Attending Class in China

Michael took me to his classes as a special guest. He has over 220 students! I think I went to class 4 0r 5 times before I met everyone. Each time when I walked in the door at the beginning of class the students applauded and were all smiles. Everyone wanted to meet "Michael's mom."

In each class we showed pictures of Michael as a little boy, his family and friends, and places in America. I had also scanned a lot of Michael's elementary schoolwork and the class enjoyed seeing the mistakes he made when he was learning to read and write. After the picture show we opened up the session to any questions the students had that they wanted to ask either me or Michael. I can't tell you how often, over the course of all the classes, I was asked whether Michael had been naughty as a little boy! Everyone wanted to know what he was like when he was small.

They were also very interested in my impressions of China, the Chinese people, and life in China. I also got questions about, of all things, women's liberation, and which presidential candidate I favored.
At the end of the classes we passed out the hand-made cards I had brought, and which had been made and donated by a lot of my scrapbooking friends. Beaded bracelets made by California girl scouts, and crisp new dollar bills, were given to the students brave enough to ask me a question. Suddenly I got TONS of questions!
A room full of very attentive students.
At the end of class the students posed with their cards and bracelets. I'm in this photo, too, but you probably can't see me. Let's just say I'm up to my nose in Chinese students!

More of my Birthday in China

As mentioned in a previous post, Michael threw a big birthday party for me at his regular Wednesday night dinner. Many of his friends and colleagues came, there was a fantastic meal, I got presents, and we had a huge cake.Here we are having dinner cooked by Michael and his friends. I met a lot of new people that evening, as well as got to see many that I already knew from my previous trip here, or from attending Michael's classes.
My cake. That's Xiao Rui (Michael's girlfriend) to my left. Not only did I have a big dinner and cake, but I also got treated by Dr. Lee and another doctor, Faye, to a splint for my wrist.They arrived with the splint and sling and, when they realized they didn't have anything to tie the splint on with, they used the laces from a pair of Michael's shoes! Behind us you can see Dr. Lee showing off his new watch -- it takes photographs!
Michael with Faye, Aggie (from Portugal), and Mike from Spain. Faye is Chinese and a doctor here in Luoyang, and Aggie and Mike (also known as Spanish Mike) are also teachers.
Dr. Lee in front. In back is Aggie, Xiao Rui (right next to me), and Faye on the far right. I can't remember the names of the two Chinese girls.That day, Wed'day, was the third day of a three-day mourning period in all of China, in memory of the earthquake victims (which are now numbering over 55,000). One of Michael's friends brought white candles, placed them in a heart shape on the table, and lit them so that we could offer a few moments of silence.
Another birthday cake, this time at a nightclub called "The Image" where many of the foreigners living in Luoyang gather for dinner each Friday evening. This was my "real" birthday so I was treated again to dinner, friends, and a cake. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and I blew out the tall, skinny chinese candles. The cakes are not as sweet as in the U.S. but they are very good and have a cream & and fruit filling. And they are huge!
One of the new people I got to meet that evening was Jim Medsea, the original drummer for the 70's rock band "Boston!" That was great fun and I got to sit and talk with him and another friend, Allen, about their experiences living in China. Jim still plays the drums and is going on a revival tour with Boston this summer, but most of the time he lives here in China teaching English to kindergartners! He absolutely loves it here and has no plans to go back to the U.S. on a permanent basis anytime soon.

Hard to believe my visit is winding down soon. I have much more to blog about, though, so stay tuned for photos and description of my "appearances" as a special guest in Michael's classroom, and Animal Rights in China, to name a couple of the upcoming subjects!

Take care, all!

How I Spent my Birthday in China

Natasha and I at the outpatient clinic of the Luoyang Orthopedic Hospital. I think I mentioned in a previous post that she also took a tumble off her bike a couple of weeks ago and hurt her right wrist. Michael's friend, Dr. Lee, is on staff at this hospital so he took both Natasha and I to "his" hospital for x-rays.
Being examined by the "Number One" doctor at the hospital. Before we came in he and another doctor and the nurses were all sitting around reading the newspaper.
Being x-rayed. On the screen you can see the bones in my hand. The doctor is pointing to a crack in one of the bones or, as he called it a "small trouble." So I do have a fracture but it's extremely minor. Natasha's turned out to be a separation of the two bones in her arm, where they meet the wrist.

I was really surprised when Natasha was not given any further treatment, not even a splint??? We couldn't really figure out what the point was to the x-rays when, after a problem was found, nothing was done for her. I didn't need anything; in fact, my wrist had barely bothered me at all, whereas hers is still swollen and painful two weeks after her fall.

Dr. Lee took us on a short tour of the first floor where some of his patients are. There were various broken bones as well as patients recovering from surgery. Not a single hard cast did we see. Seems they don't do that here. For very serious problems, they devise a contraption with sticks, string, strips of cloth, or whatever material is available. Check out the poor guy in this next photo!
For a serious injury, I think I would just have to fly back to the United States! Although, on the other hand, I might be able to afford the medical care here. My x-ray cost $13 yuan, or about $2.00!
Patient rooms are sparse; no frills here, not even curtains between the beds. I suspect that food is provided by the patient's family. And you don't get medical care at all if you can't pay cash up front.
After we were done at the hospital Dr Lee, three of his colleagues, Natasha, Michael, and I went to lunch at a nearby restaurant. Lunch took about two hours and consisted of approximately 20 different dishes, tea, and beer. Literally mounds of food coming out in a steady procession. Soup finally arrived, signalling the end was in sight. By that time I could barely eat a bite more!
Here is what the table looked like as we were on our way out. So much food wasted! It is a sign of wealth to be able to order far more food than is needed, and to leave so much behind. It's a custom I don't care for when there are so many people here without enough to eat.

China is an incredibly interesting country. So many problems yet the government's propaganda machine is very efficient in keeping the people under control.

So that was my birthDAY. That evening we went to a nightclub called "The Image," where a lot of foreigners hang out on Friday nights. There was cake for me with candles and everyone sang to me. Now, we had already had a party for me at Michael's apartment on Wednesday evening where I also had a cake and received lots of gifts and stayed up way too late. It seems I've been celebrating my birthday for a week!

Photos of the celebrations are still on our cameras. Hopefully, I'll get them loaded onto the computer today and then I can post some of them.

This morning Michael got up and said "Happy American Birthday!" since it is now my birthday in America so I guess I'd better continue the celebrating!