So my new job has kept me quite busy and despite my best efforts to mentally sit myself down to write, it simply isn’t happening. I mentioned a while back that I was thinking of taking this blog in a new direction to reflect my more sedentary / settled lifestyle instead of all of the galavanting I have done over the years. I’m not sure it’ll be a big change but I think it needs to change in some way. Maybe it’s time to stop already? Then again, maybe not. I’m a Millennial and my voice deserves to be heard, right? Haha
Anyway, the weather is a bit colder here. Some folks were wondering if the pollution is bad this year in China and I can say that in Beijing itself the pollution hasn’t been so bad. Maybe only one day has had an AQI of over 250. It went by so fast that I even forgot to take a screenshot of the AQI reading. In other areas, however, such as Zhengzhou and Xi’an (where the Terracotta Warriors are located), the smog has stayed the same or gotten worse. Why the difference? Because much of north-east China, in what seems to be a caving in to the demands of “the people” (or at least a skeptical eye towards the upcoming health care bill for treating lung disease) has made China move toward natural gas instead of coal. It may also be because the price of coal has gone from $3 per tonne (I think) in 2016 to just over $17 per tonne right now. In any event, the skies are bluer than before.
Spring Festival 2018 is coming up. It will be the Year of the Dog. My year. Many folks will be off to their hometowns to visit family as the country gets about a week straight of holidays. One of the things they do here in China is shuffle the working days so that there is an uninterrupted week of holidays that allows for many of the people to get home for the holidays. And it is the Chinese holidays. Christmas and Western New Year’s were just acquiescence to Western influences, Spring Festival is embraced by Chinese people as a time to actually take time off. As a result, much of Beijing (and the country) will be shut down in the middle of the month. I will not be going anywhere but will have about a week off to get some things done that I’ve been meaning to do. I haven’t been in Beijing for Spring Festival since 2015 which was also my first year here.
One thing I will be looking for is a gym as it seems that my mid-section has become a little bit bigger with the big change up of last year. I do get to use some nice gyms at some of the hotels we stay at but there are some long days that don’t allow me to get to the gym on time.
Other that than, hope all is well!