Recently been very busy so haven't been able to update. Last night had dinner with Amy Celico who was on her second business trip to BJ in the almost 3 months I've been here. She had a client with her from ETS - the company that runs the GRE/SAT/LSAT etc battery of college/grad school entrance exams. I was surprised to learn that they are a non-profit, with a mission of making higher education at elite schools accessible to the general public. I've never been a fan of ETS, so I was amused to learn that that for-profit businesses are taking their market share, and China is the next promising battleground. [location: Cafe Simbal at 旧鼓楼大街豆腐池胡同４３号]
This weekend Chloe, a new friend I met through my housemate Andy (housemate in chinese is shiyou - literally room friend) took Andy and me out for eats at a Kejia restaurant near Houhai - a pleasant bar strip that runs along the Houhai lake. However and was only able to eat some rice and tofu due to a very painful toothache that began last night. [Kejia is a minority group in Southern China, and we think that my Chinese ancestors were Kejia people.]
It's interesting that many of Andy's friends are not desperate to work. Chloe just quit her job as the head editor for an cellphone news service. It was a hectic job, as I'm finding many jobs in the big city are. Now she's taking 3 weeks to study English and figure out what to do next. Andy also quit his job a while ago, because he didn't like his boss. It's interesting that with all the competition to find work (5MM college graduates this year!) and global economic slowdown, China seems to be doing OK. Of course, Chloe comes from a family of means, and Andy does piece-work PR projects now.
As Andy winced with every bite, conversation turned to my exemplary dental habits. People at work also note that I'm the only person in the company to brush his teeth after lunch. I told Chloe and Andy that I was a bit anal about that. (I had to translate the figurative meaning of "anal" to them - I probably should have chosen something a little less potty-esque for a brunch conversation.) In fact, many Chinese comment on how good my skin is, how young I look, how tall I am, how I look like I come from a rich country. This is interesting since in the US I quite average. Benefits of growing up in a country with a well-organized, wealthy government and society (that accepted fluoridation). I'm a beneficiary of the genetic lottery, as Buffet would say.
On the way back the three of us stopped at one of those very fragrant Chinese medicine places that one sees in any Chinatown in the states. They asked the pharmacists there for a recommendation and got some topical stuff and some pills - none of which were effective. I was amused to find they had a section for foreign drugs including Bufferin and Tylenol. But most of the place had the smelly Chinese stuff!
Afterwards we took him to the health clinic in our apartment complex. An indication of the quality of health care here was that earlier in the day he had contemplated going, but wanted to call his dad to be sure he wouldn't get ripped off. They couldn't treat his absess until tomorrow, but they sold him more drugs - which again turned out not to be very effective. I ended up giving him one of my sleeping pills so he could at least get a few winks.
Makes me glad I pushed to have my package include a global health plan, so I can stick with Western clinics. Chinese hospitals are notorious for long waits and so-so conditions.
Was going to swim this evening, but my back is bothering me for some reason so will rest - and update the blog!
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