Chinese Tests of Patience and Persistence

I have been in China for a week now.  This week has been one of the most physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining weeks I have experienced in a while.  Friday, my ankle was hurting, but I dutifully ignored it and continued off having fun.  Saturday it hurt a bit more, so I got some ice.  That didn't really work and I was limping like an idiot.  Sunday I limped into Ayi's tea shop, and she asked "Did the ice help you ankle."  I shook my head pathetically and she looked at my ankle and immediately said "You have to go to the hospital."  I don't really blame her and really must thank her.  My foot was super swollen.  So Becky took me to the hospital that afternoon.

As you may or may not remember the hospital is like a giant mall.  You show up, go to one kiosk to register and pay, then go to see the doctor, then he writes instructions and you go pay for all the procedures then have to go find where you get all the procedures done.  Simple right?  Well you are wrong.  Even without the language barrier the hospital procedure is confusing and ridiculous.  4 and half hours later, I had seen a doctor, been prescribed a medicine that wasn't in the pharmacy in the outpatient side of the hospital, gone to the emergency side, been sent back, gone back to the emergency side, registered, bought medicine, carried it upstairs got an allergy test done, gone back downstairs paid.  Finally, after arriving at the hospital at 2, at 6:00 I was sitting in an iv room having some sort of medication pumped into my veins.  An Iv room is exactly what it sounds like.  A bunch of chairs that have a place to hang your IV, and everyone sitting in one room.  The nurses wheel in and out, bringing medication and sticking needles in people.  The guy sitting next to me had to get a shot in his butt, in a room full of people.  Privacy is a thing of the past, I thought as I let the guy next to me read my hospital book.

Monday, I had to cancel my classes to go get a blood test that I couldn't get on Sunday.  Then I had to do something else, but I had no idea.  Luckily, Simona, who is wonderful, came to the rescue.  Speaking Chinese and getting me my medication so I could get not one but two IV's a day.  After 2 hours I was leaving the hospital, heading to Yi Zhong's infirmary to get my injections done.  I arrived in the infirmary and was told they couldn't do it.  All the stress and anger and frustration started to pour out of my eyes.  I looked at the horrified nurses and couldn't help starting to sob.  I sobbed out "Buhaoyisi"  I am sorry/I am embarrassed.  They immediately pulled out their cellphones and called Sunny.  Then in Chinese they told me Huang Laoshi was coming, I nodded trying to stop crying.

End of the story: Sunny to the rescue!  She took me to the hospital just down the street, not as nice as Xiangya, and set up my injections for the next week.  Chris my new sitemate came and sat with me as I got my first injection of several.

  Then that afternoon I went with Papaya back to the hospital to get my bloodtest results, and have her translate between the doctor and I.

Diagnosis:  I have an infection in the lymphnodes of my foot/ankle.  They have me on antibiotics, and made me get an allergy test cause I have an allergy to penicillin.  So now I have to do this for a week and see what happens!

Result:  Thank you Ayi, Becky, Simona, Sunny, and Papaya.  And I realize now how important good friends and good people are no matter what country you are in.

1st Graders

China has tested me, and found me strong!  As a treat, today I was able to teach 4 of my new 5th grade classes!  They were all adorable and loved my stupid games!  I also saw many of my old 5th grade students, who are now 6th graders.  They are all about 6inches to a foot taller!!!  I ran into many of my old 6th graders who were coming home from military training.  Also had a student ask me:

"Are you a handsome boy, or a beautiful girl?"

As a final thought here are some pictures from my route between 长沙市一中学 and 一师二付小!  (Yi Zhong and my primary school)