Day Dreaming

It's eery here today. The air is once again filtered by a foggy lens and today, seems to be suffering from a bit of jaundice. With the weather forecasting thunderstorms, I'm not itching to go out. And so I sit here at my regal dining room table daydreaming about trips.

Up next is a mystery. I told Mike that all I wanted for my birthday was to leave Shanghai. He took that and ran with it. Here's what I know:

• We'll be gone from May 15-19. 
• The destination requires a layover, somewhere. 
• We'll be at a beach, somewhere. 
• We'll spend most of our time there (somewhere) scuba diving! (A very exciting prospect seeing as how I haven't dove in -- omg -- 10 years.) 

Who can help solve the mystery? 

Yes, Really

The Chinese state media recently released five "surprising benefits" of smog:

1. It unifies the Chinese people. 
2. It makes China more equal. 
3. It raises citizen awareness of the cost of China’s economic development. 
4. It makes people funnier. 
5. It makes people more knowledgeable (of things like meteorology and the English word haze). 

(Credit: Time Inc.; read more.) 

I suppose they get points for looking on the bright side (pun intended).  

Zhoumo kuaile!

I know I've complained about the air quality before, but it's really, really bad today ("beyond index"!).

This time, I can really feel it in my chest and I've had a nasty cough for few days now. If only Shima knew how to use a toilet, I wouldn't have to go outside. But she hasn't acquired that skill yet, which means I've given in and will be sporting one of these accessories on our walk this afternoon.

Only one more week 'til I see the blue skies of California! My lungs and I can't wait. 

P.S. More on the current "airpocalypse". And some think artificial rain may help.  

Gross

And in the News...

More than 2,800 dead pigs found in Chinese river.  

Lovely.  

Read more here.  

It's Gross Out

I've complained about the air pollution before, but now it's making international headlines. Did you hear about Beijing and its off-the-charts air quality index? Keep in mind that 500 is the top of the Air Quality Index scale, which uses standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On Saturday at 8:00 p.m., the index read 755, "when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers' lounge" (New York Times). And would you believe that Beijing's air pollution can be seen from space?! See scary pictures here, and more here.

What's slightly worrisome is the fact that the pollution seems to be moving south toward Shanghai. See below and notice that "protection is recommended." You may soon be seeing Mike and I sporting some stylin' masks.  

 

Have a healthy weekend

I seem to have caught a bit of a summer cold. Yuck. Apparently, all expats are prone to one when they first arrive. It's the body getting used to living in such a polluted environment. How lovely.

The pollution has probably been one of the hardest things to get used to. In LA, you could often see the smog hover over downtown, and that was bad enough. But here, it envelops you and swallows you whole. It can be hard to breathe on some days, days when the sun and blue sky lie behind a wall of gray.

Mike and I downloaded an app that reports the day's air quality. It's funny (in a scary sort of way) to see the difference between the numbers reported by the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and the US Consulate. I'm happy to say that today's numbers are much better than what they have been, when the US Consulate actually recommended masks!