Pollution

We have all heard about the extreme pollution in China. The story hits the news once or twice a month with shocking statistics attached to it. So stepping off the plane in Beijing, we were bracing ourselves for the worst and were fully prepared to dish out some cash for stylish face masks to wear for three weeks. But guess what?! We stepped off the plane, into the crisp, spring air and the first thing the kids said was “Wow! This place isn’t polluted nearly as much as Marrakech” Two weeks later, we have yet to see a “bad pollution day”…all we have seen is bright sun shine, spring blooms on all the fruit trees, and people going about their daily lives, mask-free.

We have come to realize that China probably does have its share of bad pollution days, but, on the average, it has far more beautiful, sunny days.  Unfortunately, the beautiful sunny days do not make an exciting news story, so we never hear about them in the US and it gives us a warped perception of life in Beijing.

Recently, the kids and I have spent a lot of time talking about the media and how it blows everything out of proportion. How, if you watch too much news, and take what they say as gospel, you will never go anywhere. You will find a reason that each and every place is too dangerous or risky.

The ironic thing is, that outside of the countries with current civil unrest, the USA is probably the place you would be most afraid to travel.  There are mass killings with automatic weapons in schools, bombs exploding in public places and highly televised murder trials.

*****

For those of you who know me well, you know I am a huge Will Farrell fan. Any bad day for me can be instantly realigned by watching the first 15 minutes of “Blades of Glory”  So when I saw Anchorman 2 a month ago,  I realized it is not only another Will Farrell classic, but it is making  fun of a mega-trend that is very real but not so funny….the mega trend of over sensationalizing tiny things to make a story newsworthy. I know it struck me harder because I am on this trip right now, witnessing the overblown, over-sensationalized silliness in real time. I guess that’s what I love about travel, you get to flush away your biases and see what a country is like firsthand.  And I can say with confidence, China is a place to put on your bucket list because it is magnificent, and the only thing that is really polluted beyond rehabilitation is the media industry