First Thoughts on Beijing

Aya and I have been in Beijing now for almost 2 months and so we have adjusted to the rhythm of life here, mostly. Having lived in Shanghai a lot of the things that most new expats here view as odd or surprising are old hand for us. Pushing on the subways, spitting on the street, split pants on babies, whatever man. However, Beijing is not Shanghai and we are not exactly in the same working positions we were there. 

Of course I knew that Beijing could be dry and that there was the likelihood that there would be some heavy pollution. In some ways I have been surprised because there have really only been 3-4 days where levels got to 200 or above. Most days have been around 100 but many days have also been below 50. For reference, most cities on the Eastern seaboard of the US range between 30-60  for the average day. On days where it gets to 150 I start wearing my Respro mask for cycling and if I am doing other heavy breathing outside. Nearing 200 I put a mask on for everyday use. I found the times that I didn't have the mask on and it got near 200 I was feeling odd. Though I have seen some wearing of masks by foreigners on the over 200 days I haven't seen any wearing by Chinese people and even when level has topped 200 not many foreigners don the masks. I think its mostly because people are self conscious about how they look, not me. Obviously looking good isn't my top priority. In addition to mask wearing Aya and I have bought some air filters for at home. Though air was the biggest concern for us in moving here it actually hasn't been a bother. My workplace has hospital grade filters so most of the day I am breathing cleaner air than people in Buffalo, NY or Milwaukee, WI for example. On the way home if the readings are high I will put on my mask while I bike so I have 10 minutes of minimized exposure. Then when I get home Aya has the filter going to levels aren't getting above the 40/50 range. Its not so bad, but I hear in the winter things get worse so I'm not making any big proclamations yet. 

So far we are very happy in our jobs and we feel pretty fortunate to be here. I've been well taken care of by the HR staff here and have fit right in with school life. I expected a bit of long nights and weekend at the start here trying to adjust, but I haven't actually found too much of that and the school has a good emphasis on healthy living from vegetarian lunch option everyday to allowing teachers to exercise in the school domes during school hours (if I don't have a class to teach). Aya has been well taken care of too and has often had her questions answered promptly and politely. I love the kids. Lots of "thank you"s as they head out the door after classes and a general atmosphere of hard work and polite behavior. My classes are very enjoyable, the school has great facilities and my co-workers are all experienced, hard working, and affable. I could see myself being here a long time.  

In about a week we will move into our new place in Star City, Lido which will be closer to the downtown area. It will be nice to have more amenities available and we will be right next to the 798 art district so will have lots of interesting things to see and do right next door. Of course I have to say that the property market in Beijing is absurd. We visited about 10 different properties covering around 40 different apartments before finding one that we are reasonably happy with. Mostly we feel ripped off. For example, we saw one apartment that was three bedrooms/2bath with peeling wall paper, crayon drawing on the walls, dust and dirt everywhere, minimal furniture that was old and chipped, old appliances. The landlord wanted about 1800USD per month. When we asked if they would repair the wall paper they said no. Many places are like that and we have struggled to find a place for under 1500USD that has decent furnishings in a good location. Mostly this is caused by the property market being one of the only ways for average Chinese people to invest their savings. It will be an interesting day when/if the Chinese government opens other opportunities to them. 

Getting around has been a bit tough since we are in the suburbs and don't have a car. I have become fascinated with a solution that many Chinese and foreigners have come up with, make a smaller car to sell at a cheaper price. Many of these little electric cars can do near 30kph, have heating, headlights, turn signals, windshield wipers etc. and retail for about 2000USD brand new. A number of the teachers that live near the school have bought them for hauling the kids and groceries around. I wish I could buy one, but when we move downtown my reason for doing so will be gone. We will most likely rely on the subways and taxis. The subway is super cheap, about 35cents per ride no matter the distance. However, that also means a lot of people take it and during commuting hours the trains are packed. There is a new stop being constructed just across the street from our new apartment, but when that will be completed no one knows. We often take taxis or hire a driver for the day or night to take us around. These options are pretty reasonable. Taxis seems to be about 1 dollar every kilometer or two while to hire a driver for about 6 hours is about 35-50 dollars. When we know a group of us will be going downtown or that we will be coming back late we have opted for a private driver. 

The food here has been hit or miss. Since we are in a foreign area many prices at the grocery stores are at or above western prices, but those are for mostly western brands. Last weekend we stopped in a local grocery when we were downtown and the prices were noticeably cheaper. Restaurants are similar. Going to western food outlets will run you western prices or dearer. Local places are much cheaper and Aya and I can have a decent dinner with drinks for about 5 dollars each. Of course my favorite things is that beer is cheap. Local beers go for about 50 cents a can and foreign brands range from 1USD to around 5 for the specialty stuff. Booze and wine are similar, but the problem with that is the chance of buying fakes. I can't prove it, but I think I bought a fake bottle of Johnny Walker from a store when we got here. It just doesn't taste quite right. From readings I have learned that possibly more than 50% of all alcohol sold in China is illegally made. 

This brings me to my last observation about China, 'Anything is Possible'. This has been Aya's motto and I think it is appropriately positive and negative. Can you get that hang bag for 1/4 of the asking price? You bet. Will that cooking oil possibly make you sick? Sure, maybe. Would the government ban the growing of beards in order to curb terrorist activity? I wouldn't be surprised. Love it or hate it China is a place where, 'Anything is possible' so you have to embrace the positives and have a good laugh at the negatives(and be cautious!) to live a happy life. For now, we are happy.