A Chinese Scavenger Hunt/ Relay Race

Yesterday I had to go get a physical in order to apply for a new visa. For some of you, I need not say more, but for everyone else, I will elaborate. I arrived at the clinic, and they gave me a list of tests that I had to have done. Thankfully, I had a Chinese woman there with me to help me navigate the clinic because even though most of the people there spoke at least minimal English no one told me where to go. So my new friend took me to the first room, and I had to have an ultrasound done. When the lady was finished, I just lay on the bed looking like an idiot because I did not realize that she was finished. Eventually, I got the idea and scooted off to the next room. 

You see this was not like in the US where you have several tests done in one room. I mean you might have to go to a lab to get blood work done, but someone at least directs you to those places. Next I went to another room to get an EKG. Then another room to get my blood pressure, my weight, and my height checked. Between each room we ran as if we were hoping to win some sort of prize for finishing the test first. However, it was also like a scavenger hunt because no one told us where to go next, we just ran from room to room hoping to find the next hidden treasure (or medical test, whichever you prefer). 

After the blood pressure room, came my favorite room of all: the blood work room. They took my blood, which was not so unusual, but when they were done they put a q-tip (outside of the US more commonly known as a cotton swab) on the spot and told me to fold my arm to keep it in place. All the while, I had to continue sprinting for the prize by giving a urine sample. Let’s just say that the q-tip did not stay in place nor did it do a very good job of stopping the bleeding. In the US if you get blood work done they put a cotton ball on your arm and they tape it in place (or they at least give you a Band-Aid, aka an adhesive bandage). So there I am bleeding all over the place (ok, this might a bit of an exaggeration, but I did get some blood on the floor), and none of the nurses noticed. The Chinese woman who was helping me out looked as if she might faint at the sight of my blood, but she got me a Kleenex, tissue, and helped clean the blood off the floor. 

As I mentioned before, next was the urine sample, I will spare you the details, but I was given a tiny, flimsy plastic cup. Then I had to carry this little cup  to the urine test lab which was right across the hall, but it kinda grossed me out. They put a test strip in it and then I was told to throw away the cup in a trashcan full of other people’s urine cups. I would like to take this moment to say that I am very glad that I am not the person who had to empty that trash can. 

Lastly, we went to the x-ray room. One thing that was very interesting about this whole experience was that there was NO privacy as we were racing for the prize; we would go to various rooms, open the door and hope that they were not occupied. The same was true for the x-ray room. I would think that it could be dangerous for an unsuspecting person to simply walk into an x-ray room, but considering that they did not have any sort of protection for the person who was getting the x-ray (aren’t you supposed to wear a lead vest?), I don’t think that they were too concerned about it. Maybe it was not really an x-ray but some other machine that did something similar, or maybe the machine had some sort of built in protection, but it made me a little nervous. 

At last I had finished the race; I turned in my score sheet and received another piece of paper. I am not entirely certain what it said, but my Chinese friend said that she would take care of it. I had conquered the physical.

From this experience, I have realized a few things. 1) People in the US are very concerned about bedside manner, but when you live in a country with over a billion people, you don’t have time to care about such things. They also don’t have time to hold your hand and walk you to the next test room. Efficiency is far more important. 2) From this I also can see that as an American, I can be too uptight about these things. Doctors in the US are too afraid of being sued, and therefore, Americans are coddled when they could take care of themselves. 3) I did not think about this last one until I was actually writing this post, but we have many brand name items that have become synonymous with the item itself. While I do not think that this is a very significant observation, I do find it interesting. If you want in reading about such products here is a link: http://robdkelly.com/blog/marketing/top-100-synonymous-genericized-brands/

Lessons from Living and Working in China

I have been challenged to come up with a list of things that I have learned since moving to China, so I figured that I might as well share them with any and all who care to read. I have split them into several categories: Teaching, China, Myself, Living in Community, and The Father.

Teaching:

• Students MUST see a reason for every single half a point that you take away.
• Students will argue with you over that half a point if you let them. Sometimes you just have to walk away.
• There is a giant leap from 7^th Grade to 9^th Grade.
• You have to begin the school year tough. (I definitely was not tough enough at first).
• When I finished my student teaching, I was fairly confident in who I was as a teacher, but my first semester proved to me that I had no idea what I was doing. However, I would say that things are looking up.

China and Living Overseas:

• Holidays and special events (which always include things that make lots of noise, such as fireworks and drums) will come at the most inopportune times, such as the one Sunday that you decide to stay home from Fellowship because you have an upper-respiratory infection. (Yes, this happened today).
• Kids will pee anywhere and everywhere (including in the middle of a coffee shop).
• I’ve learned to take a city bus. That was one of those things that my dad said that every person should be able to do, but I never did it in the states, but I have taken multiple forms of public transportation in several Asian countries.
• I’ve learned to push my way through a crowd. (Maybe I should say that I am still in the process of learning this one.)
• It is really easy to live in the expat bubble.
• The Chinese language was invented to keep me humble. (Apparently being a first year teacher was not enough.)
• Some of the best foods in the world are hard to find in the US (or at least in Akron, Ohio). They include: Milk Tea (specifically Tommy Boy), Red Date Yogurt, Muslim Noodles, Indian food, Korean BBQ, and Hot Pot.
• Some of the best foods in the world are hard to find in China (or they are very expensive). They include: All things pre-packaged, canned, and frozen (at least western things), Cereal, Mexican Food, Reese’s, and chocolate chips.

Myself:

• It is ok to ask for help.
• I can be really needy when I want to be.
• I really need to be more confident.
• I am an INFJ.
• I am a Blue/Gold, but some days I am a Gold/Blue.

Living in Community:

• Living in Community, even if all the members are like-minded, is complicated. Relationships are complicated.
• There is so much hurt in a Christian community, and when one person hurts the whole community suffers. Even though there is much pain, there is, hopefully, also healing.
• There are many people who are willing to support me.

The Father:

• I do not understand how His will or how His sovereignty works.
• I must trust Him because He has always proved faithful.

Adventures in the Philippines

I am sorry for neglecting all of you for so long, but I am finally taking the time to blog about my adventures in the Philippines.

Scuba Diving

I think that when most people think about Scuba Diving they think about how much fun it is, but it is a lot more work than I expected it to be. On top of that, it is rather terrifying. There are so many things that could go wrong and so many possible ways to die. And honestly, that is one of the problems. When you are nervous, you breath more heavily, so you use more air. The more air you use the more likely that you will run out of air. If you run out of air, you could drown. Now even though our dive instructor, who also happens to be our principal, has never lost anyone while scuba diving. There is that fear that you could possibly be the one exception to that rule.

Despite my fears, I am glad that I did it because 1) It is new and unique. 2) It is a wonderful way to see the Father’s creation. 3) I like to challenge myself.

Will I do it again? If the opportunity were to present itself to me, I would, but I am not going to pursue it again. (At least, I don’t think that I will.)

Seeing the Most Beautiful Place on Earth

I don’t know what the island was called, but I felt like I was stepping into a Postcard. I do not think that I will see anything more beautiful this side of Heaven

Going on Asia’s Longest Fastest Zipline

Not a whole lot to say about it. It was fun and beautiful and an adrenaline rush. But honestly, it was not as long or as fast as I expected it to be. Unlike Scuba diving, I would do this again without any coxing.

Paradise Island

We spent two days at a resort, and call me a major dork but I felt super grown-up. First of all, I had never been to a resort before. Second of all, I paid for it myself. The island was beautiful, and the food was good. Plus we had cable in our room, and for the first time in months, I watched tv. 

Stumbling Upon Traditional Filipino Dancing and Drumming

A woman on the fairy on the way back from Paradise Island told us about this place where people like to go and listen to live music, so we decided to go there for dinner. After cramming five of us into a taxi, making our taxi driver very nervous, we made it to Matina Town Square. When we asked about the music, someone told us that it did not start until 10, being teachers we go to bed at 10. Despite this disappointing news, we decided to eat dinner at a very cute little diner. After a delicious meal, we walked around the square to see what else was there. It was then that we stumbled on the dancing/drumming. We did not always understand what was happening, but our waiter explained it to us. So we sat there eating ice cream and enjoying a free show. 

Hiking in Eden

We hiked 4,058 meters, which is about 2.5 miles. Now that really does not sound like much, but it was the most exhaustingly beautiful hike that I have ever been on. The Philippines is very green and hilly/mountainy. It felt like walking in a fairy tale land. Usually, when I walk in the forest in the US, I think about Narnia, but the trees in the Philippines are much more impish. However, Laura Poast, I did meet a few trees who I am sure would be kindred spirits.

The bridges that we crossed were made of bamboo, and everything was so green that it was hard for me to get my camera to capture a single item because everything blended together.  (I am also not that skilled at taking pictures.)

While the walk was strenuous, I am so glad to have done it because finishing was exhilarating.

Swimming in a Waterfall

On my last day in Davao, we went up a mountain to a waterfall where we could swim. When we got up there it began to rain, so we swam in the waterfall in the rain. It was a bit chilly, but overall it was fun. The real adventure began when we headed back down the mountain in the pouring rain on the backs of motorcycles without helmets (don’t tell my mother). It was rather scary, but I was riding with Amy who was petrified. I spent the ride trying to calm her down. By the time we were finished, we were soaked to the bone. We could not have been any wetter. When we were trying to get back to the main road to get a taxi, we had to walk through this very narrow muddy road, and a Filipino man said to me, “Welcome to the Philippines. It’s the rainy season.” I don’t know why, but I thought that was hilarious.

                                                                                                      

Working at Kid’s International Ministries

After spending two weeks in Davao, I spent one week in Manila working at an Orphanage. But the beautiful thing is that it is so much more than just an orphanage. They have a girl’s home, a school, different studies, a feeding program, a beauty parlor, a workshop. Another wonderful thing is that it isn’t just a bunch of westerners coming in to help. It is designed to enable Filipinos to help themselves.

My favorite day there was when we went to a feeding and got to spend time with the kids. See my pictures on Facebook. 

Overall, I had a good time in the Philippines. Filipinos are among the nicest people in the world. I could not live in the tropics, but it was a nice place to visit.