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.

3rd time ? Probably Not.

Age has finally caught up – this time the trip was too much for my pitifully old body. I did fine with the 20 hours of flights, but the 9 hour land part of the trip may have finally tipped the scales as to whether I would ever do this again. Shanghai is ONLY 2 hours from Hangzhou but without speaking the language and no one at the school willing to meet me or find me a driver (that I would have GLADLY paid for), this gig might just be for the young. It is so much cheaper and easier to fly into Shanghai – but unless you have a driver to meet you (as I WAS provided with in 2006) You have to lug your suitcases up 2 flights of stairs to get to the bus station and purchase your ticket for the next available seat. I had to wait 3 and a half hours in the very small crowded station with my 3 bags (one being 62 pounds) to catch the next available downtown Hangzhou bus. Here again, I was hoping to have some help from the school, which I didn’t get, by having a driver pick me up at the Hangzhou drop off point. Sometimes there are taxi drivers that don’t want to drive the 40 minutes to Xiasha. I was lucky and quickly found a taxi driver that was willing to take me. I remembered to charge my Chinese cell phone so I got Aime to give directions to the driver for the last leg of the trip. I arrived in Shanghai at 1:30 and got to my apartment after 10 pm. Definitely too long, too tiring and too painful for a 60 yr old.

I am sorry about writing a “pity me blog” but I had to vent and I wanted someone to hear. Before the trip I sort of threw my back out and after many visits to my favorite chiropractor that “creepy-keep-you-awake” sciatica nerve thing was becoming much better. This harder than necessary trip and the lugging the suitcases up the 2 flights of stairs sort of put me back to square one again. So I am a little cranky and angry for the lack of help. Cynthia and I are going to have a body massage this Monday and if that doesn’t work I am going to have to get the school to help me find an acupuncturist.

Marigold Court Block Party

A lot of people in our neighborhood or friends that we include in our neighbor “HOOD” have birthdays in the month of August. To reduce the number of hangovers and cleanup mess we consolidate and have a neighborhood Birthday party for all the Leos celebrating. This year there were a couple of milestone birthdays: 2 people hit the dreaded number of 50, I hit 60, and Larry hit the big Social Security paycheck number of 62.

Rosie and Larry provided the backyard and the low country boil (shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes, and lots of spices) and the guests supplied the rest of the delicious dishes. Good music, good food, and good friends – it couldn’t get better than that.