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Location Date Africa 1731888000 Europe 1722380400 Oceania 1698796800 Asia 
1687129200 South America 1570748400 -
Location Date Uzbekistan 1687129200 Tajikistan 1686610800 Kyrgyzstan 1686178800 Kazakhstan 1685919600 South Korea 1685574000 Malaysia 1556060400 Singapore 1475967600 Vietnam 1410044400 China
1372806000 Sri Lanka 1361577600 Thailand 1335913200 Cambodia 1328400000 Laos 1327708800 Indonesia 1236988800 Hong Kong 710377200 Philippines 395190000 -
Location Date Nanjing 1372806000 Jingdezhen 1365634800 Huangshan 1365202800 Hongcun 1364943600 Macau 1342047600 Tongli 1341442800 Shanghai 1340924400 Yangzhou 1335308400 Zhenjiang 1334617200 Zhangjiajie 1333321200 Lhasa 1318028400 Shigatse 1317942000 Qomolungma 1317769200 Gyantse 1317682800 Chengdu 1317423600 Beijing 1296950400 Chongqing 1296691200 Fengdu 1296604800 Wuhan 1296518400 Sandouping 1296432000 Yichang 1296345600 Suzhou 1296086400 Hangzhou - Suzhou 1296000000 Hangzhou 1295913600 Xi'an 1295827200 Nanning 1295481600 Baise 1295049600 Cheng Bi Lake 1294012800 Baise City
1293840000 Bo?ai 1287961200 Lingyun, Leye & Ning Ming Counties 1286406000 Baise City- Youjiang District 1285887600 Yangshuo 1282950000 Guilin 1282604400 -
Location Date Sat, 01 January 2011 1293897660 Tue, 28 December 2010 1293559020 Wed, 22 December 2010 1293042840 Tue, 14 December 2010 1292344200 Sun, 12 December 2010 1292170680 Wed, 08 December 2010 1291827480 Sun, 05 December 2010 1291570260 Thu, 02 December 2010
1291318260 Tue, 23 November 2010 1290547980 Sun, 14 November 2010 1289771940 Tue, 09 November 2010 1289334300 Sun, 31 October 2010 1288555260 Tue, 05 October 2010 1286296560 Thu, 30 September 2010 1285870320 Thu, 23 September 2010 1285274640 Tue, 21 September 2010 1285085220 Thu, 16 September 2010 1284594360 Tue, 14 September 2010 1284498780 Mon, 06 September 2010 1283776860 Fri, 03 September 2010 1283471100 Sat, 28 August 2010 1283028240
Yes, I know its been a while since I last wrote (thanks for reminding me Ray!) but I have a perfectly good excuse - I've been sick with a chest infection - and had the delights (??) of experiencing first hand the Chinese medical system. You can't say I've let the side down as I've tested the ordinary system for all of you - even the school clinic and the doctor there who could not manage to understand that I knew what the problem was I just needed it fixed - and I'm still wondering where she got her credentials from given she insisted I be taken to hospital immediately!!!.
Firstly I must say that this was a truly unique experience from which I am still recovering.... NO international hospitals in a city of 3.8m people!!!....oh no....but I was taken to the "best" hospital in the city - the Baise City People's Hospital. Accompanied by THREE teachers I made my starring debut in the outpatients department much to the amusement of the local population who had decided that was THE place to be on a Friday evening...Your first challenge is to register at the desk or window - being China there are no real queues so you just wander up and wait.......then questions are fired at you in Chinese!! Most of the time, you accept never being able to express yourself, because you realize that your isolation is your own fault because your Chinese is so bad. However, it is at times like this you realise that you are truly at the mercy of those who are translating for you!!.
Second challenge is seeing the doctor....you join the crowd (again, no queues) around the consulting room (oh did I mention they actually have the words on signs in English - just no one speaks it) and make your way to the front and take a seat. Now we get to the fun part.....NO patient privacy here..... the doctor asks you what's wrong/ your translator asks you in English/ you respond/ they respond etc etc by this time praying to the gods that you are really being understood....then the doc examines you (by this time the next patient is sitting next to you!!) writes on some papers and sends you on your way??!!?? I'm just grateful it was not something more"personal" by this time....
I now find out that I am to have bloods taken and a chest X-ray... no problems...even I can read the signs where to go!! BUT no its not that straightforward....First you have to PAY for the tests, get the receipts glued on the back of the request forms and then back to the department for the relevant test. You can imagine me by this stage...the RN in me is freaking out big time and I'm triple checking their aseptic technique as I don't want to add some blood-borne disease to my list of illnesses!!!
Anyways bloods taken - which one of the teachers delivers to the lab for me!! - then off to Xray with the other 2 teachers in tow where my hair had to be moved but the zip on my jacket was OK ?!?!
X-rays read immediately and handed to you (could learn here AUS) Then its back to the doctor to await the verdict hoping like hell that he doesn't want to hospitalise me. I have noted via the school clinic that they LOVE using IVs here to treat everything. Never fear the doctor simply writes out a prescription and then its off to the payment desk again to have the receipt glued on the back of the script and then off to pharmacy to collect my pills and potions.
Here I was thinking FINALLY its all over but no.....we had to wait for my blood results...so had the chance to sit back and watch the compelling mayhem that is the Chinese hospital....accident victim bought in and treatment started in front of me....sick baby had an IV inserted next to me...and the rest of the crowd just wandered about as did many of the staff (or so it seemed). Blood results finally handed to me - but no explanation - luckily they use universal abbreviations and I could read them!! By this time I was faintly amused by the weird adventure and congratulating myself on surviving the Chinese health system.
As I departed the hospital .... staff and other patients all smiled and waved goodbye to me!!!!!! My starring role was complete and I could return to school and the relative safety of my apartment. I am now well on my way to recovery and have no desire to re-experience that adventure again.
Thats enough to keep you all going. I'll write again on the weekend when I have more time. xxx
So
Firstly I must say that this was a truly unique experience from which I am still recovering.... NO international hospitals in a city of 3.8m people!!!....oh no....but I was taken to the "best" hospital in the city - the Baise City People's Hospital. Accompanied by THREE teachers I made my starring debut in the outpatients department much to the amusement of the local population who had decided that was THE place to be on a Friday evening...Your first challenge is to register at the desk or window - being China there are no real queues so you just wander up and wait.......then questions are fired at you in Chinese!! Most of the time, you accept never being able to express yourself, because you realize that your isolation is your own fault because your Chinese is so bad. However, it is at times like this you realise that you are truly at the mercy of those who are translating for you!!.
Second challenge is seeing the doctor....you join the crowd (again, no queues) around the consulting room (oh did I mention they actually have the words on signs in English - just no one speaks it) and make your way to the front and take a seat. Now we get to the fun part.....NO patient privacy here..... the doctor asks you what's wrong/ your translator asks you in English/ you respond/ they respond etc etc by this time praying to the gods that you are really being understood....then the doc examines you (by this time the next patient is sitting next to you!!) writes on some papers and sends you on your way??!!?? I'm just grateful it was not something more"personal" by this time....
I now find out that I am to have bloods taken and a chest X-ray... no problems...even I can read the signs where to go!! BUT no its not that straightforward....First you have to PAY for the tests, get the receipts glued on the back of the request forms and then back to the department for the relevant test. You can imagine me by this stage...the RN in me is freaking out big time and I'm triple checking their aseptic technique as I don't want to add some blood-borne disease to my list of illnesses!!!
Anyways bloods taken - which one of the teachers delivers to the lab for me!! - then off to Xray with the other 2 teachers in tow where my hair had to be moved but the zip on my jacket was OK ?!?!
X-rays read immediately and handed to you (could learn here AUS) Then its back to the doctor to await the verdict hoping like hell that he doesn't want to hospitalise me. I have noted via the school clinic that they LOVE using IVs here to treat everything. Never fear the doctor simply writes out a prescription and then its off to the payment desk again to have the receipt glued on the back of the script and then off to pharmacy to collect my pills and potions.
Here I was thinking FINALLY its all over but no.....we had to wait for my blood results...so had the chance to sit back and watch the compelling mayhem that is the Chinese hospital....accident victim bought in and treatment started in front of me....sick baby had an IV inserted next to me...and the rest of the crowd just wandered about as did many of the staff (or so it seemed). Blood results finally handed to me - but no explanation - luckily they use universal abbreviations and I could read them!! By this time I was faintly amused by the weird adventure and congratulating myself on surviving the Chinese health system.
As I departed the hospital .... staff and other patients all smiled and waved goodbye to me!!!!!! My starring role was complete and I could return to school and the relative safety of my apartment. I am now well on my way to recovery and have no desire to re-experience that adventure again.
Thats enough to keep you all going. I'll write again on the weekend when I have more time. xxx
So
- comments
Ray H Hi Kate. Great to hear from you and I'm happy you and on the road to recovery.I had experience in the Chinese hospital system myself a couple of years ago in She Kou. That's the only impediment to me to living in China for an extended period. LOL.
Amanda Roberts Hi Kate! I am glad you're doing better. Katie and I have been battling coughs and chest phlegm too. I guess the air here is worse than I realized. It was one of my big worries about moving to China, but where we live the air pollusion isn't as bas as the big cities so I didn't think it was a big deal, but hearing how more and more of our troup are having chest issues makes me kind of worry again. Oh well, I'll just have to keep drinking horrid hot tea!
Ray H Hi again Kate. I meant to mention too, that I visited a "modern" hospital in Hefei (city West of Nanjing), when Ming wasn't feeling well and we had to fight our way through the hordes inside. Whilst sitting in a corridor waiting I wanted to go to the loo. Lucky Ming and her mum (retired Doctor) knew the Director of Nursing there, so she kindly gave me a key to the staff toilet, which was behind a heavy steel door. I thought "great" until I unlocked the door. You couldn't breathe once inside due to the stench of urine and there were flies everywhere. You needed oxygen in there and of course THE toilet (you know the ones) was IN the floor and I had to aim straight whilst trying to breathe. Near me in the corridor were 3 large plastic gargabe bins, which were continually being filled with blood bandages, sharps, the works.... and the flies.....! All of this was just left open in the corridor. Talk about cross infection, sterilisation, OH&S etc!. Ming had to have a drip and this was inserted in her arm. We then walked back through the crowded streets to her mother's unit (15 mins) with me holding the bag high in the air with the tube running back to Ming's arm. There were many many looks at these two strange people in the street. The DON came to us later in the day with a new drip for Ming which was then hung on a hat stand in Ming's mum's unit. OH how i miss that side of China........NOT!
Di About time we all heard from you, it was very quiet for a bit. Welcome to the real China! None of this teacher star treatment now. Glad you survived the ordeal and are on the mend. Look after yourself. I guess cooler weather is approaching. What are the temperatures like now and what are you expecting over Xmas?
Wayne Glad to hear your Ok and are making sure that you get every experience possible although not too sure about this one........Ben has now returned to Melbourne....although I don't think he has fully recovered from his glandular fever......but the attractions in Melbourne are too great. His brither Sam had a birthday last weekend and we lasted until 5am.......i Its amasing how good at table tennis one can be after a few drinks although i'm sure it would be great to have had a video..........finish work in 2 weeks officially a day before my birthday........take care sing out if you need the Flying Doctor Service
Jane HI KateGlad you survived that adventure and what an adventure it was by the sounds of it, I am picturing you (the perfectionist) sitting in all that chaos with all the wonderful OH&S practices going on around you - you must have just about been having kittens lol.Hope you on the mend.Whats in store for Christmas for you over there? Do you miss home? Would you go back again? When are you back in Tassie?So many questions - I lost the link to your chronicles page so glad you sent the email as I had no idea how to contact you.Take care xx
Kate Thanks everyone for your concern - I'm on the mend but of course I now have sinusitis and bloody sore ribs fro all the coughing!! Winter has arrived so we are getting down to 10-11C - not cold by our standards but it feels much colder as the housing here had tiled floor, no heating etc. which was fine in 35C......oh well I'm told this is about as cold as it gets.@ Amanda - suggest you get to the supermarket and buy some dried mangosteen. They look like little brown balls which you peel and then break a bit off and put in hot boiling water. Tastes bloody awful but works a treat with clearing your throat in the smog. I get 4-5 cups out of 1 ball to give you an idea of how much to use - hope it helps. xx
Mary M one of my fears is ending up in hospital in China - my trip to a hospital in HK last year due to extremely bad food poisoning ( DONT EAT ICECREAM OR SORBET IN ASIA!) was a walk in the park despite the lady in the toilets who was very angry at having to clean up after my nurmerous trips and couldnt figure out what Bech was doing there despite him having to hold me up!