On smoking…
Everyday I think of Doug and Annie Ray. The cigarette smoking here is more than
we have ever experienced. You guys would not be able to survive. More than China,
more than other parts of eastern Europe (where our assessment has been the most
thus far), the smoke is so thick, I bet we smoke 2 packs a day without even
lighting up. Maybe its because its winter and everyone is inside and doors and
windows are closed? Nonetheless, its everywhere! Our clothes will likely need
multiple washes when we return or may be we will just throw them away.
After a couple of nights of un-sound sleeping and smelling smoke, we investigated
further. Through the pipes coming up from the apartment below, we could smell
the smoke wafting into our apartment. We jumped into our weatherization skills
and took to the McGuiver tools! That is: stuff the holes with newspaper and
duct tape to seal it! We have been sleeping better; but we really need to do
this to many places in the apartment when more time allows because besides the
cigarettes, there is the pollution (save that for another day.)
They say here, that the best place to quit smoking is in the U.S. That’s
because it’s not allowed in most places and people think very negatively
about you if you smoke. To highlight this example, they will cite movies and
TV shows where only the “bad guy/girl” is the one that smokes. Gjylieta
described her experience in DC with a cigarette and a coffee outside of a Starbucks
in DC. She was standing in a doorway and “people thought I was a prostitute.”
Only her perception, of course; but interestingly not too unrealistic.
Hopefully our health will not be permanently damaged.
Fuji
PS: Doug and Annie, thinking of you!
Afterthought:
“Our Apologies” if this offends our smoking friends. As one wrote
back: reminding us of liberals obsession with second hand smoke, vegetarianisms,
etc… not dealing with more important things in life.