Traditional Chinese Medicine

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I have been remiss in my posts.  It seems that time just flies by here in China.  I am now 16 hours ahead of everyone back in California since daylight savings time is back in effect.  So you would think that I would have an extra 16 hours to post, but between classes, going on vacations and having fun...  Ok, I tired to think of a good excuse so since I don't have one I will just promise to post more often!

Today's post is all about traditional Chinese medicine.  I took a trip to Wuhan (which I will blog about later) and ended up hurting my knee so decided to get some acupuncture.  My friend Ming Cao (Dynasty) took me to the hospital of traditional Chinese medicine.  It was quite an experience!

 

This is the traditional Chinese medicine hospital for Nanchang, Jiangxi province, so the first two characters on this sign say Jiangxi for the province.  It is a good thing I have such a nice friend since no one at the hospital spoke English.  Ming was great at translating for me.

After getting my hospital card Ming translated for the doctor, telling her that my knee hurt and that I needed acupuncture.

Here is a chart showing all the different points of acupuncture for the body.  Since my injury was in my knee my acupuncture was confined to the knee area.

The first step is to insert the needles.  As you can see I'm kind of a pin cushion at this point.  They don't hurt once they are in, in fact you don't even feel them but sometimes when they are sticking them not so much fun...  My last treatment the doctor put one needle in a new point and it was almost like my leg was humming.  It kind of hurt going in and it continued to hum (but not hurt) throughout the treatment but when it was done my knee felt fantastic.

The next step is to add the incense.  Besides smelling good it is actually used to increase circulation in the area being treated.  I love it.  I had one treatment without the incense and it wasn't as effective.  It really warms up my leg and seems to increase the effectiveness of the acupuncture.  I have had three treatments and am proud to say that the last time I went all by myself!  Of course Ming wrote out a little note to the doctor for me telling what I needed, and as Ming is so wonderful he told me to call him if there was any problems and he would talk to the doctor for me, but everything went smoothly and I didn't have to call Ming.  I am really starting to learn my way around town and although I have a LONG way to go before I become proficient in Chinese I am learning a lot and am able to communicate the basics.  

I am loving China and I have picked up a couple of tutors to give me private Chinese lessons.  I am even feeling like a native Nanchanger.  I went on a trip last week to Nanjing, Wuxi and Suzhou (I will also blog about this trip later), and although I had a great time, I could hardly wait to get back to Nanchang for some good spicy food.  China is so big and each region has it's own flavor.  Some areas may be more metropolitan than Nanchang, some may have better weather, and I'll admit even better traffic (Nanchang traffic is horrible, it's like the wild west with NO RULES) but Nanchang has the BEST food!  Spicy!  Spicy! Spicy!

One bit of really good news I'd like to share.  I made a proposal to the school to make a short film about the school geared to prospective western teachers who are thinking of coming to teach here, and I just got approval to do the project.  I am really excited and I even get a budget!  One of the things that helped me decide to come to Jiangxi Normal University was talking to other western teachers who work here and so I thought if we had a short little film that the university could send to prospective teachers it would help.  It's a win win for me.  It gives the school face and gives me face (a big Chinese concept), helps me keep my film and editing skills up and I can put it on my resume.  So I am excited to start the project and I will let you know how it goes.

Well, I must end now.  It's time to work on my lesson plans.  I am working on mock interviews for the students.  Besides learning English, I want to give them practical experience that will help them in the future.  I figure helping them understand how an interview works in a western company will stand them in good stead.  

I hope everyone back home is well.  A shout out to the girls at the pool... Miss ya!  I don't get to swim here (the pool was open only one month) and I miss it terribly but I walk a lot and ride a bike all the time, but still... swim a lap for me!    

Zaijan for now!