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!
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