'm going to attempt to find on my own today.  If I cannot, I will ask someone for help tomorrow morning.  According to Google Translate, "Meishi-ire wa utte imasu ka" is "Do you sell business card holders?"

Away I go.