I'm in Changde

The flight from Shanghai to Changde was interesting. First of all, the domestic airport's weight standards was different than the international flight. I had to dish out 400 RMB (Chinese dollars) at the check-in counter, but didn't have that, so my friend with me paid with her bank card. I need to pay her back! The other Americans on the medical team had to pay a lot for their luggage too. The plane was delayed for an hour because of the pouring rain, but it was all fine.

Lines in a Chinese airport are something else! Had someone cut in front because I didn't step up soon enough and they all just PACK into the plane or bus or whatever as fast as they can and get off the same way, not looking out for others too much. But it's not like they're rude. That's just the way things are done here. The people are very nice and very excited when I speak Chinese to them. They kind of fall back and get a shocked look on their smiling faces. "You speak Chinese?!? Your Chinese is so good!" They are very kind, even though my Chinese isn't that good. I struggle a lot.

The American lady in the pic. is one of the OR nurses named Max. We were waiting to get in line to board the plane.

The lady I sat next to on the plane was very nice and ended up giving me her phone number in case I need anything while I'm in Changde. We took a couple pictures together. The one I have was taken in front of the little airport of Changde. That's my plane!

The air here is pretty bad, but it's not like you feel polluted exactly. It's like heavy air. Really hot and humid. And kind of foggy, but not a cloud kind of foggy. Your skin just feels sweaty, sticky, and dirty when you walk around outside. I'd like to go to a garden or park and see if it's better there. I really want to see people doing their exercises in the early morning.

I used my first Chinese toilet today! Their wasn't a door for my stall, but there was a separation between me and the other lady. And there was toilet paper! The hospital isn't bad, but working there is kind of difficult because OR vocab is really hard. Harder than I expected. But, I've got the dictionary and a whole bunch of young Chinese college kids helping with translating, so everything is working out okay. We have AC in our hotel and in the hospital, so the heat doesn't get to us. I'll write more about the hospital, workers, and patients another time. Sorry if my posts are funky sometimes. It's hard to make it perfect. More pics coming!