Quite a contrast from the last post… So, it had to happen, the pollution levels in Beijing hit hazardous levels so it is time to break out the air masks we brought over as well as turn on our 3 air purifiers in our tiny apartment to high.
Being a mom who often buys organic food for her kids, it may seem crazy that I brought my family over here. Not only the pollution but the recent news reports about cadmium and lead in the rice, ice at KFC being 18 times dirtier than toilet water, etc. etc. But, it was the air quality that really gave us the most pause. We can always choose to avoid certain foods but the air is unavoidable and now several studies are out confirming the dire long-term health consequences.
In the end, I think about it in percentages. We are spending roughly 11 months here. I’m taking my family away to warm, green Vietnam for one month during the winter holiday when pollution is often at its worst – so that means 10 months of exposure. More than half our time we are in our apartment with the air purifiers. And then these masks, which I researched and tested, protect us when we have to commute to school, the market, church, etc. So really we are talking about 4 months of exposure or less, assuming all the rest of the days are bad. We decided that we value inter-cultural experience and second language fluency THAT much.
It’s a process of starting to let go. When the boys were babies, I could more easily shelter them and I tried to only give them the best. But, now as they grow, the best may include walking with them through our imperfect world. I mean, I definitely have limits, as in I would go nowhere near a war zone or place with political instability. But, I do want to take advantage of my odd job that allows international sabbaticals and give them a wider view of the world.
That being said, we just got back from an incredible week-long trip where I saw some of the most amazing and beautiful things I’ve ever seen (which I’ll post about later), and what Joshua wrote about in his journal is how great it was that we got a collection of free bedroom slippers from the hotels. I was thinking about how my parents took us on a trip to the Grand Canyon when I was around his age and to this day my main memories are that it was hot and I got shiny pebbles from the gift shop. Still, I guess there is a general impression of an open landscape…
As for me, this pollution is part of the story of China’s historic urbanization. It’s like our industrial revolution. And no one had 3M masks and Swedish air purifiers then.
Here’s the armor the boys made out of those bedroom slippers…
Peking Diary 