Recently, I think due to the crazy heat and sweating all the time or something, I've been breaking out. This sort of bothers me, I mean, who isn't slightly perturbed by red things crawling all over your face, but I get by. Though, I'd like it to stop. Zhu's mom, on the other hand is very upset by this. Everytime I leave the house with Zhu, she exclaims, "Oh, Hu Juanr is breaking out!" and threatens to take me to the doctor if Zhu doesn't. She also is constantly saying, to anyone who will listen (including strangers in the elevator and cab drivers) how I used to be very pretty, very white. Yeah. Three weeks ago, I gave in, and the three of us went to the 老家 (hometown, which=Wenzhou) doctor. It was a private doctor, so he was housed in an apartment complex. There were people all over the place, sprawled out on couches and cots with IVs. Evidently, the laojia/Wenzhuo doctor is a big fan of using IVs as a method of treatment. I'm so glad he refused to see me, the forienger.
Last weekend Zhu and I tried at another place, Bei Da Yi Yuan (北大医院 or Beijing University Hospital). Interesting fact, there are two 北大s (Beida): the university and the hospital and everyone calls them the same thing, but they are on opposite sides of town. When we got in the cab, Zhu told the driver we wanted to go to 北大 (Beida) and if he didn't have a good grasp of the layout of Beijing we would have gone to the university, because that is the direction the driver initially went.
That hospital, for some reason or another, also couldn't treat me because they were out of medicine.
So today, Zhu's mom took me to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, and I was finally treated.
But first, how much does this cost.
At Beida Yi Yuan, which practices science-based Western medicine the cost to see a doctor is 6 rmb, or about $.90. Conditions not so great, but, if they have medicine, I'm sure it would get the job done (no patient rooms, you walk up to the doctor while they sit at their desk).
At the traditional Chinese clinic, which is beautiful, relaxing (important parts of Chinese medicine), has a garden-like feel and big comfy patient rooms it was 60 rmb, or about $9 to see the doctor.
And at a western clinic staffed with English speaking doctors, the cost to see a doctor is 600 rmb, or about $90.
And just a bit on my experience at the Chinese doctor. Zhu had told me a bit about the experience, that the doctor simply listens to your pulse and can tell what is wrong with you. I won't say what was wrong with Zhu, because its sort of embarrassing for him, but he once went the the Chinese medicine doctor and he knew exactly what was going on, just by hearing his pulse for awhile. He didn't mention the sillk pillow that you rest your wrist on while the doctor listens to it.
When you enter the hospital, there is a big sign board with pictures of all the different doctors (all ancient) and their specialities. You choose your doctor based on what is listed he can treat.
So what is wrong with me?
Not much. I'm breaking out because of the pollution in the air, and because I eat seafood and hot sauce and too much protein. I am also too exhausted and have a little bit of insomnia. He knew I usually woke up at around 4 in the morning without reason, so there's that. Also, it was pretty adorable, when we went in, Zhu's mom told the doctor that I was foreign. I mean, as if he couldn't tell....
So do I believe in Chinese medicine? I don't know. I need to finish my medicine first. You may ask, what is the medicine? Well, the doctor writes a personalized presciption for each patient, and prescribed a bunch of different dried herbs and what look like old mushrooms and roots and rocks and seeds. Then the "nurses"? perhaps pharmacists measure out your prescription. Its very exciting. There is a huge wall of drawers with the different names of all the medicines etched onto the wooden cabinet walls. There were about 15 pharmacists holding scales (not sure what they are called, I'll say traditional? ) and running back and forth, pouring exact amounts onto the table. Even though they used scales, they were so good that everytime the measured out medicine, they didn't have to correct their initial eyeballed guess-amazing. The mixture are wrapped up in brown paper, bundled together and taken home. Then, you do something (not sure) with the dry ingredients into a most disgusting soup. Then, you drink the most disgusitng, most bitter soup. Blech.
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