My Apartment - Friday, 2 October 2009

My Apartment
Friday, 2 October 2009

I live on the 3rd floor in a nice building on a moderately busy street. Astana is a work in progress, and all around me are buildings going up. From my kitchen window I can see the school where I will be working, and the bridge that takes us across the Ishim River.

I can walk to a variety of supermarkets from my apartment, and I will be walking to school with the other teachers, although I can take the school bus should I choose (which I will when it gets cold!) and most likely I can bum a ride with the principal.
My apartment is not small. There is a nice entrance with rugs over the fake wood floor. I have a nice wooden cabinet and coat storage unit in the hallway, and plenty of mirrors. Upon entering the apartment, I can go straight, past the bathroom and the toilet (two separate rooms), to the kitchen, which is nice and airy, much larger than my previous kitchens. The floor is some kind of fake wood. There is a small table with 4 stools on one side, next to the refrigerator, and then cabinets, stove, dishwasher, sink and counter space on the other side. There is also a door leading to a small indoor patio area.

Back into the foyer, I can open double doors to enter Sophia's bedroom, which perhaps would be a living room if I were alone. Sophia's room is large, with plenty of windows on one end. She currently has a pull-out chair for a bed, she will be getting a real bed soon. She also has another chair and a large TV on a TV stand. The TV shows plenty of channels, all in Russian or Kazakh. She quickly found an American movie that was poorly dubbed--no one bothered to edit out the English, so you can hear the English behind the Russian voices.

My room is next to hers, and a little bit smaller. I have a patio, too, which is nice, and the reason that my room is smaller. I have a nice, rather large, wardrobe, with a full-length mirror, and a sofa-bed.

The bedrooms are carpeted--Sophia's carpet is blue to match her walls, my carpet is on off-red, to match the pale red walls.

The principal had gone grocery shopping before we arrived, and so there was plenty of food in the kitchen waiting for us. The pizza was delicious, although it had mushrooms, black olives, chicken, and ham, so of course Sophia did not like it. But we had pasta, and I had remembered to bring Parmesan cheese, and so Sophia was well-fed our first night.

The shower in the bathroom (there is no bath) leaves something to be desired, the edges appear rather dirty. However, the faucet is about 3 feet off the ground, and the shower head is higher up and movable, and Sophia had a fun time giving herself a shower, using only the faucet so she didn't have to worry about getting water into her eyes.

Overall, I am impressed. The apartment is a nice size and is ready for use. I will be getting more things that I need later--such as a bed for Sophia, a desk, a microwave, a dresser. How long this will take, I do not know, but for now I am content.