City beasts

I thought the only beasts in town were the few laowai who didn't escape for tropical or at least cooler places than Beijing - and of course, the usual, eternal taxi drivers - praise the Lord.
Well - as often lately - I was proved wrong.
I was sitting by myself in a quiet place taking a quick bite at my home-made calzone - the place was quiet just because it's by a wall very similar to a concentration camp, with barbed wire on top, no matter the wooden chairs and tables and the green striped umbrellas, which will soon collapse under the weight of the silent army of ants and the flying army of mosquitoes (probably anopheles, but I will make some research about it). In short, it's the typical place where you can go and be sure nobody will come and chat you up. You are not so sure to come out of it alive, but still...
So, I was there sitting blablabla when I saw a movement just next to the wall by the bamboos. I thought it must be a mouse (ants, mosquitoes, mice: they usually come all together like in the Bible) and steel myself for it. But here was a nice long furred animal, small in size, with a cute face and clever eyes. It stopped not far from me, sniffed the air in my direction and then disappeared either in the earth or over the wall. I sort of resented not having an iPhone to take a shot of it and show it around. Anyway, the visitor was a weasel (Latin name: Mustela sibirica) and it looks like it's quite common in Beijing, especially in the hutong areas. In Chinese, its name translates into something like "yellow mouse-wolf", do not ask me why. Some Chinese also maintain that seeing one brings good luck.... let's hope for the better then!

Beijing: 17th March 2012. 8a.m.

Comment or no comment?

Tecnologia o mitologia?

Dopo che  alcuni giorni or sono la stampa internazionale ha riportato la "notizia" dei dati sull'inquinamento a Pechino, sottostimati dalle autorita' locali e invece divulgati dall'Ambasciata americana che li misura in maniera autonoma, si e' alzato un vento forte e freddo. Dopo poco, il cielo e' tornato azzurro e la qualita' dell'aria, almeno a respirarla, un poco migliore. E' senz'altro sparita quella sospetta "nebbia" di carbonio che avvolgeva gli edifici e le persone in uno scenario apocalittico gia' ripetutosi per tutta l'estate.
Cosi' mi chiedo se il vento e' stato una pura coincidenza. O se i cinesi producono anche quello a comando, oltre alla neve e alla pioggia. Mi immagino questi grossi ventilatori in qualche area sperduta fuori Pechino, inaccessibile senza permessi speciali, e un piccolo ingegnere con gli occhiali, che tac, preme l'interruttore.  E tac, spegne l'interruttore. E' il dio del vento cinese.

1 blog 1 tree

Starting today my blog is eco-friendly and carbon neutral. In practical terms, I have subscribed to the initiative of  http://www.doveconviene.it/co2neutral/
and in return they will plant a tree for my blog. DoveConviene.it is working in partnership with the German organization iplantatree.org and my tree (an oak) will be planted in Goeritz, Germany.

Mooncup - simple gadgets for a simpler life

It comes with different names, different colours and a couple of sizes.

Let's call it Mooncup,  the original name for it - or the Keeper, Diva Cup, Lady Cup, Lunette, 月杯. A silicone menstrual cup that if you are patient enough to give it a try, will change some habits of yours and also save you some good money.
It takes a couple of menstrual cycles to get used to it. As the actress said to the bishop, if at the beginning the "put- it- in" part seems the most challenging, you will soon discover that the real challenge comes with the "take-it-out".
I ordered it in the UK, and it arrived pretty fast in an unassuming envelope with its own instructions. But as usual, if you are not much into reading instructions, there is plenty of videos on the Net.
The price is usually around 30euros, more or less, depending on where you order/buy it. It is available on Amazon, La Bottega della Luna, mooncup.co.uk and many more. At the beginning of my search, I spotted a factory in Guangdong, China and I sent an e-mail to inquire about availability in Beijing. Of course, they make it in China but you cannot buy it here, it's just for export. My Cantonese correspondent was ready to send me one for as much as 100rmb (about 10 euros). I thought about it. But then decided to order it on mooncup.co.uk, you never know with the entrepreneurial spirit - was he trying to sell me a faulty cup or, worse, was he stealing his wife's to make a couple of bucks?! And by the way, I even found posts by people who wanted to sell their own, saying "Just used it once". Well, even if it's silicone and can easily sterilize it you actually don't want to *wear* a second-hand mooncup... or do you?

If you are concerned about the environment, keep also in mind that tampons and sanitary pads are one kind of waste that will haunt the environment for ... ever.

You are wondering why you never heard about it before? Well, just think about it: you invest 30euros and it can last 10years or more. Now you do your own calculation, how much you invest in tampons and the like in a lifetime and it's easy to understand that no multinational enterprise involved in the production of tampons and sanitary pads will ever want to let the word spread.