We’ve been silent for a long time. We’re sorry! I thought we’d share a little anecdote of our current “problem” and the problems we’ve run into solving it. One of our expat troubles is dealing with our gas in the apartment.
So yesterday we ran out of gas. To get gas (which you use to get hot water in your shower/sink and to cook on the stove), you put money into a card with a chip and feed money to the meter under your kitchen sink. We go to the bank only to find out the bank is closed. Most banks close on Saturdays here. This seems a little weird to me, but it isn’t.
Yesterday we did manage to cook breakfast on the stove before the gas ran out. I had lunch at the mall and dinner with friends. We took very, very cold showers.
So I returned today (Sunday) armed with my card and some money to return to the bank and load the card. When I get there, the teller informs me that “it’s not available.” I need to go to either one of two other banks, one of which is closed on Sundays. So I go to option #2.
When I get to option #2, I’m informed that I cannot load my card unless I have a debit card from that bank. I cannot pay cash (Are you kidding me? You can pay cash anywhere in China – not!). If I want to load my gas card with cash, “you can come back Friday”. Apparently, you can do it one day of the week and not others. And also, apparently, I’ll be okay taking cold showers and being unable to cook until Friday.
I went to another branch of bank #1, where I was informed that I had to return to the branch I had gone to initially. If they said gas is “not available,” I could go tomorrow.
Ah, China.
We could have more significant problems. I’ll try filling our empty water bottle with tap water, running the water through it (since it heats water), and showering with a bucket.
Until the next adventure,
Analin
UPDATE: I returned to the bank on Monday as the girl at the other branch instructed. Once again, I was told that “gas was not available” and I could return to ABC Bank with cash the next day. We then decided to let the school person who helps us deal with things like those (he deals with our apartment landlords and other nuisances that the lack of communication would make nearly impossible). Since it was after 4 pm, we would have to wait until the next day.
The next day, we were informed that guess what? Your gas card had money all along…apparently, the gas machines load in increments of 50 RMB (?????), so this load (about 200RMB) should last us a while since we’ve loaded about every four months or so.
We cannot catch a break when it comes to gas. At least there is not anyone vandalizing our pipes.