The yellow dust from China is officially here...and it sucks. Apparently, the fine sand blows from 750 miles away, from the Gobi desert, onto the Korean peninsula and it has now settled in Daegu. I have been hearing that the "sand is coming" for the past couple of weeks but I didn't really know what to expect. One of my students said that it turns everything yellow. That's not true. What is true is that the air constantly feels like your driving down a country road behind a truck spewing dust in your direction...without the risk of a broken windshield.
I've always hated driving on dusty farm roads and now I live on one...for the next couple of weeks anyway. Apparently the Chinese have tried to cut down on the sand by planting grasses and plants in the desert but it hasn't exactly worked. It's a pretty big health concern here and in China because the sand is laden with heavy metals and causes eye and breathing problems. So, one asthma attack later, I might have to resort to the "asian face mask". Why not? I've already invested in a darth-vader sun visor.
On the bright side, Brian and I booked our tickets to Tokyo this week for June. We're climbing Mount Fuji! Me, Brian and the 20 pounds of sand we will have inhaled by then.
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