One Last Dig

Alright friends and family… as I type this in less than 14 hours from now Bill and I will be on our way to the airport to fly home for Christmas and New Years and ONE ENTIRE MONTH of clean air, fresh food, real untainted wine, our dog Brewer and most importantly family and friends!

As I write what will be my last post from China for 2013 I think it's only appropriate to recap the past year of food scandals that we've been through:

http://www.fieldschina.com/index.php?utm_campaign=12%20December%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=scandals%20read%20more&route=content/story/info&story_id=1200&lang=en

And remember - these are only the BIG food scandals of 2013 - all the little ones that happen daily just don't make world news.  Makes you really want to come visit us in 2014 right!?!?!
It's pretty scary that in 1 year there have been 12 major food scandals, which is something I never ever worried about in the US or England.  It's scandals, corruption and other odd cultural differences like this that we experience and have lived everyday for the past 9 months that make me long for "home" and I am so thankful we are going to be able to spend the holidays with those we love in a place familiar to us.

I hope everyone that reads these crazy stories that I call a blog has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.   I'll be back to China in the middle of January and my tales of everyday shock will resume then.

Happy Holidays!

The 5 Reasons Smog is Beneficial… you've got to be joking!!!

It's amazing how the smog came in quick fast and in a hurry and was SOO bad!  It's all people have been talking about for the past week.  Today however we have a bit of a reprise and we can see what appears to be a blue sky.  And I noticed we have a lake in front of our building!  (Catch the sarcasm there!)   One of my friends just posted this article and I can't believe it!!!
http://shanghaiist.com/2013/12/10/the_5_surprising_benefits_of_smog_a.php

I can't say I'm surprised though. HA

Oh and it wasn't only written on this one website.  Here's another:
http://world.time.com/2013/12/09/china-here-are-some-great-things-about-toxic-air/

But seriously, 3 more days and we'll be "Home for the Holidays"!   My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, we just need Friday to get here.  Hurry up Friday, hurry up!!!!

And I Thought Yesterday Was Bad...

 Here we are… RIGHT IN FRONT of what we call "The Pants".  Literally, right in front and you can barely see them.  Our index was 489 today - this is the worst ever I've experienced.   I just heard from a friend that PuDong Airport is closed because Shanghai is off the chart over 500 for particle count.   I don't even know how to explain how smoggy it is and what it's like to experience.

On a fun side note - I put on a 3M mask that my Auntie Lori left for me and went to a jewelry making class!  It was good to get out of the apartment as I've been avoiding leaving much this week due to the weather but was starting to feel cooped up.
I've never really been creative and made things before so today I got to make 3 pairs of earrings!  It was  good fun and I have some fun new earrings to wear besides!

Here are 2 of my creations:

Finally, the craziest thing I did today was ride the bus home!!!   A lady I know named Marianne was at the jewelry making class and as we were leaving she asked if I was going back home (she lives in the same compound), I replied with… Yes, would you like to share a taxi?…. she replied with…. Taxi, lets take the bus!   She apparently takes the bus all over, all the time so I figured why not ride with an expert!  And I did and it was uneventful and I got home just as fast as a taxi because the buses here move just as fast and barely stop at the stops!
What a day.    Now to rest my lungs!!!

Air Pollution… 8 more days to hold my breath.

Up until this week I would've told anyone that asked about our air quality in Suzhou that it really wasn't "that bad".   That bad meaning- we have blue(gray) skies and occasionally, once a week a "bad" day which means it's hazy/foggy, whatever you want to call it.   But not bad where I'd feel endangered or need to wear a mask.

This week has been HORRENDOUS!  It started Sunday when we couldn't see across the lake and my lungs were BURNING.  I've never had strep throat but I imagine that I now know what it feels like just from living with pollution.   Picture every time you swallow your throat is on fire and when you breath its hard work.  

On Sunday our air quality in Suzhou was at a level of 289 on a scale of 0 to 500.  289 is BAD, Beijing is normally in the 200-300 range and Suzhou/Shanghai are normally 100-200, the fact that on Sunday we were 289 and Beijing was only 220 scared me.  We are NEVER worse than Beijing - that's the worst place in the whole country!  They close schools and airports because of the pollution there and you're telling me the air I'm breathing today is now worse than that!!!

What's even worse now is that as the week has progressed the air quality has worsened with it.  We are 320 today and Changzhou where Bill works is 440!!!!  440, that's almost off the richter scale!   I told him not to go to work today.  He said Mr. Fu had to slow down and drive with the hazards on in the car because you couldn't see anything.  WHAT THE H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS IS THIS????

Here's a link to the air quality website I've been using…  you can check out your city and compare it to ours!    http://www.airnow.gov

Until living here I never knew what it was like to experience air pollution and man does it make me thankful for blue skies and clean air.  8 more days of holding my breath!
Even the local papers are writing articles on how to protect oneself.  NOT COOL!
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/suzhou/articles/blogs-suzhou/suzhou-news/how-protect-yourself-air-pollution/

Here's some pictures but they don't even do the damage justice.   Even just walking outside the air stinks like sewer!

Mixology

Today I went to a mixology cooking class with the EAS ladies.   We learned how to make eggnog, a santa shot and a dream shot.  Then we made some meatballs and some quesadilla's and then finally we had a sit down Christmas lunch and funny gift exchange!

 The santa shot is actually a floater shot where you float cream de menthe on top of grenadine.

 And then the best part of my day was while I was walking home I finally got a picture of the man selling the turtle on the side of the road!!!

More Poison…

Have you ever burned an apple skin before you ate it test it for wax?  
Nope - the thought never even crossed my mind until today!

Today this article on 18 foods and drinks to avoid in China came out:
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/suzhou/articles/blogs-suzhou/suzhou-news/18-foods-and-drinks-stay-away/

After reading the article we thought we'd try the apple trick!  Most of our apples do feel very waxy and ironically they last for weeks!  Yes weeks after purchasing they still look and feel good in the fridge - this isn't normal.  Something is in them!

Our apple luckily did not drip any wax!  Whew, safe to eat the skin I guess.  Although, I had washed the apple with soap and water prior.  Hmmm.

Sadly we were already aware of most of the 18 scandals listed above and most we believe are true or have been validated by Bill's co-workers/other expats.

Kiss My Christmas!

Yep, only in China would you find a translation like this:

Kiss My Christmas… hmmm not sure I've ever years that saying before!   Somehow that one got lost in translation.

This weekend was a busy one as the Vendor Relations for the EAS myself and 2 other women rounded up 110 vendors for an annual Charity Christmas Bazaar.  I'd say it was a successful event as there was a nonstop crowd from 10am until 4:30pm.   Here's the view walking into the bazaar.   I didn't get any pictures and I stole this from one of the expat ladies.  But it was a great day.

Singapore

We are finally just getting back into the swing of things after being in Singapore for 5 days!  My cousin Megan had a business trip there so she asked if we'd want to meet her there to explore after her meetings.  Of course we said yes.

We started out the journey by meeting Megan and her coworker on Friday evening at the Raffles Hotel.  The Raffles Hotel is the home of the original drink called the Singapore Sling.  Megan and Zan both tried the drink - Bill and I opted for other choices. 

   

Singapore is the worlds only city-state that is also an island country.  The weather there was 90 degrees fahrenheit and HUMID!   Bill and I weren't huge fans of the hot weather but we loved the country… clean air, blue skies, English is spoken as the official language!

Would you believe that in Singapore chewing gum is illegal (there is a $500 fine if you get caught), spitting on the street is also illegal and that fine is $1,000, if you are caught with any drugs the punishment is death on the following Friday.   Needless to say the city was very clean, people were very friendly and things worked in a very cohesive orderly process.  It was a welcomed change from China that's for sure! 

After the Raffles we headed over to Marina Bay Sands complex.  This complex is amazing, it's a ship hoisted in the air with amazing views of the water and city.

 Here's what Marina Bay looks like from a distance in the day.

Singapore is known as the Lion city and they have what they call a Merlion - a mermaid lion statue.  On Saturday we took a nice sweaty walk to visit the Merlion!

We then made a pitstop for lunch and beers at Brewwerkz! It was a tasty refreshing break from the heat.

After that we headed to Little India.  Singapore has an entire area of town called Little India which is pretty much like a Chinatown except for Indians.   They have a place called the Mustafa Centre which was HUGE and you could literally purchase ANYTHING you could dream of.  Purses, watches, spices, fruit, veggies, perfume, ace bandages, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING.

  We then enjoyed dinner at a local curry house.  You know you're in a good place when the people next to you aren't even using silverware to eat their meal!

Singapore was all decked out and ready for Christmas.  It was a bit surreal being so hot out and having Christmas music and decorations all over but I do have to say they were pretty spectacular.

 On Sunday we took a boat trip to a nearby island called Palu Ubin where we rented bikes and rode around exploring.  We saw wild boars:

 And then we got stuck in a monsoon….  not kidding look at the road in the back ground.  While trying to get back to the ferry area we braved riding in the rain and a tree fell right in front of Bill so that's when we decided we needed to take shelter.   Needless to say we were SOAKED from head to toe and it took our shoes 2 days to dry out!!!

Our last day we headed to the botanic garden which was very impressive.  I'll post those pictures in a separate post as they are on the camera and these are only my phone pictures!  

It was a great city to explore with endless shopping malls, eateries and fun.  It's definitely a place Bill and I would consider going back too again.