(Chinese Goody Bag)
A little over a week ago, I got back to my office desk after teaching my usual four hours in the morning to find a white bag waiting for me. Oh! A goody bag! After closer inspection, I learned that this bag was in fact a SWINE FLU goody bag - full of H1N1 prevention goodness. Yes, Swine Flu has hit Henan University, but I have no reason to worry because I’ve got enough Chinese medicine to cover this lifetime and the next. There are these vials of liquid (they smell like Rescue Remedy) that we are supposed to take as a precaution 3 times a day. Also, Chinese teas which are to drive away colds - they taste like honey and dirt mixed together with a dandelion thrown in for good measure. But it’s GOOD FOR HEALTH! Needless to say, most of the teachers here politely said thanks, took the bag home and rather than taking the medicine, we are simply writing funny emails about it to our friends and family. After all, the university already forced me to get immunized!
For the past week, the guard to our hotel has been checking everyone’s temperatures as they walk in the door (he’s using this point and shoot kind of temperature-taker, common in Asia). My question is, if I’ve got an unreasonable temperature, what will he do? Will I not be allowed to go back to my own room? I actually was quite sick this past weekend, but I’m on the upswing now. Luckily, no fever - just a silly cold. I rode through two days of a running/stuffed nose and sneezes galore before I decided to get some medicine to mask the symptoms - after all, I had to return to work Monday. This part was fun, I just walked in the pharmacy, pointed to my nose and sniffed, starting coughing a bit and let out one big sneeze - the pharmacist just passed over a box of capsules and hurried me and my virus out the door.
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