Birthday Party, Chinese Style!

Mandy knew yesterday was my birthday, so she and the residents planned a little party to help me feel at home. I didn't know about the party until I invited Mandy to dinner so that I wouldn't have to eat alone. At any rate, Mandy said, "We have a surprise for you...".

I spent the day in clinic with Dr. Lisa. We had some interesting cases, and the morning went by quickly. At lunch time, Sharon (the out patient department "police woman"), took me to buy a hospital lunch card. It was pretty funny. She took me to the appropriate line, told them how much money I wanted to put on the card (100 Yuan, or about $17, which should last me awhile. The typical lunch is about $2 for a decent amount of food. She had to write my Chinese name on her hand to show the guy, so he could enter it in the computer. I don't think their system recognizes the English alphabet!

Sharon helping me get a lunch card :) She is showing her palm to the guy, on which she had written my Chinese name!

Sharon helped me order food, which was also quite comical. She was so nice! She got me all situated. Then she proceeded to translate the entire menu into English for me! She is funny and spicy (she says she thinks her personality is more spontaneous, open and "American" than Chinese, and I would say I tend to agree).

Translated lunchroom menu, courtesy of Sharon. The prices are all in Chinese Yuan, or RMB. It is about 6 RMB to 1 USD.

After lunch, it was back to clinic. My new friend Cookie had a cute story for me. (Cookie is the resident who gifted me the air mask). Last week, I gave all of the residents Dean McGee lens cloths that I had secured from the optical shop at Dean McGee. DMEI was so kind to give me enough :) They are a fun purple color, and the residents really liked them. A lens cloth is a "must have" for an ophthalmologist, as we use our lenses so much. Well, Cookie hadn't yet purchased a lens, but was borrowing from the department. I guess the lens cloth spurred her to buy her own 90 diopter lens and she told me she chose purple to match the lens cloth! I love how the inexpensive lens cloth spurred her to purchase a pricey lens (although it is a great investment and she will use it all the time!)

My party in the evening was held in the conference room. The residents were so excited! I thought we would just have cake, but Mandy had arranged to have take out from my favorite Chinese restaurant (Go Go Shan). (Recall that I have to eat out most meals because I live in a hotel and don't have a kitchen. Sometimes I just eat instant oatmeal that I brought from America or a granola bar). It was so yummy! We all ate cake first and they sang the American version of Happy Birthday. Then we had our dinner. We all stood around in a circle and ate with our chopsticks from common pots (this is very common). It was delicious and spicy... I have decided the Sichuan level of spicy is just perfect for me (and what most Americans would consider very spicy).

They had me wear a cardboard crown :) Jim gifted me a stuffed panda and Katie gave me some Chinese notebooks.
 

The party group!

Digging in!
 

The aftermath :)

It was a super fun day and definitely a birthday I won't soon forget!

Thank you to all who emailed or texted. I appreciate it!

Checking out Chengdu

Friday was a lot of fun! I spent the day in clinic with Dr. Lucy. I hadn't met her before, but I really enjoyed working with her. Her English is great, and she was very engaging. She is in her mid-forties, I think, and she really wanted to get me involved. I did notice, however, that she was not wearing a white coat (more on that later).

We had an interesting clinic with a variety of pathology. There were two new choroidal neovascular membranes and a diagnosis of amblyopia in a patient that didn't realize she was amblyopic (this was fun for Lucy trying to explain this to the patient and family). It was a great day. I also had the opportunity to teach the residents some clinical pearls, which was good for all of us.

Toward the end of clinic, Mandy (chief resident) came over to help out. She leaned over and told me that Dr. Lucy had just explained to her that she wasn't wearing a white coat because she didn't want patients to be able to identify her immediately as a doctor. She is leery of the patients, and has had a knife pulled on her in clinic before. So, she doesn't wear a white coat as a matter of self-protection.

After clinic, Lucy said she had to meet her husband, but wanted some of the clinic staff and residents to take me out to dinner on her. So Lucy gave them money to treat me to a delicious dinner. I really enjoy Sharon, the clinic "policewoman" (not really police, but is the one that keeps the patients in order--I mentioned her in an older post). She is a bit older and not married. She speaks great English and is really funny. She actually reminds me a lot of Sister Senani in Africa. We had a lot of fun at dinner and the food was delicious. I have realized that Chinese food in America ("sweet and sour chicken", "beef and broccoli", etc) is not even close to the real thing. I didn't think I would enjoy "real" Chinese food, to be honest, but I have found that it is some of the most delicious food I have ever had.

Dinner on Friday night. Mandy is in the white coat, and Sharon is in the pink shirt/black sweater.

Delicious dinner!

I am always amazed by the amount of stuff that can be carted around on a bicycle...

Saturday morning I was feeling somewhat melancholy, so I tried to motivate myself. I got up and decided to go to the nearby market. It is a "flea market" of sorts, and honestly it was filled with lots of things that I didn't need! I just perused and tried to soak in the culture and atmosphere. I was so happy that, unlike markets in Europe or other tourist destinations, the sellers did not try to hound me!! So refreshing.

Afterwards, I walked across the street to the Sichuan Museum. It is free if you show your identification. They had a new exhibit that just opened yesterday on Cartier jewels. I have never seen so many diamonds in my life. It was interesting and a nice exhibit. I also was able to see a variety of Chinese art that was several thousand years old.

Sichuan museum. It is within walking distance of my hotel.

Buddha statues made of bronze and gold (several thousand years old).

One of my favorite pieces in the museum. A shadow puppet crafted of leather. Very old!

I am a sucker for beautiful embroidery. This is hand embroidered silk. The photo does not do it justice! It was very intricate.

This was a little distressing after having just spent time in Africa. Rhinos are going extinct in Africa at an alarming rate because the Chinese really value their horns. Today, the ground up rhino horn is thought to have medicinal properties.

Embroidered pandas. Chengdu is known for pandas.

Cartier!

More Cartier. It was quite a nice exhibit.

I headed back to my hotel for some rest and at 3:30 I decided I should  go to English Mass. I was feeling lazy, but knew that staying in my hotel by myself was not a good idea. It was Saturday night! I wanted to take a taxi, and I tried to get the hotel staff to help me. After a lot of difficulty, I managed to tell them (show them on the map), where I wanted to go. They were able to write the name of the church in Chinese, which I then was able to show to the taxi driver. I made it to church a bit after 4:00 and took a seat in the back. It was so nice to be able to participate in Mass this time and understand everything that was being said!

Taxi ride. And the name of my destination provided to me by the hotel.

There was a wedding yesterday!

After Mass I chatted with John and his wife again (the couple I met last week). There was another lady who came up  immediately and introduced herself to me. Her name is Valerie, and she is from Canada. She and her husband Chris are both retired, but spend a few months a year in Chengdu. He teaches at one of the colleges (PhD in geology), and she gives English conversation classes. They are so nice. They immediately took me under their wing. They wanted to show me Chengdu! 

They took me to a beautiful little restaurant called "The Bookworm" for dinner. They insisted it was their treat! It was Western food, which was so refreshing. And I had an American beer :) They introduced me to the Metro system and the bus system. (Yesterday was a big transit day for me--first time using a taxi, Metro, and bus system in China!) My world got a lot bigger yesterday, thanks to Valerie and Chris. They also outfitted me with a great Chengdu map and explained all the best places to go for certain items. They gave me ideas about what museums to visit, etc. They were honestly the most lovely, wonderful people. We have plans to meet up again next Saturday afternoon for church, and then they want to take me to another fun place in Chengdu. They are like my "Viv and Tim" of Africa (Viv and Tim were the most wonderful English couple that took me under their wing my first 2 weeks in Swaziland).

The Bookworm. A western style bookstore/restaurant. I don't plan to go here often, but it is nice to know I can escape here if I am missing home!

I really enjoy my time with the Chinese, and look forward to my fun plans with some of the residents, but it was refreshing to have great conversation in my native language with some awesome Canadians. Valerie and Chris told me to call them anytime if I need anything or get lonely. That is very comforting.

All for now. Today is a lazy Sunday and tomorrow is back to work.

Here are some fun potato chip flavors:

Cucumber flavor

Sea salt and chocolate flavor

Mexican Tomato Chicken flavor

Italian Red Meat flavor

Texas Grilled BBQ flavor

Fermented Soy Bean Prawn flavor

And finally, "American classic flavor"

Shopping with Rosie and a most unusual birthday gift

I have a dear friend in Oklahoma City named Rosie. She and I met this past year and have become fast friends. She introduced me to her sister and another friend of theirs, and the four of us have become very close. I can go to dinner with them and we can fill hours of time with laughter.

At any rate, one of the residents needed an English name. Her Chinese nickname is "Ping" and Mandy said, "that sounds like Pink!". Well, I really didn't think "Pink" a good English name for her, so I chose "Rosie" instead. So, now I have a friend here in China named Rosie as well :)

We had Grand Rounds yesterday afternoon (Thursday 4/16). I listened intently. Based on the visual fields, etc, I could tell the case was a newly diagnosed bitemporal hemianopia secondary to a pituitary adenoma. So, I did get something from the lecture.

Afterwards, Rosie wanted to know if I had tried Chinese cherries. I told her I hadn't. I had seen people selling them in the street, but honestly didn't know what they were. She said the time in which you can buy these is limited (about a 1-2 week stretch in the spring), so she suggested she take me to purchase some!

We walked to a little market and the fruit was beautiful. Rosie told me her brother sells fruit too (in a different town in China). So she knew how to pick the fruit! I bought some cherries, bananas, and apples. She told me to soak the cherries in salt water for about five minutes, and then rinse and they would be ready to eat!

Rosie at the market

Rosie surveying the fruit.

She also took me to a few stores to get some items I was missing. A bowl and spoon for my hotel room, some extra hangers, etc. It was so nice of her.

In the evening, I went for a walk in the park. It was a nice night and many people were out exercising.

 

Views from the park across the street from my hotel.

There is a lot of air pollution in Chengdu. Not as much as in Beijing, but still, it is very smoggy. Many people will walk around with masks covering their nose and mouth. Aron said, when he was a child, that "you used to be able to see the blue sky, but these days, not so much". Indeed, the sky has yet to look "blue" to me :-/ 

A favorite mode of transportation for the Chinese--scooters. And bicycles with motors on them. (Don't worry mom, I will NOT be riding on one of these!) Please note the "blue sky" in the background... :-/

Mandy has told the residents that my birthday is this coming Monday, April 20. (She says she knows because I had to supply her with a copy of my passport :)). At any rate, Cookie (one of the residents), came up to me yesterday after Grand Rounds and said, "I have a birthday present for you". She then proceeded to give me a mask! It was the most unusual birthday gift I think I have ever received, but also one of the kindest. She is concerned about my health/lungs while I am here and wants to make sure I am safe :)

Cookie and our masks :)

Week 1

I have so much to catch up on! This week has been a whirlwind.

Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (SPPH) inpatient Building #1. I spend a lot of time on the 12th floor of this building.

Monday 4/13 was my first day in the clinics. I arrived at the hospital at about 8:10 a.m., in time for the morning report. I was then introduced to so many people! Honestly, it was completely overwhelming. Mandy (the Chief resident who speaks great English and has been very helpful) then asked a young female resident, whose "English name" is "Daisy", to show me around. Daisy was assigned to be in glaucoma surgery that morning, so I tagged along. I have found that most people here have an 'English name' that they use if they are speaking to English-speaking natives. This is very helpful, because I have difficulty pronouncing and remembering the Chinese names!

I watched two glaucoma surgeries and a pars plana vitrectomy for non-clearing vit heme. The operating room was shared by both retina and glaucoma at the same time. A big departure from the United States!

Retina surgery on the left side of the photo, glaucoma surgery on the right.

In the afternoon, I spent some time with Dr. Lisa (English name). Clinic, however, was super busy and the language barrier is so intense, that it was difficult for me to get involved. I think that the language issue will definitely be my biggest barrier here.

After work, Mandy and I walked to a hot pot restaurant, where we were met by Dr. Wu (the head of the ophtho department) and Dr. Susan. We had a nice time. I was amazed by some of the cuisine though. For the hot pot, we had intestine, large pieces of artery, some beef, Chinese yams, lotus root, and bamboo pieces. As I mentioned earlier, the Sichuan province is known for their spicy food, and it is delicious!

Sichuan Province is known for their spicy food and delicious hot pot! The intestines, which I was told "taste like noodles", are the light pink things in the upper left of the photo.

Tuesday morning, Dr. Wu formally introduced me at morning report. Luckily I wasn't expected to give a speech :) She introduced me as "Gao Lisha", which is my Chinese name. Dr. Wu, Dr. Susan, and Mandy came up with it at dinner the night before. "Gao" represents my family name (last name), and it means "tall".  "Lisha" is for "Liz". Apparently "Li" means beautiful. I learned to write it in Chinese, so I am good to go!

Morning report



"Gao Li-sha"

I spent in cataract surgery in the morning. Dr. Wu had 13 cases (phacoemulsification). She is a speedy surgeon, and technically very talented as well, so all went smoothly. There was no afternoon clinic, as she was catching a flight to Japan for a conference. Instead, one of the residents, Tom, invited me to go watch his rehearsal for an upcoming show that they will perform live for the president of the hospital. I couldn't understand much, but it was nice to be amongst others. When I arrived in the auditorium, Tom told them I would be watching. The head nurse asked that I sit in the FRONT row...they are always so kind to me and treating me like royalty.

Cataract surgery. Mandy is the person in the foreground.

One of the ophtho residents, "Tom", acting as the narrator.



There was dancing and singing.



The head nurse talks to the more junior nurses at rehearsal. Tom pointed out that the head nurse has two stripes on her hat, while the more junior nurses only have one stripe.


Wednesday morning was spent in clinic with Dr. Susan. It was insanely busy. She had 49 scheduled patients in the morning! Again, I think it is easier for them to see this large number of patients because not every patient gets dilated (in fact, many aren't) and the record keeping is not nearly as complicated as in the U.S. At any rate, what I found most interesting was the way in which the clinic was run.

People everywhere!

First off, about 5 patients at a time are called to wait in line in the exam room where the doctor sees patients. Everyone is talking. The patients all crowd around the doctors desk talking at her. People are budging in line without second thought, they are talking on their cell phones, and pushing others out of the way. All the while, the doctor stays calm and just does the best she can. I could not make sense of this! Every once in awhile, a lady ("Sharon")  would come in and talk to the patients sternly. I finally asked her what she was saying and she said she was telling them to wait their turn and not cut in line. She would point out their number to them on their slip of paper, reminding them that it was NOT their turn.

She went on to describe that this is common. There are so many patients and they do not want to wait, so mass chaos ensues. The doctor CANNOT raise his/her voice or reprimand the patients because the patients will complain to the administration, who will see to it that the doctor be chastised. This is why the "line policing" falls to people like Sharon. Patient violence against doctors is not uncommon in China.

Patients crowding around the doctor (can see the back of the white coat on the left). Notice there is no "line" (there is supposed to be), but everyone just pushes to the front.

Wednesday afternoon, I gave my first English/ophtho lesson. I chose to use the first lecture as an introduction. I told the residents about myself (with photos), and then asked them to tell me about themselves. Afterwards, I handed out gift bags that I had put together (Hershey's kisses, a pen from Iowa State, a Dean McGee lens cloth, and a top made by the Oklahoma wood carvers). They were overjoyed :)

I then took photos with my little Polaroid camera and had each student write their Chinese name as well as their English name. This will help me learn all of the faces/names! They LOVED the camera, and each wanted their own copy of the photo too. For those that didn't have English names, I gave them names :) Names given were: Hannah, Rosie, Mary, Katie, and Diana.

The residents (not all of them could make the lecture). I wanted just a photo of them, but they all insisted I be in the photo with them.

We had a lot of fun! I think the lecture was a hit, as immediately afterwards I was invited to Rosie's wedding on May 2 and homemade dinner at Cookie's house! They are so kind to me.

And one final story... Last night I stopped into a little bakery. I had been there once before, and there is a worker who likes to practice her English. She and I were chatting at the cash register, when someone walked in and cut in line in front of me! I was so taken aback. Afterwards, she and I started discussing differences between China and America. I mentioned that I noted that it was not uncommon for people to cut in line (in the elevator line, in line at the doctor's office, at fast food restaurants, in the post office, etc etc). She agreed. She then went on to say (in very choppy English), that she likes Americans, but she thinks they are all "fat and rich"! She really wasn't trying to be rude, that is just the perception she said that the Chinese have of Americans. I promptly felt guilty for buying a treat in the bakery :-/ Oh well. I guess we are all fat and happy in America. And stereotypes and broad generalizations about other cultures occur everywhere...

 

Tribute to my Papa

This blog is dedicated to my travels this year, as part of my time as the Global Eye Care Fellow at Dean McGee. However, today's post is very personal. I can't let April 15 go by without a tribute to my dad, Don.

April 15, 2015 marks TEN years since the day my papa died. It was sudden and very unexpected. I was less than a month from graduating college, and honestly, life was pretty great. Then, the horrific, awful day of April 15.

At any rate, he was a great man. He was born and raised in Iowa, and at age 17 he joined the Marines. He served our country in Vietnam for several years. This is a part of his life that he never talked about. Ever. We didn't ask, he didn't tell. After his death, I began to learn what a sacrifice he made. I had no idea what it took to be a Marine.

He was a dad who was always there for us. He was quiet and humble, but always very proud of his three kids. He showed his love by spending time with us or giving little gifts--he was not an openly affectionate person.

I appreciate that he never saw a distinction between the "girls" (me and my sister) and my brother. What Ben could do, we girls could certainly do too! (This I believe, is why I am certified in "Hunter's Safety" and why I had to change the oil in my own car when growing up).

Unfortunately, I was just coming out of the "my parents are lame" phase when my dad died so suddenly. So I never truly got to thank him for being a great dad.

It was a great loss for us all, one from which the family is still reeling. I love him, miss him, and not a day goes by that I don't think about him.

Here's to you, Dad!

Roly poly baby, early 1949.

Marine Corps

Dad and new baby Liz, April 1982. I definitely inherited my father's red hair!

Liz and Dad, August 2004.