Breathing in Beijing, and Other Miscellany

A combination of shoddy internet at home, being busy, and writer's block (mostly writer's block) has resulted in a sharp drop off in blog posts.  Rather than force the issue, I've decided just to let the blog become whatever it naturally becomes -- which, for better or for worse, appears to be more of a weekly thing now than the every-other-day clip I was running at back when living here was full of "can you believe this shit" and "look at these funny Chinese people" moments.  To repeat a recurring theme of this blog: as life becomes increasingly normal here, the oddities seem increasingly less bizarre.  By the time I return to the US, I'll probably have to start a new blog about all the mind-boggling things Americans get up to in their daily lives.

As some of you may have read, the pollution in Beijing has reached absurd levels, apparently all of a sudden.    As reported here by the New York Times (and others), the device that records air quality in Beijing registered a score of 755 over the weekend.  This might not seem alarming, until you learn that the scale is from 0 to 500.  That's right.  Beijing's air quality is over 50% worse than worst possible score on the scale.  A few years ago, when the air score eclipsed 500 for the first time, an embassy official dubbed the air quality as "crazy bad" on Twitter.  I guess that makes it "ludicrously awful" now.  I was just texting with a friend of mine who's in Bejing now.  She said she's investing in gas masks.  I imagine living in Beijing right now must be a lot like this:

Over the past few weeks, I've been busily booking flights, trains, and hotels in preparation for my parents visit to the Far East in late March.  Absentmindedly glancing at the terms and conditions for train tickets from Shanghai to Beijing, I noticed this amazing tidbit, which most certainly falls into this "Only in China" category:

Limited Items:

Regulation on the amount of the followings that can be brought onto train:

1. Less than 5 gas lighters.
2. Less than 20 boxes of matches.
3. Items like enamel and hair dye, less than 20 ml.
4. Items like alcohol less than 100 ml.
5. Items like styling mouse, insecticide and air-refresher, less than 600 ml.
6. Less than 20 newborn poultries.

Nos. 1-5 seem perfectly fine, though why 4 lighters is acceptable and 6 lighters is illegal is beyond me.  Also, I would be willing to bet than many people pack more than 100 mL of alcohol on these trains (and if you include items like alcohol, then who knows).  But nothing really compares to number 6.  You really can't make this stuff up.  It's a bit disturbing to know that someone sat down and thought of what a reasonable number of baby chickens would be acceptable on a train from Shanghai to Beijing, and after mulling it over, decided that 5, 10, 15, 19 chickens would be fine, but let's not get carried away here, thereby setting the limit at 20 (does the number decrease or increase if the poultry is mature, rather than newborn??).  I've ridden Chinese trains before, several times, and have yet to see a chicken wandering about, but it's good I read these terms and conditions because in the event that I do see one, at least I'll know it and no fewer than 18 of its brethren are acceptable companions for any individual ticket holder.

In other news, I've picked up two new roles here in Shanghai since I last posted: manager, and teacher.  For a few months now, my roommate Franco's band, The Horde, has jokingly referred to me as their manager.  But a few weeks ago, they asked me to take on the role in a more official capacity, and I've done so with gusto.  We're busily planning the release of The Horde's first album, as well as various gigs over the course of the winter and spring.  Shanghai's underground music community is a very tight knit, friendly bunch -- the bands look out for each other, and help each other out.  Nobody is looking for money or fame; they're all just concerned with making music, sharing it with others, and having a good time.  It's been pretty fun to become part of that community here.

I've also accepted a gig as a part time teacher at a school/test-prep center, where I'll be teaching a writing class to high schoolers on Saturday mornings.  It'll mean temporarily working six days a week, and not having much weekend to speak of, but I'm looking forward to actually teaching a classroom for the first time.  I've got a lot of tutoring experience, and I've enjoyed that, but classroom teaching is a different beast.  I'm frequently told (and I think as well) that I'd make a very good teacher, so I'm looking forward to putting that to the test.