Foggy

The word for today’s Chinese lesson is wu. In Chinese, wu can mean all kinds of things, depending on the character it could mean “five” or “without.” Today, however, wu will mean “fog”—“foggy” is wumengmengde. In my context, I’m not referring to a weather condition, although mornings here can look foggy. I’m referring more to a metaphysical condition—as in, living here is like always being in a fog. Sometimes the fog is heavy, and it is practically dangerous to go out. Things or contexts are so unclear that you are a risk to yourself or others—for instance, there is always the fear of causing some sort of international incident. (OK, perhaps this is a bit of hyperbole.) On other days or in other situations, the weather can be almost clear, though I have to say a day of a perfect blue sky is practically non-existent. “Mostly sunny,” sure, but not totally clear.

Today’s theme is fog because apparently I was pretty foggy for a few days, and then on Friday things got clearer, or at least somewhat so. For the past five days I’ve been walking by this poster in the entryway of the building where I’m living, featuring a life-sized photo of a scantily-clad Caucasian woman holding a tape measure to her bustline. It really made no significant impact on me—I assumed it promised something relating to looking more white and having an altered bustline (whether it strives for more or less of this, I’m not sure). But then yesterday I looked more closely and saw that below our lifesized woman were much smaller photos of treadmills and weight machines (I had really hoped to include the photos here, but the internet connection just isn't allowing it).

The poster is an advertisement for a gym! In the basement of the building where I’m living! Apparently with treadmills! Here I was, in “old Beijing” mode, thinking that I just had to suffer and run amongst the endless concrete and bemused Beijingers, forgetting that China is hurtling into the 21st century by essentially skipping much of the 20th.

So, as it turns out, a 3-month membership to the “King Gym” costs the equivalent of $65. I don’t even have to walk outside to get to it.

More on the King Gym in my next episode…

Written Saturday, 20th January, 8 p.m.