24 and Not Traveling Quite as Much

Alright, for those of you who didn't know - I got a new job with a new company.  I am now located in the US permanently until I decide to go on vacation somewhere.  I'm living in West Virginia and working in Kentucky.  This part of the country was where I was originally born, so I've come full circle.  I started work on Monday - Jan 10.  So far so good!  I really like the people.  I haven't really spent much time in my units at all.  I spent the first half of my week doing safety training.  Hopefully this week I'll get to go meet more of the operators and learn more about my units.

Anyway, if anyone wants to come visit me please let me know!  In the summer/fall there is some of the best white water rafting only an hour and a half away from me.  And I'm in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains so there's lots of hiking.  I'm really looking forward to doing all of that when it's a little warmer.  For now I think I'll stick to indoor activities.

Hope everyone had a good New Year's!

A Visit to the Chinese Hospital...

So lately I've been suffering from headaches with blurry vision.  It happened one night while I was on shift, so I decided I should probably tell the nurse at work and ask for her advice.  I climb in and out of vessels a lot, and doing that while you can't really see out of one eye is not the safest thing to do...


The nurse calls our contracted medical service that helps us find decent care in the areas where we are assigned. I go to Central Liaoyang Hospital.  I wait for a translator, because I had a feeling the doctors wouldn't speak english, and then I'm on my way.  You get to the hospital and to see a doctor you have to pay 1 RNB.  You give a paper with a number to a doctor and they ask you preliminary questions.  It's kind of a screening doctor who will eventually tell you where to go.


I sit down, luckily there is no line.  It was too early in the morning I guess.  The doctor asks me if I have any heart problems.  I answer no.  The doctor takes my blood pressure and listens to my heart.  All are ok.  She asks me if I sleep enough.  I tell her I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.  She asks if I have a stomach ache or stomach pain.  I tell her no.  She tells me it might be a brain tumor so I need a CT scan.  I pay cash because they won't take my insurance.  It cost me 330 RNB (~$49).  Cheap huh??


I go to the hallway where the CT scans are.  My translator helps to figure out where I register.  Then I wait in line.  The woman in front of me can barely stand on her own.  She's much older.  The three people behind me are wrapped like mummies and in bed covered with blankets.  I go in, jump onto the table, lay still for a couple of minutes and then jump off.  


Four hours later we come back for my results.  My brain is healthy.  Yay?  So we go back to the first doctor I saw to give her the results.  We have to wait in line for about 20 minutes.  There are people crowding around the desk and shoving their papers in front of the doctor's face hoping that she'll grab theirs next.  Eventually she takes my scans.  At this point everyone in the room becomes silent.  They all want to hear what's wrong with the white girl.  These two or three women make me sit in the chair next to the doctor's desk.  Then they start poking, like I'm not human or something.  It would've been SUPER annoying if I was actually sick.  The doctor looks at the scans and then tells me that my headaches occur because of nervousness and lack of sleep.  Then she pats me on the back and tells me to sleep more.


Thanks for ruling out a brain tumor.  I really appreciate it... :-/

My Christmas Wish

Alright, so most of you know or at least you should know that I am currently in China.  Personally I consider where I am to be my worst assignment by far.  I would take swamps and Louisiana heat over this crap.  At least the food is delicious down there.  And I bet being in Poland right now would be kinda nice, I mean it isn’t home but it would be better than here.  There I would feel right at home, go to church, celebrate Advent.  Eat my usual Christmas Eve meal (pierogies and other Eastern European goodness)…  I am really hoping that I will be home for Christmas.  I would be ecstatic if I was on a plane by Christmas Eve.  Last Christmas I didn’t get to go home either, and spent my time in Texas helping people out of ditches.  I can’t express how happy I would be to spent time with my whole family.  My entire family hasn’t been together since Easter.  That is the longest we have ever gone I think.


Anyway, my goal is that this project is complete by Christmas.  I sincerely hope that isn't wishful thinking... 

A Quick Trip to Beijing

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog.  I realize that it has been a month since I've updated, but I have been pretty busy with work.  Sadly we are not even half way done with the project, but the pace has picked up some and I'm hoping to make it back for Christmas.  But I won't hold my breath.  I'm thinking more like January...

Last week on my couple days off I went to Beijing for a break from the north.  It was wonderful!  I had a cheeseburger (I miss western food), Starbucks and ice cream!  There were malls every where.  I got to shop for gifts for people.  And best of all I spent all of Thursday doing touristy sight-seeing activities.  I went to Ming Tombs, which is where the emperor's from the Ming Dynasty are buried.  I went to a jade factory and got to watch people make sculptures and jewelry out of jade.  I taught a bunch of foreigners how to use chopsticks at lunch.  That was interesting...  They called me the expert because I knew how to deal with a traditional chinese lunch where you share all of the dishes and take what you want.  The Danish guy sitting next to me was complaining about the quality of the beer... Ha!  I don't know what he expected...

We also went to the Great Wall.  It wasn't the nicest day out - very smoggy and hazy, but I tried to take some pictures.  I'll have to upload those later - my internet connection is not cooperating.

After the Great Wall we stopped at the Olympic Village from the 2008 Olympic games.  And then we made our way to a Tea House where we got to partake in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.  It was really neat and everything was a really nice break from work.

Chinese Field Trip!

 One of our translators was nice enough to offer to be a guide to us for a morning the other day.  We went to a nearby reservoir to get away from the city.  I had to give up sleep to go.  Normally I come home from work around 8:45am and then get ready for bed.  Not on Thursday!  The reservoir itself was nice.  It was quiet and I’m sure if there had been less haze it would’ve been beautiful.  I don’t understand how one country can pollute the air so much.  It really is insane.  Anyway, Robert and I hiked up a hill while our translator washed her car.  Then we drove to the other side of the reservoir where there was a park type area. 

At one point we made a bathroom break.  From far away the restroom building looked like a little church chapel.  Sadly as you approached it, it did not smell like a church chapel.  You know it’s bad when the Chinese girl rolls up her pant legs to go in.  I decided not to brave it.  I was informed it was just a hole that led to no where, hence the smell.  Gross…

We ended our field trip with lunch.  A rather interesting lunch.  The first part was a bean paste type dumpling that was wrapped in an oak leaf.  Some of you may not believe me – but yes it was an oak leaf.  I was surrounded by oak trees for a good portion of my life, so I know what the leaves look like.  You had to peel the dumpling-like thing out of the leaf and eat it.  It didn’t taste too bad.  There were also fried shrimp – the whole shrimp.  And you don’t pick it apart.  You eat the whole thing.  Same goes for these fried fish we had.  Those actually were really tasty when dipped in soy sauce and garlic.  There was a plate of vegetables, which looked more like a plate of weeds to me.  There was meat gelatin.  I decided to skip out on that one.  I did like the scrambled eggs with onion and cabbage.  I survived the lunch – that’s what my goal was.  Go me!

Up front and to left - Meat Gelatin.  Front right - scrambled eggs with green onion. Center - whole fried fish

Googley Eyed Shrimp

Sex in the City Parallels

As some of you may know, I like watching Sex in the City.  A few years ago I didn’t understand the draw to the show, but now I get it.  Recently I watched the series finale when Carrie goes to Paris with Aleksander Petrovsky.  At one point she calls Miranda and the conversation she has is exactly how I feel about traveling sometimes.  Those two episodes I can really identify with – she gets homesick and I feel like I’m in a constant state of homesick-ness.  I wonder how I did it when my parents moved.  I guess it helped that I could pick up the phone and call whenever.  Here I have to schedule when I call and then hope that my internet connection will allow me to make the call.  And when I was in Chicago I had most of my friends close by.  Here, I have a few work friends.  But it is not the same. 

I miss my Kankakee friends – especially since I’ve been reminiscing about Purdue’s Homecoming last year… J  I miss my Purdue friends even thought they’re scattered all over the country/world.  I remember our trips to the winery and the crazy times at Devonshire.  Ahhh the good ole days… 

The Good, The Weird, and the Uglier than Ugly

Alright - I've been trying to stay positive during my week in China, but I need to vent.


I'll start with the good...
- I really like the people who do my laundry.  They are the cutest little couple and are trying to learn one word of English every time I go in to drop off or pick up my laundry.  
- I love my hotel bathroom (you'll see why later on..)
- The food is pretty good most of the time.  I found a new favorite restaurant.
- I'm probably going to lose a good amount of weight for Stacy's wedding.
- Right now I'm working nights, so I get cooler weather and don't sweat as much.
- The Korean restaurant owner is pretty cool - she sits and drinks and tries to learn English with us
- I get to see the sunrise when I work nights.


The weird...
- I saw a guy riding a banana cart around town today.  
- I get stared at all of the time.
- There was a flock of sheep being herded down the highway the other day
- It's so loud here! I didn't think it was possible for a city to be louder than Chicago, but it is.
- I can't get used to brushing my teeth with bottled water.  I always go for the sink first.


The really really really ugly...
- The eastern toilet at work is so gross.  I think an outhouse looks better at the moment.  There are no doors on the stalls.  The only positive point is that it is winter = cold and the odor of the remaining excrement probably would smell worse in warm weather.  Oh and I guess the other "positive" part is that I'm on nights so there are less people and I have more privacy.