Smoggy Sunday

Yesterday we opened our curtains only to find our normal view of rows of modern apartment buildings and distant mountains had disappeared, replaced by thick smog overnight. We checked our "China Air Quality" apps on our iPhones and sure enough, the air was "very unhealthy" and "heavily polluted." We didn't have any adventurous plans for the day and had hoped to catch up on rest and lesson planning at home, but we knew that we had to venture outside at some point to buy some groceries for the "good-bye" dinner we'd be having for our friend Katherine later that night. Despite the consistent smog we hadn't bought masks yet. We searched the supermarkets near our house with no success. When we asked a parent about where we could buy them she responded that you can buy them online. We couldn't believe it! As it's air pollution is such a serious problem here, we expected masks to be highly accessible and we were shocked to find out that the opposite true. So yesterday we used two of Jacky's scarves as makeshift masks as we walked the ten minutes to the grocery store near our apartment. The parks of our apartment complex were nearly empty, people staying inside to avoid the polluted air, but the few people we did come across gave us funny looks and one man even laughed at our attempt to protect ourselves using these scarves! We wandered around the small grocery store picking out things for dinner. While looking in the small home maintenance section for a clip I could use to hang up my purses, I found packs of masks! Finally! Jacky and I excitedly bought a couple of packs and swapped our scarves for the real masks on our way out of the store. They're uncomfortable, especially in the heat, but we're glad that we can feel a bit healthier walking the streets of Beijing during these scarily smoggy days!

Air quality warning on our phones!

Using scarves as makeshift masks

Finally got some real masks!