Wow

Very frequently I find myself saying wow under my breath in China. When a woman gets her monthly visit here I find myself constantly saying wow. At home its no big deal, you go on with your life. Some people may make jokes about mood swings, making women very unhappy. However here its a different story. There are all kinds of rules of what you can and can't do during that special time.

• You are not allowed to eat red meat.
• You can't drink anything with caffeine in it.
• You should drink warm water and brown sugar.
• The air condition can't be on.
• You shouldn't really go out and do stuff- you should stay home and relax.
• Going to work is optional. (plenty of girls have called off)
• You need to use tissues not toilet paper.
• You can't take pain medicine
• You can't have any doctor's appointment during this time.
• You can't have your teeth pulled because the bleeding is related.

These are just some of things I hear everyday at work. I am just left standing there thinking wow.

Pregnancy is another thing here that makes me say wow.

• You need to wear a smock that will keep the microwaves away from your baby.
• You can work but its highly recommended that you don't.
• You can't go near the microwave if it is on.

The unexpected wow factors is common place in China. Everyday something small or big happens that leaves me saying wow.

• When people don't know how to get on an escalator
• How can people possibly walk so slow
• Why is there a big pile of pee in front of the toilet?
• Did you really just pick your nose and wipe it on the hanging thing in the taxi??
• What is that smell?
• Why run to the escalator when you are just going to stand on it?
• Stinky tofu
• Getting 10 chicken nuggets at McDonalds
• Cleaning lady yelling at me for hitting the soap dispenser when the bathroom is a mess.
• The pollution smells like ash.
• Having a room full of people and its 80 degrees and no one turns on the air.
•  The weird smells from construction sights
• Fireworks at breakfast.
• Raw meat laying out in the middle of the store.
• Wearing a coat on a 70 degree day.

The list could go on. Everyday in China I just say wow.  Thankfully its Chinese New Year holiday. Vacation here I come!

Pollution

Growing up I read all kinds of books. I remember reading about sickly people and how they would go out into the country to get some fresh air. The fresh air made them stronger. Just like the saying- I need to go out and get some fresh air. Meaning out with bad and in with the new. 

 The longer I live in China the more I see and feel the effects of pollution in the air. At home an air quality action day consists of air particles being about 40 in the air. A typical day in Beijing is 100. In the winter it is normal to have days over 300. I have an app on my phone that warns me when the air starts to get unhealthy.

The winter especially in Beijing causes the air pollution to go up. Coal is used to heat the buildings in the winter. Factories outside of Beijing are actually the culprits for the air pollutants. When the wind blows a certain way bam its in Beijing. And sadly the city of Beijing sits in a valley. The air gets trapped in the city.

Recently I have noticed that my health is not what it has been at home. I am a healthy 26 women. I don't smoke. Since living in China I have had bronchitis 3 times. My lungs randomly will wheeze up. I can feel the tightness in my chest when the air is bad. In addition depending on what is in the air headaches develop. And what is scary is that I will not be the only one. At work it seems we all get headaches at the same time. It is common place to have a cough everyday here. Phelm and mucus in your throat is normal. People spit up on the street all the time simply because they are trying to get the bad stuff out of their lungs. Not to mention minor aches and pains are more common place. You feel as if you are falling apart. Drinking hot water actually does help, because the hot water soothes your throat.

It is scary to see and feel the effects of poor air quality. Lung cancer and bowel cancer are the leading causes of death in China.

The air is not always terrible in Beijing. But when it is you can feel it. I can't wait to go and breath some fresh air. My lungs will do a happy dance.

In a nutshell..

So its been a while since I have wrote on my blog!I have been a bit busy. My brother visited at the end of September. So this blog entry will be a little long.
First here are some photos from Mark's visit!

 At the Great Wall (for the 7th time)

 Wofo Temple

 Fake Terracotta Warriors in the corner..well we are assuming they are fake..

 Temple of Heaven







I went home in October for a few weeks then  I came back to China.

  Originally I was going to travel to Prague but circumstances have kept me in China a bit longer!

Since coming back to China in October things have been fairly quiet. I celebrated Halloween at work with my children and Rose

 I then ventured off one day and saw the Drum and Bell Tower. I climbed 62 steps to get to the top and see the drums!

The Bell Tower









Thanksgiving was next. I planned a Thanksgiving party for everyone who works at Disney English. About 50 people showed up!








After Thanksgiving was another Christmas in Beijing.

Everyone gets homesick at Christmas in Beijing. No one wants to be here. So I tried to make it as fun as possible. We had a cookie making party!

 Oops...

 Teaching Rose and Vivian how to make cupcakes!

On Christmas I had some of my close friends over. We tracked Santa on the Santa tracker. It was a nice way to spend Christmas Eve. Not like I would at home but we had a good time!










New Years Eve came and went. And now I am planning trips that are coming up this year before I head home in April. This year I plan on traveling to Singapore, Harbin Ice Festival, and Tokyo.
In the meanwhile I am having fun in Beijing! I tried ice skating yesterday..