Today is finally moving day! By the end of today, my things will have a home! As I’ve learned from previous experiences, taking all my stuff with me in the metro is heavy, extremely tiring, and usually involves some stairs. I don’t want to do it a third time. I decide to do two trips, especially because metro is very cheap in China. I plan on taking what I can carry for my first trip and the rest with the big suitcase for the second.
I’m supposed to meet with my apartment guide and he will help me get all set up and into my apartment. We meet up around noon and I get the code to my apartment (no keys for me to lose or forget), drop my stuff and he decides that I need sheets right now.
Main room 
Kitchen
So, off we go on a shopping trip. Luckily, there is a place just on the other side of the street. We cut through the metro station to there. And I buy some cheap blue sheets with dandelions and a pillow.
I drop my new sheets off next to all the stuff I brought over with me and am told that they need to clean the apartment. It should be done before I get back.
Then, it’s time for my second trip. I make it back to the hotel and start wondering if I really want to make that second trip. My suitcase is still heavy and I didn’t bring my backpack back to load up with some of the smaller items to make the big suitcase lighter.
This is not gonna be fun…
But I eventually made it through the metro and the suitcase is finally in my apartment!
Now, I need to let the government know that I have moved, as China requires that all foreigners are registered. As a tourist, the hotels will do it for you, usually as part of the check in process. But, if you aren’t in a hotel, you have to register with a special branch at a local police station within about 24 hours of moving, unless you have a magical QR code on your door.
My building is new, so I don’t have the code and have to go to the police station. Luckily for me, it was right next to my employer’s office where I was going to be spending the next day getting a full day of training.
After a full day of people explaining things that they already made me watch videos on (granted, I watched those videos a year ago, but the information hadn’t changed) and learning almost nothing (there were a few interesting points where I, an American, had issues understanding some slang or item an Australian said, or vice versa), it was time to meet with the guy that found my apartment so we could go visit a police station.
After walking a couple blocks and getting confused by some construction, we were in the police station. Now, we just had to wait for the one person in the large station whose job it is to register foreigners.
Once she finally comes out, she looks over my apartment contract, passport and visa, and asks a bunch of questions that I don’t understand. For some of the questions, my rental agent answers for me and for the others he translates. And when they read my phone number, they thought the 6s were 4s, again. I know my handwriting can be bad sometimes, but a couple of them were very clearly not a 4.
Then there was the question of if I would be getting a new visa soon. As most foreign workers enter the country on a Z visa, which are only good for 30 days after you arrive, they are used to a certain set of requirements. However, I have an F, or business, visa, which has different requirements and is good for 180 days after entering the country. But both visas allow, or even require, you to apply for and get a residence permit.
She also needs an email address and, as we don’t speak the same language, I opened my email app on my phone, point to where it says the address and hand her my phone.
Finally, it was time to verify that everything had been typed correctly. As me and the rental agent were checking everything as correct, I noticed that my phone number still had 4s in it! After a quick change, everything was pronounced good and I was given a new, and soon to be very popular, form.
It was, once again, legal and was not at risk of a big fine or deportation.
My TEFL Adventure 