Final Thoughts

            I had an interesting experience in China! I won’t be posting anything else since I am back at home and getting ready for school. I do hope to travel again and maybe go to Shanghai, China to learn some more Chinese.

            While I was in China I lived by a quote I came up with. I really thought it had a great meaning behind it, especially while abroad.

“Be curious. Be open-minded. Because things aren’t always what they seem to be and one must understand the overall picture first.” –Me

UIC Ampersand Blogs

I have been writing blogs for the UIC Ampersand news article organization. They can be found on this website: http://ampersand.honors.uic.edu/category/blog-posts/

The 15-hour Layover in Hong Kong

I thought I would hate having to wait so much time before my next flight to Chicago. But now I actually feel lucky to have this opportunity. After I landed in Hong Kong, I checked in at Regal Airport Hotel. I had everything all planned out. I wasted no time. I went to my room to drop off my luggage and headed out to exchange US dollars to Hong Kong dollars. The currency is different there from other parts of China. I am not sure why. The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) connects the airport to various parts of the city. It’s like the CTA. I got a map and began to study it. I didn’t want to get lost so preparation was key. I got on the MTR and it took about 20 minutes to stop at Kowloon. Also this subway was going so fast, about 20 times faster than Chicago CTA trains but maybe I am exaggerating.

            I got off at the Kowloon stop and this stop was connected to a huge mall that I sought to be boring. I probably circled it about 4 times trying to find souvenir stores but all I could find was expensive brands like Armani and many other ones. So after studying the map again while eating a double cheeseburger at McDonalds I decided to try again. I was about to give up because I was really tired. It was around 10pm and the last train to the airport was at 12:50am and I didn’t want to take a taxi back for so much money so I needed to make the most of my time. I asked for help and I got what I needed. I was heading to Temple Street Night Market!

            I got on a taxi and it was weird because the steering wheel was on the right side of the car. I got over it after staring for a while. It costs $22 HK or about $3 US to get to Temple Street. It was nearby. I stepped out the taxi. The first thing I noticed was the hot weather. It was really hot and humid. Almost everyone looked sweaty. Anyways, I realized Temple Street was the place to be at night! It was just what I was looking for.

            There were so many souvenir stands and shops. I bought a few things after bargaining for a good price. I practiced no Chinese here. Mostly everyone spoke English so it was super easy to get around. There was also lots of food and foreigners. It was very noticeable that here were so many people from all over the world. I overheard people speaking different languages like Spanish.

            By the end of the night I am glad I didn’t let my fear of getting lost and missing my flight get in my way. In less than three hours I learned how to navigate with the MTR and taxi system. I wished I had more time so I would have explored other stops. I have never felt so independent in my life but when I did, I knew what to do.

Chinese Oral and Written Exam & the Final Exam on TCM

We took our final exam on community health and traditional Chinese medicine as well as the language written and oral exam. I really think I got an A on both because I got a 103% on my TCM final and I felt confident about the Chinese oral exam. I enjoyed studying this summer because I was very interested in the classroom learning about medicine as well as outdoors practicing my Chinese with the community. Also, near the end of the Chinese course we started learning Chinese characters.

Last Week in Kunming

Our last week in Kunming was very exciting. We visited a Women and Children Hospital and focused mainly on healthcare with pregnant women. Then we visited Naigu Stone Forest. It is what it sounds and it was an interesting place. The stones look amazing and really tall with its highest point at an altitude of 1,870m. About 260 million years ago the area was uplifted as land due to tectonic movement. We also visited an amazing cave system in Juixiang with rivers flowing through them. We concluded the weekend with Karaoke night with faculty and a farewell dinner with delicious food and certificate distribution.

Nice Cars!

My Favorite Food

            After eating a numerous meals at restaurants, I have made up my mind. My favorite is sticky purple rice cooked in a pineapple and spicy potatoes…but not too spicy of course. Speaking of food, a few weeks ago we had a delicious dinner with the teachers. It wasn’t just an ordinary dinner. It was a medicinal dinner. Medicinal food refers to drink and food, which can be used either for prevention and cure of diseases, or for health care and recovery. I don’t remember exactly what we ate. But I do remember the chicken soup. It was so good!

Job Opportunity

Foreign English Teacher wanted!

Expiration Dates

One day I panicked and I thought I was going to be sick. I had bought milk from Walmart. Normally I check the expiration date on everything I buy, especially milk! But I didn’t this time. After I drank the milk, I checked the expiration date and it was passed due? But later I found out that the date on the milk was actually the date it was packaged. What a relieve!

Tibet and Bai: Medicine and Culture

Two types of medicine we learned about while we had our excursion was Tibet and Bai medicine. Bai medicine is similar to TCM because they also use herbal medicine found locally. People rely on these herbs because they are really cheap, as opposed to Western medicine.

Tibet medicine is also similar because they use herbal medicine, however, it is mostly in the form of a pill. A small pill could be composed of numerous herbs. About 90% of the medicines used in this hospital are Tibetan medicines and the other 10% are Western or TCM drugs. Tibetan medicine also uses acupuncture, cupping, and moxabustion. However, there is some variation from TCM such as with the number of acupuncture points. Also, their main diagnostic method is urinary analyses, something different from TCM. One interesting thing about Tibetan culture is that they have “sky funerals” and so they don’t bury or cremate the dead bodies. Instead the bodies are cut up and fed to vultures. It was this way that they were able to have advancement about the physiology, function, and surgical knowledge.