Day 2 China

Day 2, 4/10/2012
Orientation at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University


I am up and ready for my buffet breakfast on the 20th floor.  I put on some comfortable clothes for the day and head up to eat.  The buffet is the largest I have ever seen and there is everything from 10 varieties of fresh fruit, to pastries, sushi, waffles, veggies done all sorts of ways, noodle dishes, soups, egg custard which looks like a decedent french toast, lotus roots...over 100 items at least.  




After breakfast we take our bus to Zhejiang University where we have an orientation with the Dean of the school Dr. Chen and some of his staff.  They welcome us with tea our schedules for the week.  We also meet a few of our interpreters for the clinics.  We visit the schools museum of TCM which has a history of the school and also a vast collection of Chinese Medicinal herbs.  We eat lunch at the school, which is a small platter of eel, bok choy, soup and rice.  After lunch, we head over to west lake for a boat ride around the lake.  The ride lasts about 40 minutes and the heat feels a little exhausting.  


We then are given the night to be on our own for dinner and do whatever we want.  So, a few friends and I go down the street and find a little restaurant that ends up being pretty good.  Two of us decide to go shopping for herbs at the gorgeous high end herb shop called Tong Ren.  It's the Mercedes of herb companies in the China and let me tell you the store was like shopping 5th avenue.  You are escorted the entire time by someone throughout the store and whatever you pick out you can then pick up after you pay for it in the back and bring your slip up to be marked off.  They had ginseng about the size of my palm for $175,000 US or 680,000 rmb, that's right you could buy a small condo with that.  They also made sure we didn't take any pictures.  

Internship Zhejiang University of TCM China 2012

Day 1 Arriving Shanghai (4/8-9/2012)

Got up at 2:30 am to get to the airport by 4am for my 6am flight to Shanghai. The nineteen hour flight was painful.  After we were halfway and flying over the north pole I just couldn't believe we had that much longer still to go.  It seemed I just couldn't stretch my legs enough or sleep long enough and I absolutely couldn't get enough water to drink.  I was very dehydrated by the time we arrived.  

     

Once we collected our bags at the airport, I beamed straight for the little store to buy my first item.  What did I pick?  Something a little familiar but the Chinese version...orange soda and a bottle of water.  I also decided now or never to head to the toilet as it would probably be nicer than the one we were going to stop at half way to Hangzhou.  To my delight, it was super nice and super clean and no squatting needed including toilet paper...yay, was I happy!!! 

 It felt strange that I had left Tampa not too long prior on a Sunday and now it was Monday, like being projected into the future.  We gathered our group, loaded the bus and headed to Hangzhou.  

The bus ride was about three hours of which we all were crashed out until we were about 15 minutes from our hotel.  I guess we all needed a good rest.  We had twenty minutes to wash up and meet downstairs for our very first dinner together.  It was very good, a little saltier than what I am used to, but fresh and a huge variety of dishes.  Fourteen different dishes in all.  

After the festivities some of us walked back to the hotel and some explored the night market.  I was just so tired and new we had a big day tomorrow, so I went back and slept.