Well, we have completed the main objective of this trip - finding a home to live in during our two-year stay in Dalian. Campus Village is the housing development located very close to the Dalian American International School. Without know too much about the housing, we were kind of hoping to live there simply for the convenience factor of being within walking distance to school - also this community serves as kind of "mini-America" in our minds.
Mike and I and our friends, Yukiko and Damon, have secured the last two units in the village and we are thrilled! We will live literally across the hallway from each other on the second floor of a beautiful condominium. The building and its furnishings are designed with the westerner (American) in mind. In fact, the home we will have in China will be bigger and more lavish than the one we have in Chandler... It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a den. The kitchen is big and spacious with lots of storage and an adjoining maid's quarters. Emma thought she might like to have the maid's room (since we are not going to have a live-in maid) but now that we have seen it, that's pretty much out of the question. The room is no bigger than a prison cell - it has a shower, sink and toilet, and there is room for a small cot but that's about it!
Intel is providing us with "basic" living provisions including beds and start-up bedding, couches, tables, two 42-inch flat screen TVs and a jacuzzi tub...like I said, just the bare necessities! There is a gym on the grounds and a restaurant. The only drawback to our living location is that it is out in the middle of nowhere - about 20 minutes from the closest shopping/dining area. This just means that I have to be a little more organized about meal planning since I will not have easy access to stores, etc. It's a small price to pay to know that we are in a safe, quiet, clean place where our kids can ride bikes and play at the playground that is right outside our kitchen window.
We spent time at the school and it is a wonderful place. Emma's classroom has only 14 kids so far and they are waiting for four ex-pat kids to arrive, including Emma. They already have her cubby marked with her name so they are ready for her! Her teacher, Miss Lisa, seems great and we just have a really positive feeling about the whole set up. We have lots of pictures but I will have to wait until I get home to add them to the blog. Stay tuned...
Thanks for reading our blog - I know it's lengthy but there is so much to share!
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