Pollution, xmas and general catch up

As predicted signing up for the training crash course of being parents has slowed down our entry rate onto the blog. On the other hand we have resisted the temptation to detail every wakeful night or every inconsolable bout of crying - we are reliably informed that it is part of the process that these minor details fade in the memory which explains how anyone fools themselves enough to come back for a second try. Sometimes even after the unimaginable challenge of twins.

Now that winter has arrived in all it's minus 10 glory a couple of things become obvious. It is much less fun waiting for my bus to work outside in the morning and the pollution levels have got noticeably worse. I'm told that all the heating plants within the 5th ring road are now powered by natural gas or 'clean' imported coal and the emissions then scrubbed but even so we have had some very poor days. Most ex-pats keep an eye on the air quality index as published by the US embassy via IPhone apps. Anything over 150 on the air quality index is considered bad, we were treated to a 500 day a couple of weeks ago and it was hard to see the buildings opposite so we decided it was best to hunker down indoors with our air filters going full blast. While wind brings with it icy fingers to make a mockery of any warm clothing it does take with it the pollution so we look forward to the bright, frosty and clear days. To be fair this is more often than not but the pea soupers stick in the mind a little more. On the up side we are told it was much worse prior to the 2008 which saw the start of a concentrated effort to clean up the air - let's hope they keep it up.

We didn't expect much from the Christmas celebrations here but are being pleasently surprised. The lcoal shopping mall is getting in the swing with decorations and a festive display for kiddies. Moreover the ex-pat community obviously support the festivities full tilt with many of the schools laying on Christmas markets. Our first attempt at picking up some yule tide nic naks fell a bit short when we decided on arrival to take advantage of a sleeping baby and a Mexican resturant. By the time we finished the market had packed up and left - half an hour early. The second attempt went much better and was a lot bigger. A short taxi ride away saw us to a very posh school with lots of stalls and a food hall at the back which we headed straight for choosing to indulge in hot dogs - not so festive but a novelty none the less. One aspect we hadn't counted on was all the locals being fascinated by the baby Eleanor had in her sling and we were stopped for quite a few photos. It seems taking babies out and about is very rare in China where the first few months are expected to be at home so we represented something of an oddity. Still not sure if the photos were to show friends or what passes for social services we smiled blandly all the same. We managed to pick up some little presents and a small stocking for the little noisy bugger chubby cheeked baby and considered it a job well done. On the way out there were some masseurs offering a free trial to entice you to head over to their clinic. Figuring this was a nice treat for a mother who has back ache from carrying a baby in a sling we signed up. Everything was heading in the right direction until they demonstrated their skills at massaging the tips of the elbow with vice like pinches. Two days later Eleanor had just about recovered.