Where do I live?

We've been living in our apartment and furnishing it for over two months. We finally decided it was about ready (keeping in mind the fact that I will only live here for a year and a bit more and it is not very practical to bring all the equipment back to Europe), and it was time to celebrate the fact with a housewarming party this Saturday. The doorman watching the entrance was a little concerned when I announced it to him, perhaps worried about a party full of foreigners - we as foreign people, young ones especially, don't have a very good reputation here in that regard. But the neighbors were not banging on the walls, neither did the police come to break the party up (apparently, that happens here. The neighbors don't come to ask you to be quiet, they just call the cops straight away)

Anyways, it was a very successful event. We had 17 guests from 4 continents and 8 countries (Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Taiwan) Here we are:



I spent almost 2 months looking for a place last fall, and it paid off, as the place is the biggest I've seen, though the price is the same. Surprisingly, we haven't found any serious flaws that would justify the low price. Sure we have seen a cockroach or two, experienced a little flood and found weird fungus growing on the furniture upon returning from the Philippines, but that seems to be a rather normal thing in Taiwan. The devices to kill insects and drive mold away are readily available and the plumber got here on a very short notice during the flood (and the landlady paid for his services). Anyways, we have three floors: Here's the first - kitchen / living room



And the second floor, kind of a working area. Also big enough to dance, put together large puzzles, accommodate guests and so on.



Third floor is just big enough for a bed. Instead, below is a view from our balcony. A view like this is pretty rare in densely populated Taipei. Luckily, we are at the very edge of the city, at the foot of the mountains. This is not very convenient for most people, but perfect for us, seeing as the university is only 10 minutes' walk away.



The apartment is also fairly hi-tech equipped. Best example of that is the toilet, which has about 5 different buttons on the side, as well as many lights which flash, turn on and off at various times and so on. Said toilet, especially its bidet function received a lot of attention from the guests to our party.