My Home Away From Home.
Welcome to mi casa away from home :)  Follow your gaze up to the highest floor, and there you have our little 'penthouse' suite.  Okay, not exactly, but I'm grateful for our elevated view from atop, even if the view is only of nearby smoke stacks.

I like how my place is nestled away from the craziness of the nearby road.  I like how when I turn the corner out of my complex I have to swerve to avoid running over free wandering chickens.  Life is simple here.   No one says anything about the obvious inefficiencies (obvious to the American in me).  I ride a bike to run my errands and instead of throwing things in the trunk like I do in the States, I have to carefully calculate what I can manage--just me and shao lan (my bike).  People barely raise an eyebrow when the water is shut off or when a foul stench permeates the air.  Nobody scoffs at the trash in the stairwell or how public property is just that--public and therefore, no one is responsible for its cleanliness.  Personal hygeine is also an issue--I still shudder when a person clears their throats of phlegm and hacks one on the street.  Or blantantly picks his nose. 

I've come to grips that I live here now.  Granted, I haven't fully embraced it yet, but I'm here.  And though far from home, the Ruler of the Universe is still in residence here.  But there is work to be done.  We are not home yet.