Finally! It's been a rough start, but we're finally settled in an acceptable hotel with internet access. Seriously, how did we live without the internet?? I tell you what...after being immersed in this culture for only 2 days, we were all sorely wanting a connection to the familiar world. Whew! It's good to just sit here and pop out an email. It's been LITERALLY > non-freakin stop since we landed on Wednesday. Our first hotel was a complete hole...mold growing on walls & shower curtains, beds smelling of something unidentifiable, and one greenish-hued light in the bathroom with a bathtub/shower so high off the floor that there was hardly any headroom for even a short American. But, thanks to our fearless leader, we were able to switch to another hotel--of course, for more $, but well worth every single dime.
Beijing is a total trip. Disgustingly dirty, obscenely loud, and in complete disarray. The people stare without the slightest modicum of respect for personal privacy--apparantly, the fact that I am overweight AND a foreigner is something that will shamelessly turn one's head--and, for some, with a sense of repulsion. And Bernice is a down-right freak show. They blatantly stare at her as if they can't quite understand that she is, in fact, a human being. We're both getting quite tired of it. And, yet, we realize that we are likely presenting them with a social experience that is probably rare & intriguing, so who can blame them, really?
We are all doing our clinical rounds in the morning in what is considered to be one of Beijing's "pristine" hospitals. Oh my god. If you could only see it! It is so filty, so crowded, it's unbelievable. We will be spending our final 2 weeks at some of the lesser hospitals--where there are likely to be standing puddles of urine in the middle of the floor. I shudder at the thought. Nevertheless, the doctors are brilliant--intimidatingly so--and the practical experience is stupendous. I do think that it will undoubtedly help with our comprenhension of the medicine in ways that we wouldn't possibly get through school alone. That is, after all, why we're here.
Even so, all the guidebooks in the world cannot prepare you for the level of uncleanliness that you find here. It's absolutely mind-blowing. Pollution is unfathomable. I already long for a Colorado mountaintop.
There are still bicycles used in throngs--every shape & size, some with motors, many with carts hauling every imaginable item. I saw one guy with a cart full of styrofoam pieces. You have to wonder what he had planned for all the styrofoam. But, cars are even more plentiful now. I have to say, my favorite experience thus far is taxi rides. It's the best! I wish I could describe the total chaos on the streets--cars, bicycles, pedestrians going every which way. There doesn't seem to be a "right" direction here, tho I haven't seen anyone go into reverse along the highway yet. I would NOT be surprised if I did, tho. Honking, honking, honking. Our joke now is that the only law required on the road is that you have to honk before you do something. If someone gets hit by a car, for instance, we could just imagine the court asking the driver if he honked first. If yes, case dismissed. However, I'll say this: there are NO accidents. Haven't seen a single one. There is a flow within the chaos--there is nudging, pushing, and constantly averting impact--but, it's like a river that bends around it's obstacles, rather than pushing through. There is tao in it. I giggle every time and enjoy the ride. A bus nearly crashed into my face through the taxi window--but I could sit there, knowing full well that it wouldn't. Because of the flow. Most excellent.
Tomorrow is the first free day we've had...we have the most insane schedule with very little free time. Work/lecture all day, 5 days a week, and physically demanding (especially in 97% humidity--I kid you not!) outings on Saturdays. Today was the Summer Palace & Forbidden City. Amazing sites--the mind cannot comprehend the vastness of these places created for one dude at a time and his 3000 concubines. Blew me away. However, we have been SOOO tired (most of us here just finished school & graduated, coming into the trip with a negative balance of energy) and it's SOOOO freaking humid, that we all became somewhat short fused and grumpy. Not to mention that all but one of us are introverts and desperately require alone time and/or slow time to absorb external input and decompress. There has been none of that. We are all looking forward to spending tomorrow in whatever way we each--individually--damn well please. So for those of you who sent me with money, please understand that I may not be able to get everything you want--simply for lack of time. But, we'll see.
I'm off now...believe it or not, in search of Subway or McDonald's. Oh to have some sort of American something!! While my chopstick skills have improved significantly in just 4 days, I am craving something without MSG, just for a little bit. Speaking of improved skills, one gets quite acclimated to squating over a hole in a stall. You must pack TP in your bag, and wiping from a squat is still the challenge. Nevertheless, I have now planned a route from the hospital to the school for afternoon lecture that includes a trip to KFC to use the western toilet. It's the little things.
