Grape soda, Blackberry and being tired! (thurs 3/31)

Well, it turns out today would be quite an exciting day. After the festivities of last night I really didn’t want to get out of bed. Neither did the rest of the team. They had not drank like I did the night before, but it didn’t matter. I also would not have wanted to get out of bed if I hadn’t been drinking last night. We were just tired. In all reality we have only had one true day off. Even when we were seeing the sights we had to be on schedules and it was all very exhausting. This far into the program we all knew it was taking its toll. The overall product has not suffered, but we are absolutely drained while we sell the product. We all felt like we needed a break. General Dave said it best, we need our batteries to recharge and being home with our families is what will do it. Still a week and a half for that to happen, so no help there! The vigor with which we showed up with is fading away, replaced with a more forced excitement. The newness has worn off. Our time here has been ridiculously amazing and an unforgettable experience, but there comes a time when being home is all that is wanted!

That being said, we may feel like our lectures aren’t as good as the first class, but in many ways they are better. We have made changes to what we are presenting, and how we present them. Certain things don’t translate well or have no place in Chinese societies, and we have either eliminated them or changed them so that the Chinese can understand. Specifically the skills stations have been much improved. Incorporating them training each other has been met with much applause. I think that some of our being tired and losing the excitement is because we have made this class better and even easier. We are lulling ourselves to sleep because of our efficiency!!

I was greeted by Crystal, and in her hands she had a gift for me. Grape soda! I didn’t think that they had it here, but she proved that wrong! My lunch just got infinitely better. There is no better way to perk up a boring lunch than with grape soda! I also had phone issues to deal with. To make a long story short, they sent me with one that didn’t work, ordered me a new one and shipped it out. It was shipped out over 2 weeks ago. For at least a week it sat in customs. Then I learned they don’t deliver to where my hotel was. Jesse got it worked out last night that I would come pick it up at the fed ex close to the 120 center. So, I had Crystal call them and apparently Pu also got involved and made it so it would be delivered to the 120 center! I love Pu. Who doesn’t love Pu? Not me, no way. We all love Pu! It was delivered shortly after lunch, and the box was wet and falling apart. Uh-oh. Earnestly, I opened it. The inner Blackberry box was also wet. Double uh-oh. I must admit I was a little freaked. In the end, it was all for naught. The contents were bone dry! I quickly put in the battery and turned her on and voila! It works! I am now able to email whenever I want, not just from the hotel! Life is good again! Thanks again Paula for allowing me to use your phone ALL THE TIME to at least email Jenn!

The evening consisted of trying to decide what to eat and whether or not to go to the gym. We decided on the Japanese restaurant. Some tempura anything did actually sound pretty good, and their beef is pretty tasty as well. General Dave and Paula can eat sushi or sashimi or whatever kind of raw fish they please. Plus, they include beer and sake in the buffet! Yes, more drinking mass quantities! Kidding. The next time alcohol touches these lips it will be at the banquet. My liver hurts! The service was horrid tonight though. Paula helped herself to same sake and the night was pretty tame. General Dave and I both attended the gym after dinner.

Another dinner, and KFC! (wed 3/30)

No Jesse today. Yesterday he went to play golf and we dropped him off on the way to the 120 center. We haven’t seen him since. We were supposed to pick him up after class, but he was already at the hotel and didn’t tell us this. He didn’t show at breakfast and when we all hopped into the 120 vehicle he wasn’t there either. The driver asked us where he was as best he could despite the language barrier and we just shrugged like a bunch of dumb white people! Pu had told General Dave that they were going to take us out to dinner tonight, so not having Jesse would be an issue unless we could steal an interpreter for the night. Stay tuned.

The day was all practice in the morning and testing in the afternoon. We kept on the mantra of let them teach each other, and it worked flawlessly. There were lots of questions to answer throughout, so it wasn’t like we were just standing around. I also got into a big discussion about some cultural differences between the US and China. In the US, doctors and paramedics can pronounce a person dead if they meet certain criteria. In China the only time resuscitation efforts can end is when the family says to. It doesn’t matter if there heart has been ripped from their body or if they have been dead for hours and are stiff, if the family wants something done, they do it. This can mean hours of CPR. I even had one doctor tell me that he did compressions on 2 people AT THE SAME TIME! I’m pretty sure they were ineffective. You can’t even sign a DNR (a document that states that if you go into cardiac arrest you don’t want any resuscitation efforts, for those that don’t know)! To us, it is odd. To the Chinese, it is perfectly acceptable. I asked the question, very diplomatically I might add, so someone who has no medical training can tell you, the doctor, that you can save them when there is absolutely no chance of this? Yes, otherwise family will sue. In the US they would certainly lose that one, but not in China. Family has all the power, despite the fact that they don’t have any idea what death really is. I even mentioned that there is tons of research into this, but it didn’t matter. That is just how it is here. Better get used to it!

The big news of the day was that I struck a deal to go to KFC for lunch! I already hit up McDonalds, now it was time for more American food! This was not a normal KFC though. Leo told us that McDonalds just has the menu that doesn’t change, but KFC is more progressive. If something isn’t selling, they change it. They listen to what the consumers want and constantly change the menu. This gave KFC in China a decidedly Chinese menu. Sure, you can get original recipe chicken that actually tasted exactly like it does back home. But the mashed potatoes do not. They were actually quite gross, and we all agreed on that. The gravy was runny and just not good. The menu also hosted a few seafood items. What does seafood have to do with chicken?? I suppose if you ask Jessica Simpson, chicken of the sea might qualify! There was a shrimp ‘burger’, cod pieces and various other oddities. They did have a New Orleans style bbq sandwich that actually was pretty tasty. So, outside of the chicken itself, nothing was the same. Including the sizes. In America we are used to super sized everything. In China it is micro sized everything! The mashed potatoes were in a container that is maybe the size of 2 shots! We received one piece of chicken as part of a meal, and I had to go back for more. No wonder there isn’t a weight problem here! When it tastes so good, how can you say no to more? Leo even picked up the tab for all of us. The generosity is astounding.

So they took us to dinner again. And yes, they actually got close to getting one of us drunk. Me. I say close because it was. I did not get drunk, and it was as much an effort on my part as it was my fellow Americans, Paula and General Dave. I am writing this from my room with a good buzz and also devouring chocolate Oreo’s that the General bought me several days ago. I just finished skype-ing with Jenn and filling her in on the days events. I really miss her, and every opportunity to see her smile I cherish. Those that have seen that smile know that it is special, and if you don’t agree I don’t care because I think so and it is my blog!

Back to the dinner. It wasn’t the best dinner we               have had, but it was good. We all had to have the snake, and I got a really good picture of Paula eating it. Snake is good. I have had it once before, but this time was different. Last time, it was ok. This time it was MAGNIFICENT. I don’t know if everything tastes better in China or that they just know what they are doing when they cook it, but food rocks here. The snake was some of the best food that I have had, here in China or back home. I want to eat it again. Soon.  Because of the fact that I made a fool of several Chinese, including Dr. Ho and Dr. Miao, (that is correct spelling now) I am now a target on the subject of alcohol. So, they attacked me with a fury not seen before in the Chinese, not even during the cold war! And yes, Jesse was with us, and there was nothing he could do – or so he says!

Chinese wine, or really liquor, is disgusting to me. Those that know me well know that I don’t drink liquor, I drink beer. I tried to do this exclusively tonight. They don’t care to understand that fact. Several times I was challenged to drink a ‘cocktail’. This cocktail consisted of beer, red wine and the previously mentioned horrible Chinese wine. So the beer here is ok, the wine is good but the Chinese wine is gross. That fact alone made this cocktail wretched. It tasted like pure gasoline. The Chinese liquor alone made me want to vomit, but together it was worse. The pictures will tell you. I don’t know how I made it through. Shockingly, I held my own, and maybe even did Americans everywhere proud. Ok, let’s not go that far! But I did survive the incident, despite the best efforts from our hosts. My liver is crying uncle!

The Oreo’s and plenty of water are doing wonders for this. I now feel as if I can go to bed with no ill effects. It is a shame I must get up in less than 5 hours….

 By the way, the last picture shows me finished and Miao still drinking. Despite the disgustingness of the ‘cocktail’ I still can pound like no one else in China! US takes the medal from the communists again! You better recognize!

It’s only day 2…. (tues 3/29)

General Dave would not stay down for long. Despite his sickness from the previous evening, it was obvious he would not allow himself to be sick or unable to function normally. True to his name, General Dave is a leader! We offered several times to take his lecture or move things around but he would have none of it. The morning began as expected. Jesse had decided to go golfing today instead of hanging around the 120 center being bored and reading how to win at poker books. That was ok with us. Sometimes having someone around feels like we are being watched. Well, go away big brother! We are fine on our own! Except we can’t communicate with anyone until we arrive at the 120 center and see our interpreters. That part is never good.

Silence is golden. I’m not sure if it’s because we are tired of each other, or are just plain tired, or just have nothing to say in the morning, but our trips to work in the morning are becoming increasingly more silent. General Dave is a manager, and as such has tons of emails to answer to every morning. Paula is pretty popular too, so she also does her emailing for the day. This is also to my benefit as I am still waiting for the infamous cell phone to arrive. It spent 6 days at customs just waiting to be cleared, and was now again in transit. By doing all her emailing early on, Paula ensures that I am able to use her phone without keeping her from her business. I don’t know what I would do without Paula letting me do that. It’s a very considerate thing that she does! Lately I started reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and become immersed in that. So perhaps it isn’t anything personal that we don’t talk much in the morning. Or perhaps it is! We have spent a lot of time together, and we would be stupid to ignore the fact that we can get annoying at times. I know that sometimes I have been considered annoying!

Paula dominated the ACS lecture again. We sort of had an unwritten code between us that we would simplify and shorten our lectures. I don’t think Paula is capable of this. And it is a very good thing. The lecture is so packed with information that you can’t help but listen and learn. As I have said before, it is going to make me a much better instructor. I had stroke next, and heeded the code to simplify. But this time I went longer than the last class. I suppose that I can talk more when things are simple, whatever that means!

When we started the skills stations, the emphasis was on getting them to be able to teach other students. But we had to make sure that they knew the material first! As we saw on several of our hospital tours, they have flow charts that follow ACLS algorithms perfectly, so one would expect that they do in fact know this stuff. And they do. Our first class had a mix of doctors and nurses, and this class was entirely made up of doctors. They know the drugs, when to give them, when to do CPR, when to shock – everything! As an instructor you cannot ask for a more prepared class. Despite the fact that we were only giving them pieces of the puzzle, they were dazzling! Made our lives easy! This was going to be an enjoyable class to be sure!

Since General Dave had not eaten much lately, we opted to go to dinner as soon as we got back to the hotel. Same place, same food, same servers, same cooks. And yet again, we all retired to our rooms with nothing exciting to report. Unless you call me doing my AHA updates exciting. Some might.

Since the days are getting to be the same thing during our class time and no exciting pictures can be taken, I have decided to include a shot of us and our interpreters. In front of Paula is her interpreter, Michelle. She went on the hike of Mt. Qingcheng with us and was the one Paula wanted to toss off the side because despite being small at 95 lbs, she is remarkably strong! In front of me is Crystal, my interpreter. She is responsible for teaching me all the Mandarin words and phrases I know. In front of General Dave is Sara, and she is the main interpreter and has become the General’s interpreter, along with Angela, who is not pictured. Crystal and Michelle are students of Sara and Angela at the local university and are majoring in English. Apparently they are the best, and we would be the first to agree with that!

The second class (mon 3/28)

A new day, and with it brings a new class. After the first group, we felt that we had things streamlined and potentially would make this class easier for us and more enjoyable for the students. In 8 days we would know if we had made things better, and thus be able to use this model for future endeavors not only in China, but other countries as well. The main component that the Chinese wanted was to be able to take this information and teach their colleagues. So, we would focus much more on training them to be trainers. Less lecture and more skills. This was information that, as physicians, they already knew, albeit in a different format. We teach them the ‘western’ way, as they put it, and then have them teach each other. In 8 days we would know.

We were greeted by fog for a second straight day, and it was dense. The drive in would not be fun. When you take the driving habits of the Chinese and add fog it could certainly be a recipe for disaster. Not 100 yards from the hotel, we saw an accident. Small fender bender, but the omen was not good. But that was it, and the drive was uneventful. There is one positive thing with seeing fog, it means we get sun later! It would be for the second straight day and would only be the fifth since we have left. We miss the sun.

The class started as usual with everyone being shy. Since we now had been around the interpreters before, it would be easy to get them to come alive. Plus, 2 students had been hosts in showing us around their part of town and one of them became drunk as a consequence for challenging either I or Paula in a toast. We had a small opening ceremony and then got started. After an hour or so we took a class picture since the sun had decided to finally come out. And we even had blue sky! This remained throughout the day, which was nice because we spent our lunch break outside just soaking up the sun. I shared pictures of my family, and they loved it. They had been teasing me by calling me baby Nick, so I had to show them the real baby Nick. I still think they will tease me, especially about my pink camera. There is a lot to tease me about, so I can take it! After it was all said and done, it would seem that our changes were well received. Less lecture plus more practice equals happy students!

Paula and Jesse went for massages after the class. I cannot get a foot massage, I am just too ticklish. Plus, I find more relaxing properties in working out. General Dave agrees, so off to the gym for us. The plan was to meet Paula and Jesse at a restaurant close to the massage parlor. They had gone there once before and the chicken and potatoes were said to be amazing. I opted to ride the stationary bike for an hour. Finished 33 miles, but knew I would regret it later. Talk about an uncomfortable seat! General Dave had tried it before and the longest seat time we decided was 30 minutes. Lesson learned! Quick showers then it was off to get food.

There was already food on the table when General Dave and I got there. Thin potatoes that were seemingly cooked in some kind of oil and maybe butter were exactly as billed, delicious. Jesse said you can judge a restaurant by their potatoes. If the potatoes are good, then eat there. This particular place had some of the best potatoes around. Jesse had also taken the liberty of ordering us a Chinese liquor with some sort of medicine in it. It tasted like tequila laced cough syrup. Gross. My mouth ended up being on fire, and I am not sure if it was from the temperature of the food, the spiciness of the food or the liquor. The main course was a mix of peppers, potatoes, chicken and various vegetables. I attacked it with a voraciousness normally reserved for animals in the wild in a feeding frenzy. We have had a lot of good food since we have been here, and this particular dish is right up there. General Dave didn’t eat as much as usual and said he was feeling under the weather, nauseated for half the day. Uh-oh. Later it was discovered that he had in fact emptied the contents of his stomach. He attributes it to food poisoning from lunch. I knew those box lunches were evil! But sometimes evil tastes good. Since Paula and I both don’t eat all of the food at lunch and he does, we were unaffected. Sleep did not come easy for any of us, and tomorrow was going to be full of tired instructors.

Downtown Chengdu and shopping! (sun 3/27)

Back to the grind, sort of. We had to meet our driver downstairs at 10 am. This time, we had a different driver as our normal one needed a day off. We were also greeted by another physician who would be our host for the day. His name is Enoch and was also a super nice guy, and looked pretty young. Turns out he was only 30. He said his English wasn’t very good, but we didn’t think so. He told us that he would be taking us to a place in downtown Chengdu, kind of similar to an old town, where there was plenty of shopping and touristy things. Since we didn’t get a chance to do much shopping before, this was a good thing.

There were shops everywhere! All kinds of things that a visitor could want was there, and then some. Lots of paintings on bamboo scrolls. Silk, which was the first thing that was really expensive that we have seen, was abundant. Shops and shops of little trinkets and sake sets and carvings and Chinese things! It was clear that one could procure lots of gifts to take home, with the only problem being the space. We must be very careful not to buy too much otherwise it might get left behind!

The real fun was in trying to find out which stores would bargain and which ones wouldn’t. We had previously thought that EVERYTHING in China could be bargained for. Not true. It goes without saying, but obviously I am saying it anyways, that we tried to shop exclusively in places that bargained. It really is an art, this bargaining. To further aid in our quest for the best available price, we had Enoch. We are considered  lao-may. No, that is not the correct spelling, but it is how it is pronounced. Foreigners are lao-why. They call us something different because we are Americans. I see how it is! We did get some magnificent deals on some things. Rather than possibly ruin surprises for some people, I won’t say what was bought or who bought them. We also ran across another Starbucks and also a Dairy Queen. If we had more time, I definitely would have gotten some ice cream! Paula had to have Starbucks though. It’s funny that these American places bring such a comfort to us. I still haven’t been to the KFC or Pizza Hut though. Better be soon, or I’ll get cranky! As good as Chinese food is, I grew up in the US and miss our food!

We were then taken to lunch at a less formal restaurant. The food was still good, but a lot simpler. Not as spicy, and had some very sweet things. They did also serve chicken feet, but none of us had them. We had filled up on the various dumplings, soups, noodles and sort of desserts to even try. Even here we had some beer between all of us, and Enoch did toast us. But only sips. Our next stop was the 120 center to check on the equipment and set up for tomorrow. We were greeted by Pu with hugs. It was like seeing a long lost friend. Haven’t I mentioned how the people here are amazing? During this she presented us with a special tea that we had drank at a restaurant when we toured Dyungjian. It was from our host that day, and he would also be in the class tomorrow. So, to further our space problem concerning gifts we now had 2 bags of this wonderful tea! We were going to have to be creative for the trip home!

The light beer was good at doing one thing, at least for me. Traffic was bad on the way back to the hotel and I dozed off. General Dave tried to fight against it, but succumbed as well. Only Paula could stay awake. I realized I was actually pretty tired, and even took a 2 hour nap when we got back to the hotel. General Dave went to the gym and Paula made a trip to the business office. I should say that we use the term business in business office loosely. Simple tasks take forever and it is as if they don’t know how to make 2 sided copies. Not only that, but they also charge a fortune to do anything! So, laundry and the business office. Those are the money makers for the hotel. Unfortunately we cannot avoid either of them for the rest of the trip. Such is life.

I did end up going to the gym after dinner. General Dave and Paula had the buffet, and I had a burger. They finally got the burger right. They were good the other times I’ve had it, but this was way better. General Dave even said that had he known it was going to be that good he would have gotten it. I even indulged in their form of crème brulee again. Tasty meal, and I needed to work it off. After the gym I retired to my room, as the others had done at the conclusion of dinner and the day ended with no fanfare.

A very lazy day…. (sat 3/26)

I think the title sums it up for us. It was the first time that we have been lazy since leaving, so we’d appreciate it if you got off our backs about it! It was well deserved. There was no driver waiting in the lobby for us. There was no class to teach. There were no sights to see. Yes, we have enjoyed our time seeing the sights and being a part of something that is bigger than any of us imagined. But it was time to just do nothing. And that is exactly what we did.

I don’t even remember what time I woke up, because honestly I don’t care. I met General Dave for breakfast. Paula was still sleeping and Jesse was gone. He said that after our free cocktail party when I came back to my room to skype they all went to his room to ponder many things. It ended up being a late night. So, with Paula sleeping and Jesse gone over the weekend for an important meeting it was just the General and I. We moved very slowly, leisurely eating our breakfast. They closed at 10 am but we did not leave until almost 11. It was good conversation.

General Dave went to the gym after that, and I fully intended to, but had to catch up on some blog writing for all you people! My workouts have suffered because of this blog, which just means I have to work twice as hard when I do go. Recognize! I also had a well needed and long overdue skype call with Jenn. It lasted over an hour. I wish it could be longer. There has been a lot of issues concerning paychecks, insurance, phone problems, boys being sick, me being gone, leaks and black mold in the house and we had just not had a real chance to talk about the simple things because of it. Obviously I am very home sick and this was a great chance to make that a little better.

We all decided to have an early dinner, at around 5, so we could just veg the rest of the night. General Dave and I decided to watch a movie but Paula skipped to do some more expense reports and whatnot. General Dave had not seen Any Given Sunday, so that was our date movie. Nothing like seeing a bunch of ripped football players banging into each other and sometimes even naked with another guy next to you to enjoy a lazy day! But it is an Oliver Stone film, so there is some substance to it. After the movie it was skype time and then bed. See, like I said, lazy day.

I know I have mentioned the laundry problem before, but it gets better! Jesse had found a local laundromat to take our clothes too for significantly cheaper than the hotel. Cheap is good with some things. Laundry is not one of them. I don’t know what their definition of laundering clothes is here, but it is a certainty that it is not at all how we view it. My socks, if they were even washed, were stiff and still smelled. As a matter of fact, all our clothes smelled like either cigarettes or burnt metal from construction. They were still somewhat wrinkled, especially Paula’s. General Dave had never ironed before this trip, and he has already decided he dislikes it. Does anyone like to iron? What is even more bizarre is that on EVERY piece of clothing they sewed a tag onto it. Really? So, I have several articles of clothing with holes in them because it was a chore to remove these without this happening. Our laundry problems continue. Everything can’t be perfect, right?

Panda Time! (fri 3/25)

Unfortunately we had to ready to go at 815 am. The panda preserve and the city of Ya’an was a 2 hour drive from our hotel in Pixian. So much for sleeping in! We also noticed that curiously all our left calves were sore from the hike. Odd that it was just the left for all of us. On the drive there, General Dave, Paula and Jesse all dozed. I was not lucky. I am way too big to get comfortable in the back of the Mistubishi Prado we were in. It is just your standard SUV, and I don’t think was really meant to have all 3 of us in the back. So l listened to music. The driver passed our turn off, but only went down the road a couple minutes before figuring it out.

Our first stop was the city of Ya’an and a trip to the hospital there. Hospital tours were becoming a mainstay on this trip. This hospital was much older and much busier than any one we had been to so far. There was a code going on right when we got there, but unfortunately we were not allowed to watch. People were everywhere. We went up a few floors and they had sick people in chairs in hallways because of the limited space. The hospital was designed with 800 beds, and they get over 1200 people at a time. We were now experience the mass amounts of Chinese people. During our tour, a very high ranking official within the Communist government came to meet us. There were cameras and a news van there for the event. Paparazzi! In that moment, we knew we had made it. We were celebrities! Well, at least in China. What we were doing for the Chinese people in giving them these ‘western’ classes was a very big deal. However, it doesn’t make being away from home any easier. When I shook the hand of one of the hospital directors, the first thing he said was not ni hao or nice to meet you or anything like that. He simply told Jesse I was a handsome man. Our driver laughed and said ‘Battier’.  A couple more laughs and some stares came my way. Such a strange feeling.

Then our hosts took us to perhaps the most beautiful restaurant any of us had been to. It is a very famous one, and it is frequented by the high class, government officials and Chinese celebrities. We lead a privileged life here. We were also invited to come back and stay a couple of days. All of the food was grown locally and several of the dishes had no seasoning in them, just the pure, unadulterated flavor as nature intended. Nature did a pretty good job. There was wine and toasts, but Jesse had told them in the US we don’t drink a lot during lunch. So I think maybe a glass of wine each during lunch. Very tame and the wine was a perfect complement to the food. It was then off to the panda preserve of Bi Feng Xia. Pretty famous place for pandas. Largest panda exhibit in the world.

We also had an escort. It was a black Audi A6 with tinted windows. Typically the people in these cars are very important. The panda preserve was located within a zoo, and we were asked if we wanted to see lions and tigers. No, we were there to see the bears, oh my! (I couldn’t resist) I don’t really understand the panda bear. It’s smaller than a real bear, only eats bamboo and is so ridiculously cute it’s hard to think of it as a bear. There was one bear who was 20 feet up in a tree straddling a branch and dead asleep. To me, a branch in the middle of the crotch is by no means comfortable, but apparently it is for a panda. It was quite a site! What was the show stealer was the panda kindergarten. Obviously these were baby pandas. I thought Paula was going to jump the wall so she could go cuddle one of them! If it not for legal reasons, I might have joined her! The way they look fools you into thinking they could not hurt anything! But they are bears, and their claws are nothing to scoff at. Thankfully the pink camera that Jenn sent with me has a pretty good zoom on it, and I was able to capture their faces close up. An absolutely amazing sight. We counted at least 10 baby pandas. Definitely an unforgettable moment for all of us. It was also fun to hear Paula squeal like a school girl at first sight of the pandas! Watching them eat the bamboo was mesmerizing. On a lighter side, I think we saw the most acrobatic way to pee that can happen. A panda backed up to a building and started climbing up backwards, then with its hind end all up in the air emptied its bladder. Very strange sight. It was as if it was marking territory and doing it by saying that it could win a gold medal in gymnastics.

There was another interesting moment that didn’t concern the animals. I had gone into a booth to look for souvenirs. I came out to get Jesse to translate for me and everyone was gone. I went to where they were, but they weren’t there. I shot a glance towards the parking lot and saw the black Audi backing out, followed by the 120 SUV we were in. Were they leaving me?  I hustled over there and they saw me and did in fact stop. Apparently Paula and General Dave were lost in Paula’s phone and everyone else didn’t notice. Paula was trying to tell them when they got in the car, but I guess they didn’t hear. I suppose if they had left, they would have come back so there was no need to panic or get upset. Although I wonder how long it would have taken them?!?

The day didn’t end there. The town of Bifengxia was next. It was a small town, but was gorgeous. Nestled right into among the mountains, it was what you picture when you think of Chinese mountain towns. It has a little river running right through it, and it provided for one of the best pictures I have ever taken. The bridge reflected off the river perfectly and created a circle. If there wasn’t anyone on the bridge it would have been perfect. Our hosts also bought us (we haven’t paid for anything outside of souvenirs when out with any of our hosts) some sesame/rice candy. It looked like rice krispies treats, but not marshmallowy. There were peanuts in them, and they were delicious. As a matter of fact, I am eating one of them right now, make that two! So this town was all about scenery and ambience. It was exactly what we needed to see. We all agreed that we could spend a week in Ya’an and Befengxia. The mountains were the place to be in China. Forget all the craziness of Chengdu and Beijing! Serenity now!

On the drive back I did doze off, but woke up with a stiff neck. I won’t make that mistake again. But then again, we won’t be taking any more 2 ½ hour car rides anymore! As if to round out the day nicely, Britney was played on the radio here. At least that is what I was told. I was asleep at the time. Boo.

Mt. Qingcheng – One hell of a climb! (thurs 3/24)

OUR FIRST DAY OFF SINCE LEAVING!!! We would finally get to see something other than our hotel, the same roads and the 120 center! For this day we were going to take a tour of the newest hospital in Sichuan province and then hike up Mt. Qingcheng. Supposedly Mt. Qingcheng is very famous, and is said to be quite a hike. Ha! For what, sissies?? We would see!

The hospital was real nice, definitely the nicest and cleanest one we had seen. They took us into x-ray and MRI rooms and the equipment was nicer and newer than anything I have seen back home. This hospital was constructed after the earthquake in 2008 and had been open over a year. Things change fast in China! This was in Dujiangyan, and was northwest of Chengdu. This area was hit real hard by the quake, but you would not know it from all the new buildings and growth. We were then taken to lunch in Qingchengshan, which was just below Mt. Qingcheng. Awesome lunch, and chicken was the big item. Jesse even ate chicken head, as you can see in the picture! The rest of the stuff was pretty tame except for the chicken feet. General Dave loved them. I tried, but couldn’t chew. Good flavor though. If you are wondering what the odd thing about lunch was, it was not the chicken head. It was the chicken blood. It was all coagulated and was in small pieces and resembled a beef stew. Since we were about to embark on a difficult hike (yeah, right) we felt the blood would make us stronger (not like we needed it). It wasn’t bad. I had a couple pieces. I can’t say for sure I would have it again, but it is not as disgusting as you would think.

On to the climb. The weather was cool and the scenery was nice, at least what we could see. It was very overcast. So we set out on the hike. Lots of people, and it was pretty steep at the beginning. There were people who had a sort of hammock chair offering to take you up if you wanted. We all declined! As we all know, Paula had just quit smoking so some sections were difficult. One of our interpreters, Michelle, came with us. She weighs less than 100 lbs but was always telling Paula how she was strong. Paula threatened to push her off the trail! It was pretty funny. There were temples every so often and though we all wanted to learn about them, it was not to be. Jesse made offerings each time. This mountain was also the birthplace of Tao. So it is very spiritual to the Chinese. Michelle had asked me to make a prayer/wish at one of them. I didn’t feel comfortable asking a God that I had really no idea about for anything. Plus, I have everything I want already! So we pressed on. The mountain gradually became more and more steep, until it was ridiculous, even for those of us in shape. Paula struggled as you would expect, and she said she almost cried 16 times, almost had her first coronary and even assumed she was going to code since she couldn’t breathe. But did she give up? NO! She kept going and refused to let the mountain get the best of her! You have got to admire that kind of determination. Paula should be an example to us all about how you can achieve something if you really want to, whether it is physical, emotional or mental. I was glad to be there to help her up the mountain. The reward of making it to the top was not in the cards though. There was a section that was absolute mud, and no way to get around it or through it. It had started raining about halfway through our trek, and had continually gotten worse. It was good during the hike, as it kept us cool. I had had to take all long sleeves off and was in just a shirt sleeve shirt. Crazy bald headed white guy in a t-shirt coming through! I was asked numerous times to buy a poncho. General Dave even had steam coming off his head at one point! So the hike was hard, and we needed the extra nutrients that the chicken blood gave us. It was not at all what we expected, but perhaps the difficulty of it was what made it such a thrill.

The hike was definitely a high point for us up to this point. Paula may have struggled, but in the end she did everything we did. She is a trooper! General Dave is in magnificent shape, and loved every second of the hike itself. It was a great experience, we can all say that we hiked the most famous mountain, Mt. Qingcheng, in China. The scenery was beautiful, and the exercise, though tiring, was a great change from just sitting in a classroom all day. I am sure we are going to end up sore! We tried 3 different dinner places before we finally found one that could accommodate all of us. The food was delicious and beautiful, and there were the typical toasts going around. We had become quite used to this tradition, and are well versed in how the game is played. By now, our livers had become much adjusted to the frequent drinking we were doing, and it was a certainty that we could easily have a fair of amount of alcohol to please our hosts without getting close to being drunk. Which is exactly what we have been avoiding. As a team - General Dave, Paula, Jesse and I – I don’t think that there is a group that we are coming into contact with who could attack us and win. Jesse does an amazing job at protecting us, taking drinks for us and also telling us when we can stop all without the others knowing. The culture and tradition of toasting and attacking certain people is very complicated and is all a game according to Jesse. With his help and tutelage, consider us undefeated!

So, day off #1 was a huge success, and we were very tired from it. What was next?

Relax, but painfully! (wed, 3/23)

Today was a monumental day. The end of the first class. It was also a half day for us. A good thing, too. We needed one badly. We loved our students and directors and interpreters and ultimately even each other. But 16 days in a row for 12-14 hour days over 6,000 miles away from home constituted a nice break. Further proof that General Dave is awesome and just takes care of things as any good General would do came when he marched (again not a real march, just a nice saunter) into Dr. Ho’s office and emerged with another victory. He actually just went along with what Dr. Ho was requesting, but because of our unbridled admiration for our senior ranking official I make the story reflect that love. The deal was that the next class was going to be only 8 days instead of 10. It appears that day 9 would have been on the same day as ‘sweeping’ day, which is a national holiday here in which people go sweep the graves of loved ones. Interesting. Obviously we can’t be holding a class that day. Works for us! And as far as any of us are concerned, General Dave made it so!

There was a good ceremony to hand out the certificates of completion to our participants. Before the certificates were given, both Dr. Ho and General Dave had some words to say. Dr. Ho talked about the course evaluations, and they were quite excellent. Better than most anything they have had before. But there was room for improvement. No worries, we would tinker with the schedule and curriculum and tailor it more towards their needs. General Dave said he had to keep his short due to emotions. He said some very beautiful things, and I think I even saw some moisture in not only his eyes, but Paula’s too. Very touching moment. A lot of hard work and hours went into this project, not just by us, but by many people. General Dave captured that essence with precision. Damn, he’s good.

So after a peaceful afternoon at the hotel, we all walked over to the massage parlor. I suppose we were going to get thai massages. That is not what we got. General Dave said it was more like a shiatsu massage. Remind me to never get one of those again. At one point during the massage, I heard Paula saying ow and could hear a scraping sound. I couldn’t really see what was going on, but I soon quickly found out. A guy came in and used some black hard looking device to sort of scrape the muscles. Well that certainly didn’t feel good. It was quite painful actually. Afterwards, our backs looked like they had been streaked with something. Those streaks are, in fact, bruises. So, please remind me to never get a shiatsu massage again!

Dinner was of course interesting as well. We had duck. Lots of duck. And that includes duck feet. Not bad, but the texture made it almost impossible for me to chew. There was also pigeon soup. And a whole pigeon was in the pot. Dave put a big chunk of it into Paula’s bowl. After one bite, she squealed. Turns out that the WHOLE pigeon was in there, including its still attached head! Paula was done after that! But I must admit that pigeon is actually pretty good. No, it does not taste like chicken. It tastes like pigeon, and pigeon tastes good!

Now for 4 days off. It’s about time!

It hit the fan!

Well, what an exciting morning! We administered the ITLS written test. We thought we had prepared them to succeed. In the US, there is a significant fail rate for this test. Some of the questions are worded questionably. I had the task of grading the tests. Oh boy. EVERYONE failed. We were appalled. How could this happen? Well, it had nothing to do with the instruction. That much is obvious with General Dave and Paula on the scene. I’m just the basketball playing movie star! More on that later. So, it seems that the geniuses at ITLS translated the test, but screwed up everything. Words didn’t make it through and didn’t translate directly across. I would guess they didn’t have anyone with any medical training do the translating. It has now created chaos. The class erupts on every question as we are going over it. Once they say what the question SHOULD be, they all know the answer. We had prepared them to succeed. The folks at ITLS did not. At least we could get the test changed to the way it is supposed to be written for the next class. Dr. Tsang summed it up when he said ‘we should forget Chinese reasoning and just learn the ITLS way.’ That is probably exactly what ITLS wants to hear!

The greatest thing about this is how funny it looks when they all start shouting, everyone trying to be heard over everyone else. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. No one is mad, they just want to be heard. I wish there was a way for you to experience this, so I am going to try to get some video of this phenomenon for you! I can’t even call it organized chaos. It is just chaos. I love it! The Chinese culture is very fascinating. I can’t wait to have Jesse explain more!

So last night Paula and Jesse went for massages. They told us that it was $12 for a one hour foot massage and a one hour full body!! $6 an hour?? Paula said it was a pretty good massage too, so good that she and Jesse bought gold club cards for less than $100 and it gives them 8 more massages! I don’t know about a foot massage (seen Pulp Fiction??) or the gold card, but $6 for a 1 hour body massage sounds alright to me!

Ok, real quick on the basketball playing movie star thing. They had all been saying I am either a movie star or a basketball player since I’ve been here. Finally I asked what basketball player I remind them of. Of course it was a Houston Rocket since they have Yao Ming to watch. It is Shane Battier. Yes, he is now on the Grizzlies, but was on the Rockets for awhile. I can kind of understand it. He’s bald, or at least close to it. He has a goatee (I have grown one outside the clutches of AMR). He has strong facial features. But then he is black. Obviously I am not. But he is light skinned! It is still funny. I’ve always been just normal looking. I come here and I’m like sliced bread! I’ll take what I can get!

The banquet was amazing. All the warnings that we were given about drinking were true, but we were adults and it was no problem. No one got into any trouble or drunken shenanigans. It was simply a good time. One thing is clear, they absolutely love us here. Toasts abounded. There were several beer chugging incidents. Both Paula and I dominated. Thankfully we were able to end that real quick, and the rest of the night was sipping. General Dave even picked up a couple directors, and at one point even kissed them on the cheeks. Yes, men. They loved it. Towards the end of the night they all circled me at one point, wanting me to sing. I can’t subject them to that kind of torture, so we all broke into song. They were also having me say certain Mandarin phrases. Apparently I could say them really well, and after I said, or rather yelled them in the fashion of Dr. Meow (he yells everything) they would all break into applause. Paula was very well behaved, and didn’t get rowdy like General Dave and I. I’m sure a rowdy woman isn’t something they are used to here, so kudos to Paula for having the perfect mix of annihilating them in drinking competitions and being able to relax in her domination. Despite General Dave and I getting rowdy, it was never out of control, and our gracious hosts probably would have had us drinking lots more if they had had their way. We did have one more day of class, so we remained in control, but also let loose just enough to satisfy them. There are many pictures of this, and I will try to limit them on here, but please, if you want to see more of anything just drop me an email!

Lecture Lecture Lecture

This is our life lately. Lecture. It is no way to live. I made an earlier post about this being a most unglamorous time in our visit to China. It most certainly is. Nothing worthwhile happens in the morning, except for my morning skype date with Jenn and the boys. I don’t think it is any different for the others. For the last 3 days we lecture through the morning and even after lunch. The students get tired, and some fall asleep. Others get phone calls and answer them in the middle of the lecture. Neither falling asleep nor answering the cell is rude here. We were told that in China every day from 12-2 it is lunch/nap time. Makes sense. I even agree wholeheartedly with this concept. I think the US is one of the few places where afternoon siestas don’t occur. What is our problem? The whole concept of naptime should have followed us out of preschool and never ceased. I don’t think I know anyone who feels they wouldn’t benefit from this concept, and if they think they don’t need it then they need to have one so the rest of us can deal with them! It’s about production people, and we don’t have it as a whole. The Chinese do, just look at how many things in your home that are made in China!! They also take naps. I see a correlation.

Lunch was amazing! We had this crazy Chinese fast-food box filled with rice and various meats and vegetables with varying heat, both in temperature and spiciness! Sound familiar? That’s because it has been the same thing for 8 straight days now! Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for the lunch being provided at no cost. I am also thankful I have never been a big lunch eater. What is exciting is the different fruit each day. We had some tasty pears today. I wish I was hungry for that, but filled up on rice! I need to rethink my lunch priorities.

Tomorrow is the banquet. This could spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e trouble for all of us. Jesse to the rescue! He said that he would protect us, and has already made ‘partnerships’ with Dr. Ho and Dr. Meow to cover each other and us. I hope they don’t make us drink the Chinese liquor! That brings more heat to a mouth than a Sichuan pepper! It is in excess of 100 proof. Beer and wine, please. And yes, we will also be protecting each other and making sure no one gets carried away.

After class, Jesse and Paula went for massages, and General Dave and I hit the gym. We had tried to meet up for dinner, but it didn’t work out. The General and went to the the western/Chinese buffet. I also decided to try the crème brulee that they had to offer. It was pretty tasty. I can assure you that will quench my palette again at some point.

So now I sit here awaiting the nightly skype date. Tomorrow we test the students on ITLS and then the big banquet. Our days are going to start getting really interesting for awhile, so look forward to it as much as we are! Especially our 4 days off. It is time.

Oh, the license plate picture has meaning. The ‘JJ’ is the abbreviation for emergency in Mandarin and the 120 means the 120 center. So, essentially, for emergency dial 120.

The return of Jesse

By now, we were all falling into a rhythm, like it or not. This was not anyone’s normal routine, but it was our routine. Despite the obvious issue of not having our family or friends close by, there are also a number of creature comforts we must go without. One of which manifested itself 2 days ago, and somehow I forgot to mention it. You would think I am busy lecturing and instructing and working 14 hour days or something. Why does this have to be salary, again?!? This small problem we had is laundry. Obviously spending a month in China would necessitate the need to do laundry. Hotels do this, no problem, right? Well, our hotel certainly did it. And they also charged an exorbitant amount to do it! How does 15 yuan ($2.50) for a pair of socks or underwear sound? What about 30 ($5) for a t-shirt or pants? Or even 35 (close to $6) for a shirt? Surely I can’t be serious. I am. Let’s just say that it was a total of 328 yuan ($55) for me and over 700 ($120) for Paula. Again, I am completely serious. We could have gone shopping here and purchased the same clothes we just washed for at least half the cost! There is one thing to provide us a chance to catch our breath – we aren’t paying for it. Regardless, there is something very wrong here. And unless we buy new clothes, there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it. Ludicrous. So now you are all caught up, at least until I remember something else I may have forgotten!

Today was more of the same from yesterday, lots of lecture in the morning, skills stations in the afternoon. We are starting to become more adventurous, as evidenced by my McDonalds excursion yesterday. In this respect, Paula had to go to a Starbucks. One of the translators, Leo, knew of one real close. So Paula, Leo and General Dave went. They got americano’s, I had them get me hot chocolate and Paula also purchased some coffee mugs. There was supposed to be pictures, but we forgot. It happens. They also said this Starbucks was in a mall, and there was a KFC there. Boom. We would be going there again. Creature comforts, and the comforts of home are necessary. We need them because we all miss them terribly. If we can’t be with family and friends, then dammit we would have something from back home!

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you an excerpt from Paula! 

Paula adding in after reading the blog for the first time:  1) Sound like a lot of drinking and eating?  Well, yes.  But mom and Lena, don’t worry. J ha!  When the doctors come to toast, they use liquor….and we use a tiny bit of wine.  We can’t handle anything but that, or beer.  So, no we are not getting drunk…I promise.  Jesse is taking care of us, and making sure they respect our wishes.  So needed to make it clear that I’m “technically”, not keeping up.  Ha ha, don’t want you to worry.  Plus, it makes me want to smoke.  And check this out, I am a nonsmoker now.  Woo hoo!   2)  Mom, guess you know know what you’re getting from Starbucks. Ha. I was giddy as a little girl, when I finally had my nonfat, Hazlenut Latte!!!!!!!  Note, to Nick…..no more telling them what I buy.  J  And, thank you for keeping everyone updated.  This blog is fantastic.  I miss everyone, but this experience is like none other.  I know we will miss it here.

P.S.  I still hate the toilets.

…..and now back to the regularly scheduled blog!

Skills stations were fun, with a lot of hands in skills. The students even placed General Dave in the KED, and did a standing takedown of me. Paula had a small issue with telling the students to move their “junk” in the traction splint station, but they all blurted out ‘testicles?’ Hearing Chinese say certain words in English is quite hilarious. I imagine this is the same phenomenon as when we try to say something in Mandarin and they all laugh. That happens often. Very often.

After class we went to the Chinese buffet at the hotel with Jesse. He showed up at the 120 center about halfway through the day. Having him around is great. He tells us so much about the Chinese and certain areas that aren’t what they seem. Consider me enlightened. As much as we have loved the people and our experience has been positive there is a lot going on behind our linguistic capabilities that is very disheartening. Apparently, everything here is money driven. If a man asks a woman for a date, she can ask how much money he makes and what he would provide for her before accepting. Jesse says that though love exists, their concept of it is convoluted. For a father son relationship the father feels that I raised you, paid for your food and clothes, you will do what I say. You will take care of me later. It is more about possession than love. Father possesses son or daughter. Husband possesses wife. No displays of affection. I could not live here, and that is a big reason! It certainly helps to understand this culture and the people we come in contact with. I even actually found a dessert I like! It was like a lime flavor custard type consistency and was placed in a tiny shortbread cup. I had several. Jesse tried to get us to eat ‘Chinese medicine dessert’ that was made from grass. It looked like jello, but tasted like grass. No bueno. Welcome back, Jesse! I know you will have us eating more interesting things soon!

Trauma! Candy! McDonalds!

So I will start this with a small disclaimer. I realize that there aren’t many pictures of anything exciting for a lot of you. However, this is how our days are going right now. We get up, have breakfast, have the driver take us to the 120 center with a 40 minute drive, teach all day, come back with another 40 minute drive, possibly get dinner at some glamorous place or the hotel and then go to bed. So, our experiences are very limited during this time. Unfortunately our hotel is in Pixian, and is far away from the fun city of Chengdu. I try to make what happens in our day to day life during the class time interesting, so hopefully it is for all of you. Bear with this not so exciting portion of the trip, it will get better! But at least this blog is very indicative of what we are doing!

Forget ACLS. Or at least for the next week. That’s what we have to tell our students. It is trauma time! Which means a lot of intense lecturing. It takes a long time to do in English, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect doing it through a translator. As it turns out, it went rather well. Just very very time consuming. Well, we were in China until April, so time is something we had a lot of! And surprisingly, or actually, the more I think of it not so surprisingly, the doctors here just KNOW this stuff. At least some of it. Some very good discussions popped up throughout the day, and we all actually learned from them! I always love when students can teach me something new, and the Chinese doctors are no exception. The General even accidentally asked one of them to have drinks with him! He really meant to sit and pick his brain outside of class, but it didn’t translate well. General Dave admitted it was his fault. No worries, he was set to have drinks with Dr. Tsang before the banquet! Good luck staying sober!

At lunch, the translators all gave us some Chinese candy because I had mentioned I tried to buy some but because I didn’t read mandarin (shouldn’t I be able to by now?!?) I didn’t want to buy something weird. It is called white rabbit, and is a sort of milk candy. It was covered in rice paper, and it was delicious. General Dave said Paula and I could split his bag, which was great since we loved it! Paula also took some time out to walk across the street to get some more throat lozenges. BY HERSELF. It is ok though, Paula is much taller than all the women and most men, plus those of you that know her are well aware of the fact that we should be more worried about the Chinese than her! One of the translators told Paula that the particular lozenges she got, which were very strong in taste and smell, are not so good for our kidneys. Combine that with the MSG they load into the food here and it is a party!

So the class ended with some skills stations. It would have been more or less the end of our day, except for dinner. But I had a brilliant plan! Well, not brilliant, but at least fun! I asked the translators to ask our driver if there was a McDonalds on the way back! I was told there are KFC’s and Pizza Hut here in addition to McDonalds. Now, I know that fast food isn’t good for you, but how can I come all the way to China and not visit a McDonalds? I had to know if it was the same menu, taste and atmosphere. So, yes, there was a McDonalds ‘motor’ (their version of drive-thru) on the way back to the hotel. I was also going in alone. General Dave and Paula scoffed at the thought of eating there. We received an added bonus to this in that the drive was completely different and took us through the city of Chengdu. The sights were much different from our normal drive of high-rises and debris, and showed a bustling Chengdu we had previously not seen. We could not wait for our days off to experience this. And sleep.

Back to McDonalds. It looked the same. I went in and it certainly smelled the same. Menu was slightly different, obviously no quarter pounder because of the metric system. And before you ask, there was no ‘royale with cheese’ either! So I ordered a double cheeseburger value meal and then a side of nuggets. I needed to sample a burger, fries and the nuggets for full effect. I was able to order since our driver, who does not speak a word of English, and believe me General Dave asked, came in and told them to show me a picture menu down low so I could point and order. So I got my food, which totaled about $6. On the way back to the hotel I ate. The cheeseburger was exactly as it is back home. The nuggets were exactly like they are back home. But the fries were different. It is hard to explain, and the best I can come up with is that the oil they are cooked in must be different. They were still tasty and addictive, as we expect from McDonalds. So, nothing new. Atmosphere the same. Food mostly the same. I don’t know whether to be disappointed or content in that revelation. But at least now you know. McDonalds is McDonalds, even in China. I still needed to sample KFC and Pizza Hut!