March 17 was remarkable for me, first because it was the first day that I turned on the A/C since last fall, and second because I could once again see the mountains that border the east side of the city. In all those years living in New England I got used to the seasonal weather patterns that bring crisp, clear winter days followed by hot, steamy summer days. But the air quality here is the opposite. When winter arrives the wind drops and the pollution settles in. Come summer the humidity starts to soar but the smog lifts.

Today's smog level in Kaohsiung is moderate, "Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution." That's a big jump from the months-long readings of "unhealthy for sensitive groups" and, even worse, "unhealthy for everyone." You'll be happy to know that the US levels rarely go above moderate and are nearly always in the "good" range. I have to admit, the pollution was less of an issue for me day-to-day, but it remains one of my major dislikes of living in Taiwan. (The other major dislike is how far we are from friends and family but that's a topic for a different post.)

Day two back at work was much better than day one. I went in for my three elementary classes in the morning and recovered afterwards with just a couple of hours on the couch, unlike the six hours or so yesterday. With another couple of half days I may be ready to go full time next week. We'll see.