Baby Joy

Staff at Hemei Hospital

       On our first professional day in Guiyang we visited the Hemei Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Hemei Hospital boasts of being one of the most modern hospitals in the Guizhou Province. It opened its doors a year ago. More than one of our group members asked if it was a hotel in a prior time. It didn’t fit our idea of what a hospital would be. We were a little apprehensive as our tour bus pulled up and we saw the hospital staff waiting to greet us. We didn’t want to make the same mistake we did at the last hospital in Beijing, somehow coming off as arrogant and taking all the time to talk of our “perfect” childbirth practices and breastfeeding “success.” (You will have to see the blog not yet written about how our arrogance and self centered ways created dishonor for our group.)

     As we walked into the hospital we were greeting by a sea of pink. The walls, the signs and even the nurses’ uniforms were pink! This group of administrators and staff seemed a little more eager to share their hospital with us than our last hosts. The veil of suspicion we felt greeted us at the other institution was not present in this facility. Smiles and protective gear was handed out so we could have a first hand look at their operating rooms and birthing areas. We suited up for the tour, face masks and shoe covers to see the pink, modern surgery rooms and labor rooms. So proud they were of all their western ways; I smiled on the outside as I cried on the inside seeing the stirrups attached to the beds, learning of the 50% cesarean section rate and the accepted practice of women laboring and delivering on their backs. Asians are naturals at squatting. Wasn’t every toilet I encountered a squat variety? In my head I was saying, “Just because it’s western, does not mean it’s better. Hello people haven’t you read our maternal mortality rate is going up?”  Other things western have not caught hold yet, like Dads in the delivery room? Ummm, well not so much. Finding out the sex of the baby? Absolutely not. Against the law in fact.

     As we get in the elevator, the liberal childbirth educator in me is grieving the loss of childbirth as an empowering process for the women of China. Shit most of them only get one crack at it, lest they pay a penalty of 5 times their annual salary for a second child. I was snapped back to attention when the hospital administrator repeated, “Now we see the baby swimming pool.” The what I asked my colleague? She answered with a shrug and baffled look.

     We are led to what resembles a nursery. As we walk in, we first gasp and then are slowly captivated by what we see. Babies floating in giant sinks of warm water looking up at us with big, wide eyes. Their serenity and innocence draws us in like flies to honey. We are completely enchanted. Never have I seen anything like this. Our Chinese nursing counterparts see our intrigue and smile and coo at the babies. Where we were previously told no pictures we start to beg, please, please. When they see how taken we are of this practice they relent, and out the cameras fly. We watched and participated as the nurses in the nursery cared for the babies, rubbing them down with sweet smelling oil and tenderly wrapping them in layer after layer of clothing. It was truly a bonding moment like no other on this trip. The one to one nurse baby ratio made it possible for these nurses to shower the babies with love and attention. Each one a little treasure.

     Later in the trip when we visited the rural parts of Guiyang and I came face to face with the ugliness of poverty; I thought of the floating babies. The helplessness of not being able to change the world would leave me. I was then able to accept the good with the not so good.

Nursery Nurse

Guiyang City of Expensive Sunshine

Thursday October 14, 2010 Travel Day

We left Beijing at 8:15 to fly to Guiyang “The city of Expensive Sunshine.” We made it through the airport without trouble even with Bob’s bag weighing 63lb. The only man in the group won the contest for the heaviest bag!

The flight was uneventful. Cherste made a friend on the plane, Ting Ting.  A better understanding of the one child law of China was obtained after Ting Ting, now 28 years old, shared her experience of the burden of being the only child. She was flying to Guiyang to be with her sick parents. At age 28 she wasn’t sure if she wanted to even have a child because she and her husband work many hours and a nanny is very expensive. She was feeling torn being in Beijing with a good job and having her aging parents far away. Tradition is the son cares for the parents. Although many in the city do not adhere to tradition, she nonetheless felt a great burden.

It was raining when we landed and we soon found out why they call Guiyang the city of expensive sunshine. It rains most of the time here. The climate is temperate with an average of 60 degrees throughout the year. Things were green and lush. The bus took us to the city, rolling hillsides all around. Our first stop was the town square where people gather to socialize and play games. The men like to play a sort of chess game. It was rare to see a person without a cigarette. It was rare to see an older person with all of their teeth. As we walked through the square we were greeted with curiosity and wonderment. One man shook my hand and would not let go. Some of the people looked as if they had seen a ghost. It was a bit awkward to have so much attention placed upon us.

The Sheraton is a beautiful 5 star hotel with a bar on the top floor. We were quite pleased with our accommodations.  In the lobby of the hotel we spotted a family from the states who was lovingly entertaining a Chinese toddler. After talking with them further we learned they had adopted Grace, 19 months old. Grace was missing her arm from the elbow down. The family shared with us that adopting a special needs child is a much quicker process, 14 months, than a child without special needs, up to 5 years. The lack of her left arm did not seem to slow little Grace down and she seemed to be bonding to her new family well. Again, we were faced with the complexities of the one child policy. Had Grace been a boy and not had a disability she probably would have not been placed for adoption. Shawn, our guide shared with us, in the country side, if the first child is a girl, the family may be allowed to have a second child. He also shared with us the saying in Chinese that translates: a girl is equivalent to bath water and can be tossed out with the waste.

We were reminded of home when we spotted and underground Wal-Mart just down the street from the hotel. Although shopping at this Wal-Mart was a wholly different experience. Completely different produce and our local store don’t hang chickens and geese with heads and feet intact in the deli. We thoroughly enjoyed the shopping experience. A little rest and it was time to eat again! We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Tiantian Haiyang restaurant. We are definitely starting to master the chop sticks. After dinner we took in the view of the city from the Jiaxiu Pavilion. The Jiaxiu Pavilion was built during the Ming Dynasty to inspire the local students to study hard and become renowned scholars. After the building the pavilion, Guiyang did receive the honor of producing two number 1 scholars.  The Pavilion is thought to have some influence on their success. The rain had stopped and we had a lovely view of the Nanming River and the city. What a lovely evening.

After returning to the hotel some of us checked out the view from the 40^th floor of the hotel. Guiyang is a busy, bustling city from 40 stories above. Everyone went to rest up for the big day tomorrow. The people and the city of Guiyang were starting to grow on us already.



Jiaxiu Pavilion



Guardian Angels



Kunlun Hotel





Beijing Traffic

Guardian Angels are all around. My sentiment was validated on the day that I flew from Taiwan to Beijing to meet my People to People Women’s and Children’s Health delegation. I decided I would get a taxi from the Beijing airport to my hotel. I had read about the illegal taxis that like to take advantage of foreigners and jack up the prices. I had lost some moments of sleep while being jolted awake at night thinking of being lost in a city like Beijing and not being able to communicate.

On the plane ride I met Mike Chen, a Taiwan businessman who regularly flies to Beijing for business. We started talking of our families and he showed me pictures of his house and family in Taiwan. He was very proud of his son who was a math scholar and had many “math trophies” lining he wall of his bedroom. He shared with me how it takes two parents working full time to make a middle class life in Taiwan. I enjoyed hearing about what the typical middle class life looks like for someone in Taiwan.

When we landed in Beijing, it was dark and the rain was coming down hard. I was getting really nervous about securing the taxi ride. Mike, my new friend, offers to ask his friend if he will drop me off at my hotel. Inside I am having an internal struggle with my head and my gut. My head arguing that getting into a stranger’s car in a foreign country is not a good idea. My gut telling me that this is a genuine good deed. I went with my gut and in this case I was right.

Mike helped me navigate the confusing trams, and labyrinth of the Beijing airport and he even came to my rescues when I learned that China does not recognize Taiwanese currency. He gladly exchanged my $30.00 worth of Taiwan for the RMB of China. Then he waited patiently as I had to go through customs.

His friend, Chris, picked us up at the airport with the rain pelting down in sheets.  Chris, I learned was one of the new entrepreneurs of China. He makes the cranes that help construct all the new building going on in the country. He had received a MBA in Oklahoma, but said Golf was his passion. I am in China for only 20 minutes and most of my beliefs are being dispelled in this car ride. As I look out the car window, not all of my perceptions were being changed. We were in virtual grid lock and there were people everywhere. 

About an hour after getting into the car I arrived safely at the Kunlun Hotel, a gorgeous 5 star hotel in the heart of Beijing. I met my group and the second leg of my adventure was to begin.

Thank you Mike Chen and Chris Wu. I hope to pass your kindness along someday. I will never forget your good deed.

Great Wall

Up, up, up we climb in our tour bus to get to the Great Wall. All along the mountain pass the great wall snakes.  I see it on all sides of me creeping along the mountain like a vine. We are weaving through dark tunnels with honking trucks and buses narrowly missing each other. The day is sunny and crisp. The leaves are crimson, yellows and maroon.

Our tour guide gives us the option of the easy or hard climb. The difficult route has less people. We decide to go hard over easy just to not have to share this experience with the masses. Nowhere in China can I manage to escape the crowds. People, noise and pollution are everywhere. We started as a group, but quickly became separated by abilities and intentions. Each person experiences the wall differently. I was grateful to find myself hiking alone. There was something very spiritual to be high above the mountains with piped in flute music knowing I am standing on a piece of ancient civilization. As I walked I thought about the many thousands of people it took to build such a wonder and how many lives were lost in the process. Our guide said the Chinese also refer to the Great Wall as the “Great Graveyard” because so many lost their lives in the building process.

It is mind blowing to know that the wall stretches for 4,000 miles. I glimpsed just a small section. I was jolted back to reality when I reached a spot that had a look-out. I walked up into the space which was walled on 4 sides with a little opening. Entering was easy but exiting was excruciating as one had to defend themselves against the peddlers who would not let you leave unless you bought a t-shirt or magnet. The sell was so aggressive I became uncomfortable. Once my space bubble has been invaded I feel very violated. Luckily I had another traveler with me and together we pushed our way through. Another travel moment that illuminates the desperation and poverty in the world.

Betel Nut

Ted and Siobhan buying Betel Nut

My final day in Taipei, Siobhan and Ted still asleep. I am not fully adjusted to the time change so I spontaneously wake in the wee early hours of the morning. Ted asleep on the floor, Siobhan next to me in the bed. They have a tiny apartment. It’s really a room with a bed. The kitchen is an outside balcony. They have been wonderful hosts taking me around the city, encouraging me to have many Taiwan experiences. It has been great. The neighborhood they live in is referred to as the “Combat Zone.”  By day it is full of street vendors and harmless loose dogs running around. By night it is lined with women of the evening both straight and transvestite. Clubs with sensual English names come to life like Tulip and Jade.

We went out walking in the peek of the action. The sex industry is alive and well in Taipei. Many of the workers are from Malaysia. 3:00 a.m. the area was still alive and thriving. Old ladies with noodle stands, vendors selling dumplings and fried fare on a stick, who says the Minnesota State Fair invented food on a stick? I have seen much more creative things on a stick here, in Taipei than I ever did at the fair. We wandered the streets feeling oddly safe. In such an area one would expect more crime, but strangely there seemed to be none.

Out of curiosity we purchased a sort of nut like substance called “Betel nut.” Many of the bus and taxi drivers chew betel nut. Many of them have brown, rotting teeth from chewing it, but we thought one time wouldn’t cause too much damage. The experience was akin to chewing tobacco. My throat filled with syrupy saliva and I had to keep spitting, which is socially accepted in Taiwan. Ted said his legs were starting to feel numb, but I just felt nauseous. I may have either had to swallow or chew more of it to reap the psychedelic effects. Neither of which I was willing to do.

By morning light, the toothless, young prostitutes asleep, a farmer’s market appears with fresh fruit and vegetables unlike anything I have ever seen. People out walking with their dogs following dutifully without any leash. I start to question my memory of the night before. Were these the same streets I witnessed the dark side of the sex trade?

Mystery food on a stick



Ted eating quail egges






 

              

Taiwan needs tampons!

One of the biggest injustices I found in Taiwan is the lack of tampons. How can this be in a modern metropolitan city? Women work, they drive cars and scooters but they cannot buy tampons? I can’t think of a single thing that has revolutionized the life of women besides perhaps birth control and there is none to be found in Taiwan. How do women participate in sports or go to the beach?

There is Wi Fi and Starbucks, but not a tampon to be found!

Women of Taiwan speak out! Demand better feminine products! You don’t know what you are missing!

Mommies can be international travelors

The suit case is just about packed. Do I really need to pack 13 pairs of underwear? I can wash them in the sink right? But will they dry in time or will I be wearing damp underwear all of the time? More then underwear weights on my mind before leaving....never made appt for kids' flu shots, Keith doesn't know how Sophie likes her sandwiches, will he remember to pack Spencer's clothes for circus class? Chargers, adapters for chargers, sleeping pills, diarrhea medicine, vaccines, gifts, more gifts. What if the jar of garlic stuffed olives breaks in my suitcase? Money, money belts, currency exchange, Chinese oh crap I can't read Chinese! Graduate school, I'm missing two weeks, projects assignments, reading oh God all the reading.

DEEP BREATH CHERSTE! IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!

I am going to China and I am going to be okay. Reminds me I had better pack more tissue....and by the way, how do you use those strange looking toilets?

What happens when you act on an impulse!

Last spring I received an invitation to go to Vietnam and Cambodia with a delegation of women's and children's health nurses. As I read the description of the trip I thought how cool! Then I got to the part about how much it cost and put it in the recycling. The day the recycling was out on the curb, I felt the letter calling me to save it. So, in the rain, I went out sifted through the recycling and pulled it out. Sometimes I think the voice in my ear was my Grandmother Martha who died a month earlier. After  months of much talk with Keith, grant writing letters to solicit funds and soul searching, I called to say I was joining the group. I was told there weren't enough people interested to make the trip happen. My heart sank. Then I was told about a similar trip on the same topic for nurses going to China. I accepted.

Coincidentally, my cousin, Ted is teaching English in Taiwan. I couldn't go all the way to China and not see him. So, October 5 I fly for 22.5 hours to Taipei to spend a couple days with Ted and girlfriend, Siobhan, then meet my group in Beijing.

Hopefully I can keep up the blog and you can view Asia through my eyes. Welcome to my travel blog!