Back to 學校 (shi shao)

     We made it safely to China on Wednesday the 4th of May at 2:15 pm. Luckily for us it was only 1 hour time difference so we didn't have to worry about jet-lag in China. I was busy on plane reading a Chinese culture book called In the Pond by Ha Jin. It was a great read about an instance of abuse of political power in the Chinese communist government. It centered on the life of a factory worker Shao Bin who isn't rising to his true artistic potential of caligraphy, writing and art. When Bin suffers corruption he uses his talents to set things right for him and his family. The cry for creative power rung in my ears and made me ponder on what contributions I will make in the society I live in.
     China is different, that's for sure. Peering out the tiny porthole, I think the very first thing I noticed was the arsenal of bikes that filled the bike racks along the tarmac. That was great! It was in stark contrast to the more modern shuttle cars of the Korean airport. The level of development resembled that of Peru's: lacking. This is more like the Asia I envision when I left the ground in San Francisco. I summed up my thoughts in the rancid Chinese bathroom after the flight: China is to Korea just as Peru is to the U.S.
      Yes, I admit, I once thought that all asians looked alike---and I still think they do, at least I can't quite make out the difference yet. (If anyone says they they can, they're lying).  I generally stuck out like a sore thumb in Korea, but as I stood in the China Customs line, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were some Charles look-alikes. Dallin laughingly affirmed the notion that I looked Chinese because after getting off the flight he waited for us near the terminal entance and he confused me with 5 others before I finally came out. I say that even asians confuse one another because Jin, my Korean friend, has a tally of how many Chinese people confuse him for being from China. As of two days into being in China he's at 10. I'm only at 4.

I admire Chinese family values

       I stared into the eyes of the Chinese customs official behind her desk, a little nervous. I ran though my mind how to say thank you, "Xièxiè...xièxiè...xièxiè." She looked back up with a pleasant smile and said,"Thank you."
"What? "Thank you"? That's not Chinese, what do I say?!" Eh, who cares, I arrived in the mainland!

Zhongua Gate

Get to the point!

        Ok, have I got a new one for you. It always starts as a normal day here in Seoul, South Korea. We've planned to visit what is called a folk village on Monday, so we are going to just go through a smaller one today. A folk village is a replica village of traditional-style Korean homes.
     This Friday morning started out slower than the other days. We've been going and going and I think it may be wearing on us. Soles in Seoul are wearing thin. It was nice to sleep in and watch a movie to start off. But after Sherlock Holmes solved yet another one, we were anxious to get out. Our first destination of the day: Namsam Folk Village. As we rolled up there was certainly no shortage of tour buses on site. We weaved through at least 10 tour buses and dodged two Chinese filled ones that offered to shine their tail lights a little too bright for comfort. On our way in we bought some bean-filled pancake bread that is some funky combination of Mexican food and Ihop.

       We entered the doors and it seemed like any other tourist attraction with fake wooden cut outs to make it seem like two American-faced Koreans were getting married.

    We browsed around for another half an hour and I was ready to go. We started making our way our and hanging in the last corridor was a special sign:

       It mentioned something about having free traditional medical work done. I thought two things: 1)"Hmmm, that's interesting." and 2)"What an odd place to have an advertisement for traditional medicine."
We entered the dirt plaza to see what the dressed up Koreans were scheming up. Just like always, we could only smile and say,"Onya Ha seyo" [translation: hello] whenever someone came up to us speaking intense Korean.
       Jin, conversed for a second and turned to us with the news that they not only did was the sign an advertisement but they actually did the assement there. I thought it to be a great idea and if there were even the slight chance of getting acupunture, I was comitted. They gave us a strenuously rigorous and thorough screeing to make sure we got the most tailored treatment possible (they let us choose between having a "cold" countanance or a "hot" countance).

We had a nice consultation complete with Body mass index and a hot root beverage loaded with fiber. The only cure for my semi-achy neck and stressed knee: acupuncture.
     As I sat laying shirtless on the table I thought maybe it wasn't my brightest moment, but hey, I was in Korea. If it wasn't the doctor's professional-looking fake Korean robe, it was all the 3rd graders on their class field trip on the other side of the bamboo hut that kind of gave me the Hibbie Jibbies. I adopted the general swim suit policy: I wasn't going to reveal anymore than I would at a swimming pool. When you have eleven needles in your back, you start to question yourself.
         I started going over all the rational of why this whole thing was a scam. At any moment I though the female nurses would come in to take the pins out and then offer more, let's say "specialized" attention. Thankfully no such thing happened. Our host informed us that he saw the Korean equivalent to the American health board at the entrance so he knew it was safe. Otherwise we never would have entered.

Yes, that is my leg with two needles in it... Ask me to see the ones in my back.

          I was skeptical from the start, but there was a check to be had on the bucket list and Korean acupuncture is world-renowned---at least that's what they say in Korea.
        Each pin tingled as it settled in the upper epidermis. They said that the pressure in a specific area creates added blood flow and that the increased circulation speed recovery for most ailments. I really did feel my arm go tingly as the pins were place in my upper left back. The blood increase was a given though: who's heart wouldn't start pounding with needles jabbed in them?
           I left the clinic less than pleased with the immediate results, but excited that only a true Chinese massage was next on the list. But a couple days later when Dallin's heel pain returned (that was healed as a result of the acupuncture), I was flying up stairs like a pre-teen Swedish boy! I really had been cured. I'm not suggesting anyone go out and get this done, but wow, it's hard to deny the results.