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.
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