Saturday, June 23, 2007

Feeling like Pigpen

This morning I did a pretty thorough cleaning of my apartment. I vacuumed and wiped the floors. And I wiped down counter surfaces and table tops. I was horrified to find that areas that appeared clean were actually covered in not dust, but black dirt.

And no matter how much you clean, the dust and dirt creep back. It's a never ending battle that requires a lot of energy and determination.

After I wash my clothes I have to hang them dry as I don't have a dryer. And when I open the window, I wonder how much dust and dirt will get into my clothes.

I guess in a way it's OK -- a little dust and dirt might actually build up your immune system. But it's weird having that feeling of never being completely clean. That's why I totally connect with Pigpen, the perpetually dirty Peanuts character.

That's just the way it is in Beijing. Maybe I should aim to be relatively clean rather than 100 per cent clean.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i understand china still uses a lot of coal to generate energy. that is why lots of soats in the air. it is not surprising to have black dusts deposited on surfaces. same thing happens in all polluted places. wipe your nostrials every night with wet towel you will discover it turns black. coal soats is inorganic, not proteinaceous thus no immunity will be produced. you need organic elements like virus, bacteria, pollens etc to induce immunity.