This is a true story about the experience of a friend that took place in Beijing. Alexander Ronalds is the type of guy who can get things done. Let me put his life into context for you. Alex was born in Australia and raised all over the globe. He's lived in Hong Kong, Paris and California. He likes moving around and adapts to different environments very quickly.

So, it didn't surprise me that a few days after he moved to Beijing, Alex had already scheduled an interview for a teaching position in the Guo Mao area of the CBD.

We all warned him, "Guo Mao is nowhere near your Wu Dao Kou apartment, so please take someone with you, at least the first day to make sure you don't lose your way." At the time, Alex didn't speak a word of Chinese. But, being Alex, he decided it would be OK to go on his own. So that afternoon, he made his way to the Beijing No.1 subway line and ventured off to Guo Mao to meet with his potential future boss.

After arriving at the Guo Mao station, Alex waited and waited. He had arranged to meet someone from the school who would take him to the interview. Nobody seemed to be looking for him. Eventually, Alex noticed two Chinese men walking towards him waving their hands about. Taking them to be his contacts, he didn't object when they took him by the arm and started to guide him towards the nearest exit.

"Oh, about time guys," said a by now disgruntled Alex.

The first stop with his two new Chinese friends, within walking distance of the Guo Mao station, was a very nice, big and bright three-bedroom apartment. No furniture, just three bedrooms, a living room, bathroom and kitchen.

Alex was shocked. "Wow, is this the office? Is this the school?" he asked.

The two Chinese men stared at each other and then looked at Alex and nodded their heads "School? Oh, dui dui (right, right) school, school," they chorused.

They took Alex by the arm again and walked him to another three-bedroom apartment in the same building. Just as bright, just as big, just as nice, also empty. Three bedrooms, a couch and a table.

"Is this the school? Where is the school?" asked Alex, by now getting a little annoyed.

"School, school oh dui, dui, dui, (right, right, right)," the men said smiling and nodding their heads.

Again, they embarked on another walk down the same street, heading for another large rental complex. By the time Alex stood looking at the third apartment he was totally in a spin and had no clue what these guys were on about.

Alex kept wondering why he was the only teacher. Why they had not asked him about his teaching experience? Why did they keep moving around looking at all these empty apartments? He wondered if he was supposed to make a decision about where they should locate the school? Would he be directing this school? Where were the rest of the people? Was he supposed to suggest classroom equipment? With no language skills, no working experience in China and little understanding of the culture, Alex had no way of figuring out what was going on.

Just then Alex's phone rang. It was his contact calling from Guo Mao station. He had been looking all over for Alex and had begun to worry that something had gone wrong. The contact was late and apologized profusely. They had to head over for the interview immediately as the school was waiting for them. Alex rushed off back to the Guo Mao station where he finally met up with his contact. After relaying the story of what had happened to him, Alex found out that he had been "kidnapped" by two real state agents trying to rent or possibly even sell him a three-bedroom apartment. In retrospect it seemed funny and he decided it hadn't been a complete waste of time. If he ever decided to move to Guo Mao, at least he knew what type of accommodation was available.

The writer, from Spain, currently lives in China