Today started out like all others since we've been back. Blissfully nice weather to greet us as we awoke (which is a nice change from last year), then our imported fiber cereal,* banana, and French press coffee for breakfast. Like other Sundays, we left the apartment a little after 10am to catch a taxi to go to church. Fortunately, today was a good Sunday where we found an empty cab with ease.
We worshipped at the (only) English-speaking Protestant church in the city, had a wonderfully predictable lunch at Subway (i.e. the American sandwich chain--it's the EXACT same menu here, which is AMAZING), bought some groceries at the French supermarket Carrefour, strolled around charming West Lake (complete with amateur opera singers, squirrel handlers, and calligraphers who draw with water sponges), caught a bus back to our apartment, and arrived in our humble abode around 4pm.
Since we got a little sweaty from walking around West Lake, I decided to shower. As I was drying off in the bathroom (and was contemplating a relaxing evening of reading, dinner, and streaming TV shows), I heard the doorbell ring.
PANIC. Because after the doorbell rings, the door will immediately open. Doorbells here are not a polite request, but a warning of impending entrance. There was now a strange Chinese guy standing in our hallway, which is right outside my minimally frosted bathroom door.** EEK!
I called out to Brian to figure out why there was a random man standing just a few feet away from me, with only a semblance of privacy in between us. Turns out, it was a water guy. No, not THE water guy who usually comes to deliver potable water to us about once/week (since no one, Chinese or foreigner, can drink the water in China), but some other guy. Usually THE water guy comes after we call him to request water. This OTHER guy showed up unannounced, with a slightly cheaper and slightly smaller water jug than what we normally get.
Given my urgent desire to get random water guy out of my apartment, I begged Brian to just pay him money. Any money. So Brian gave him the price he requested, and he took our empty jug and left. Sigh. Of. Relief.
But now we wonder, what brought random guy to our apartment? Is he a coworker of regular guy's, who magically knew we were out of water and desiring a new jug? Or does he actually work for another water company, and mistook our apartment for another client's? I'm not sure, but I have a feeling next time THE water guy shows up, we'll have fun in our basic Chinese trying to explain why we don't have his empty water jug to return to him anymore.....!
Only in China!