Mooncakes And The Wave

This is the Mid-Autumn Festival where everybody gives everybody else Moon Cakes usually in beautiful boxes and bags. Presentation is really important here. Moon Cakes remind me a LITTLE of fig newtons. But cake on the outside is much harder and dryer and the filling might not be fruit. Sometimes it is a sweet redbean paste with an egg yolk in the middle, sometimes it is a sweet green pea filling or a rubbery fruit filling (they are my favorite if I have to eat them). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake They might be better if they were sampled with a big glass of ice cold milk, which is impossible here because all you can buy is the room temperature box milk which just doesn’t do it for me.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15 day of the 8th lunar month, so the actual date will vary between mid September to mid October. I think it might have something to do with the harvests but I found lots of legends online – this web site had the most common 4 – just scroll down http://www.chinapage.com/Moon/moon00.html

Kris and Jim - Aren’t you Jealous?

Last semester, the Dalton Georgia couple Kris and Jim and I would frequently eat at the restaurant we called the “Short Cut Restaurant”. We gave it that name because someone would always tear out a tree so we could easily take a short cut to get to the restaurant (and they have already torn a tree out this semester too). Shown above are some of Kris and Jim’s favorite foods, “shoestring potatoes”, and “smells like fish pork”. (Don't worry Kris, the “cabbage hot pot” was on its way) The restaurant was full so they made us a table outside to eat. YUM – don’t you want to come back…. We miss you!

Things to Amuse Us While We Wait For Our Food

It takes talent to pick up 2 peanuts with chopsticks as shown by Steve but exceptional talent was shown by Beth, another English teacher from Hangzhou Normal University which is across the street from our University.

CTs, Dogs, Cows - Chinese Medicine

When I was in the hospital they asked me if I was willing to have Chinese Medicine- I replied that I didn’t care just so it worked. I was given these great patches that really do work and some pills that I take 3 of -3 times a day. I got Penny to translate the ingredients in the pills. And if she translated correctly there were various herbs along with the part of a spine of a dog and part of the knee of a cow. Woof Woof & Moo Moo…. But, I am still acting fairly normal after 6 doses of the pills with no cravings for grass or cats.

Pictured above is my CAT scan and medical records - they let you keep them and all my "medicine" ... all for the low cost of less than 100 dollars.

Newbies

We have 4 new Americans here this term. It is the first trip to China for all of them. John Paul, 24 and his wife Rachel, 22 are from the mid west, Andrea, 26, is from Michigan and Steve, 22, is from Long Island. They all seem to be adjusting really well (better than I did the first time) and will probably really enjoy their adventure in China.

Unplanned Adventure

My lower back has been giving me problems lately – that creepy sciatica nerve has been keeping me awake at night and keeping me off the computer during the day because it spasms a lot whenever I sit or lay down. Last night was another sleepless night and also the “tipping point”. This morning I got Candy of the Foreign Affairs Office to take me to the hospital. In China they do not have individual doctors offices – here all doctors work in a hospital so you go there for EVERYTHING (dentists, eye exams, and all the other things that are found in an American hospital along with Chinese Medicine experts). One huge difference is that you pay for everything before it is done. So we paid to get to see a doctor, then we paid for the CT that he recommended, then we paid for the Chinese medicine that was prescribed. The CT scan, which cost less than 20 dollars, showed nothing major wrong. The Chinese Medicine doctor, who spoke perfect English, gave me pills to take and many smelly patches to put on my back. The patch has already stopped the spasms down my leg and I was able to take a HARD long nap when I got home. It Was Heaven. After this experience I would have no qualms about returning to this hospital if I needed it, but I don’t plan on having any more unplanned adventures.