Ni men hau. I think it's high time I updated. I have been m.i.a. for the last two weeks due to a ghastly case of strep throat (or viral pharyngitis... or mono...). However after a solid round of azithromycin I am feeling rejuvenated.

So first things first, I’m lucky enough to have stumbled upon the very thing I really want to be doing overseas. There is a woman here, Cheryl, who is an M.D. in the states (family practitioner). She has been running a clinic once a week at a very low price and as fate would have it crossed my path at the exact time she needed a new nurse. As of two weeks ago I am helping her (phone triage during the week and clinic on Wednesdays) and soaking up as much knowledge as I can. Though it’s basic level stuff I am looking forward to it growing. Right now we are just helping with basic care and secondary consults (in China, you ALWAYS want a second consult) but it looks like in the future she may have a contract with one of the hospitals and we can take over some clinic space there. I am essentially getting the opportunity to work with a doctor of family medicine every week and learn everything I possibly can from her while helping her do what I love to do. Not to mention we’ll go to a Leper community every once in a while to do various health care activities. Tough life…

Last night Paul and I were invited to dinner in one of our students’ homes (Tim is his English name). It was an interesting experience and to say I didn’t walk away feeling cultured (and cool) would be a lie. We came bearing a gift (miniature oranges) because that’s what you’re supposed to do it seems. We were offered hot tea and a tour of the apartment while Tim’s mom finished dinner. As we were coming back to the living room, low and behold, more people showed up. Paul and I very quickly came to understand that we were on display, us being foreigners and all. Though at times the language barrier was difficult, it turned out to be a great time. Chinese families eat buffet style and multiple dishes are piled into the center of the table with the expectation that everyone will pick at them as they go along. Towards the end of the meal Paul and I were at maximum capacity and the food kept coming. Eventually the last dish turned out to be Wuhan crab (this crab was not the aesthetically pleasing Alaskan king crab I’m used to ordering at Outback). We were taught by everyone how to completely dismember the crab and devour. When we cast the legs aside initially I was intrigued because I’ve only ever eaten this part. We were then shown how to crack the shells, rip out the lungs and where to eat from. After a minute or so of eating from the appointed body cavity with my chopsticks I made the mistake of asking what part of the crab we were eating. Their response was “perhaps this, well this is the part that makes more crabs.” I then recalled that we were eating from the same area they had pointed at to authenticate that this was a male crab. From that point on it was polite smiles and choking down the rest of the crab’s male anatomy. Delicious.

Our Crab!

Dinner Party

Red tea and green tea we received as gifts from Tim's family

Excitement abounds! We put up our limited Christmas decorations and it’s almost, in the most miniscule of ways, like we’re home with family watching our tree light up. 

Christmastime...

Bear with me, I'm just learning to put up pictures.