Someone recently visited and said China was not very different from Europe. I think they haven't been looking in the right places.

Take for instance, the process of building a house. In Europe, one would have an architect do all the math and a construction supervisor to make sure everything is done smoothly and according to 'specifications'.

However, this is not how things are done here. Just today, on the local (Hong Kong) news, I saw a report about a building that had been constructed in downtown Hong Kong. In China, as in many other places I am sure, people or companies buy the floor space, even before the building has been erected. In China, (well, its Special Administrative Regions, because Hong Kong isn't China, but it belongs to China, but it has its own economic structure, but is governmentally subordinate to Beijing ... Still with me?) In China, once a building is built, you'll just have to see whether you got what you bought! In this case, the original floor plan (as demonstrated in the advertising leaflet that didn't have any legal value) showed an Open Kitchen, quite spaciously drawn up, with a large window overlooking the city below. The building definitely included a kitchen, unfortunately, this was described by the not-too-overjoyed owner as a 'small closed-in room', which looked, basically, like the space between the walls. In short, you never know what you're gonna get when shopping on the Chinese real estate market.

Here in Zhongshan, buildings are built in the conventional way, using old reliable methods (read: bamboo and pieces of string) to erect modern skyscrapers. The best part of watching construction is that you know that, somewhere in the structure, the workers are watching a small TV whilst enjoying lunch, because there is always a small satellite dish to be found on site.

Of course, one can still see areas where the old houses, built in the good old days, prevail, and still provide shelter for those who cannot afford an apartment with a view. Recently, Christine has taken me for a visit to meet with a friend of hers, ms. A King, aka Grace, who lives in the west part of Zhongshan. Now, if you need an update, scroll back to the spring festival holiday, where you could see the pictures of the village. What do you think? Moreover, I think you have seen the pictures of my residences over time. Now, think about your own house. This is just a comparison.

This woman lives with her two kids (Phoebe and Tom) in a 'hole in the wall', an expression used for what us Dutchies would call a shed. Let's just say it's not a whole lot. She shares one living room and one bedroom with her two children, with a toilet in a small room in the living room and a kitchen that consists of a stove under two sheets of metal. Her husband is living and working in Zhuhai, which is approximately 2 hours away from home and has the opportunity to visit the family once every month. We have had the family over at Christine's place, which is a treat for all of us, because the kids love to go to the pool, watch DVD's and play online and they are absolute darlings. In addition, mom gets a break from continuously watching them and getting them to finish their homework (which you can imagine they are very willing to do if a dip in the pool is the reward for finishing).

When Grace was here last time, we heard that she was planning to move to a new apartment (one that does not have a leaking roof and bedrooms for the kids) for which she would have to pay 70.000 Yuan. Not a lot of money you might say, it's only about 6500 Euros, and I make 8500 Yuan a month, so I should be able to save that up in a relatively short period of time. However, ms. Grace and her husband only make about 2200 Yuan a month between the two of them (if her husband gets paid), of which 200 Yuan goes to rent for the current place (can you believe she pays rent for that?), about 600 goes to education. This leaves about 1200 Yuan. Deduct costs for electricity, water, rent for the father's place (a shared dormitory) and his trips home, she has about 500 Yuan left to feed the kids every month, and to buy them clothes and other extravagancies. Still, with a little help from friends, they managed to get the money. Unfortunately, the lady who was selling the place to them received a better offer, so that on the day that they were going over with the money, another person was moving in, and they were not even informed of the matter. They were devastated, especially Phoebe, who was really looking forward to having her own bedroom.

Ho! That's it for tonight, I have got to go get my apple pie out of the oven! Yes, you've read it correctly, I have finally found a way to make a real Dutch apple pie, which we will enjoy with coffee tonight! Soon, I hope to enjoy some Dutch Dutch apple pie, perhaps even made by my sister! I am flying to France on the 13th of July, and will be in Holland from approximately the 20th of July until the 22nd of August. I would love to meet all of you, so please let me know when you have time!

Hmm... the smell of apple pie.... YUMMY!