For the Right Price

They say you can get anything you want in Shanghai, for a price. The people in Shanghai are both enterprising and entrepreneurial.

But, as we're learning now, you must be quite clear as to what exactly you are buying.

We asked our regular driver if we could hire his car exclusively, beginning in March. He agreed, and today brought me an agreeement of terms. His price was fantastic, so we worried that the deal was too good to be true. It was - he agreed to hire his car exclusively to us, but with another driver. Another driver who speaks no English. We agreed, on the condition that the girls and I like the furnished driver.

Likewise, our rent covers our apartment and everything in it. But it does not seem to cover repairs. Of course, like in the states, a landlord is responsible for all repairs in an apartment. But we've now been missing 4 out of 6 lights in our dining room for nearly 2 months. Our kitchen faucet has sprayed water in unnecessary directions since we moved in. And now we are receiving notices that the television, telephone and clubhouse bills have gone unpaid - all the responsibility of the landlord. Sure, a very nice apartment can be rented for the right price. But it seems to take more than cash to keep it in good condition.