Last Wednesday Dean received his 12-month vaccines at an international hospital in Shenzhen. He was given the "5-in-1" which covers stuff like polio, Hepatitus A, and Varicella, aka the Chicken Pox shot. Even though it seemed like the nurse was slow as molasses, he took them like a champ and was soon charming the ladies at the front desk of the hospital.
On Thursday night Dean woke up in around 2 am running a fever of 101. A few little red bumps were appearing on his mouth and hands. After a very restless, little sleep night, Matt called the Dr. at the international health clinic where we are members and he made an appointment. Little D was clearly upset and drooling non-stop.
The Dr told us he believes Dean has the chicken pox, either due to the vaccine (like a flu shot, it is a "live" vaccine and contains a bit of a weakened form of the virus) or he was unlucky enough to be exposed to another kid with the pox around the same time he was getting the vaccine. Both seem unlikely to me, but by Saturday morning Dean's hands, feet, and several places on his head were covered in red bumps. He even had one on the top of his head!
We went back to the clinic on Saturday and the Dr. looked him over again, still sticking with his original diagnosis of the pox. We then had a very lengthy discussion about what we would do if Dean were to have a spike in fever or need medical assistance over the weekend.
What we would end of doing is having a car arranged to transport D to a hospital in Hong Kong where they practice western style medicine. The Dr. Told us that hospitals in Shenzhen that admit patients immediately start them on IV's, no matter what the problem might be. This in and of itself is not terrible, but seems unnecessary. He then told us that sometimes Mainland hospitals will refuse visitation rights, even by parents. That thought is terrifying to me.
Fortunately for us, by Sunday the little guy was already doing better and he hasn't seemed to notice the red bumps at all. It's nice to know we have the option of it, but I really hope we never have to experience an emergency commute to a Hong Kong hospital.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Are there seasons in southern China?
Today I spent the afternoon at a factory we work with, reviewing new items in production and approving a few things on-site to speed the production process along. I was amazed at how busy the factory is, with all production lines going full force.
A ton of the products being made in this factory right now are items you'll see on shelves in about a month and a half - goods for Halloween! I would love to go into more detail, but I'm afraid it would be borderline unethical, so I'll leave it to your imagination.
It did get me thinking though about how different our fall will be this year. It's hot as hades outside right now, kind of like Atlanta - in the 90's - but with higher humidity. I'm not really sure when it will cool down or what the fall and winter seasons will be like here.
I've been receiving a lot of emails lately from my favorite brands about "Back to School" shopping, which is funny because the kids here in China are still in full blown summer mode. They will start back to school in mid September.
I'm told that the next big holiday we'll celebrate here is Mooncake Festival in September (no Labor Day here). I saw a pretty red box in a hotel adjacent to our building (we often walk through a type of shared lobby to get to restaurants for lunch) and I asked my coworker about it. Turns out it contains a mooncake, and the hotel is already offering them for sale. I have no idea what a mooncake is, and all I can picture right now is a bunch of Asians enjoying marshmellowy moonpies together.
Hopefully between now and the Mooncake Festival I can figure out how to post pictures to this blog so we can share our mooncake celebration with friends and family across the states.
A ton of the products being made in this factory right now are items you'll see on shelves in about a month and a half - goods for Halloween! I would love to go into more detail, but I'm afraid it would be borderline unethical, so I'll leave it to your imagination.
It did get me thinking though about how different our fall will be this year. It's hot as hades outside right now, kind of like Atlanta - in the 90's - but with higher humidity. I'm not really sure when it will cool down or what the fall and winter seasons will be like here.
I've been receiving a lot of emails lately from my favorite brands about "Back to School" shopping, which is funny because the kids here in China are still in full blown summer mode. They will start back to school in mid September.
I'm told that the next big holiday we'll celebrate here is Mooncake Festival in September (no Labor Day here). I saw a pretty red box in a hotel adjacent to our building (we often walk through a type of shared lobby to get to restaurants for lunch) and I asked my coworker about it. Turns out it contains a mooncake, and the hotel is already offering them for sale. I have no idea what a mooncake is, and all I can picture right now is a bunch of Asians enjoying marshmellowy moonpies together.
Hopefully between now and the Mooncake Festival I can figure out how to post pictures to this blog so we can share our mooncake celebration with friends and family across the states.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Homesick
With the passing of Grandpa A, a wave of homesickness came over me last weekend and it's still lingering.
Fortunately, we met another family recently with a young daughter Dean's age (they are only 2 days apart), and they invited us to dinner at their place last Sunday evening. They are not only from the U.S., but from near the Atlanta area. Sometimes it is amazing how small the world is.
We indulged in a wonderful meal of lasagna cooked from scratch. This was a real treat, especially since it was covered in cheese. We don't have an oven in our apartment, so we can't bake things like this at our place unless we make a small portion that can cook in a toaster oven.
Dean enjoyed playing with all of the new toys belonging to Claire, while we had a great time talking with her parents. They've lived in Shenzhen for just over 2 and a half yrs, so they have much more experience than we do. We talked about the things we miss from home, especially doing things outside. We all laughed about how our Chinese friends talk about climbing a mountain. I would describe the "mountains" here as small hills with paved pathways. No need for a walking stick or even a pair of tennis shoes.
Our new friends made a comment about how they find themselves telling friends back home so many of the negative things about China because a lot of those things are the most interesting. I had to wonder if we will end up doing the same thing?
I find it's very easy to criticize the things that are different here, but I try to remember that different is not necessarily bad or wrong. Some days the differences are just too much, and I long to be back in the U.S., where I know what to expect and I can understand what the people around me are saying 99.9% of the time. I've come to realize that we're not going to learn and absorb Mandarin Chinese just by being here. If I want to be able to communicate with the people I encounter every day, from a cabbie to the grocery store clerk, I need to start studying.
I guess the newness of living in Shenzhen has just plain worn off.
Always an optimist, I have to close by mentioning I am not entirely unhappy here, and I have confidence that this homesickness won't last. I just hope it passes sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, we met another family recently with a young daughter Dean's age (they are only 2 days apart), and they invited us to dinner at their place last Sunday evening. They are not only from the U.S., but from near the Atlanta area. Sometimes it is amazing how small the world is.
We indulged in a wonderful meal of lasagna cooked from scratch. This was a real treat, especially since it was covered in cheese. We don't have an oven in our apartment, so we can't bake things like this at our place unless we make a small portion that can cook in a toaster oven.
Dean enjoyed playing with all of the new toys belonging to Claire, while we had a great time talking with her parents. They've lived in Shenzhen for just over 2 and a half yrs, so they have much more experience than we do. We talked about the things we miss from home, especially doing things outside. We all laughed about how our Chinese friends talk about climbing a mountain. I would describe the "mountains" here as small hills with paved pathways. No need for a walking stick or even a pair of tennis shoes.
Our new friends made a comment about how they find themselves telling friends back home so many of the negative things about China because a lot of those things are the most interesting. I had to wonder if we will end up doing the same thing?
I find it's very easy to criticize the things that are different here, but I try to remember that different is not necessarily bad or wrong. Some days the differences are just too much, and I long to be back in the U.S., where I know what to expect and I can understand what the people around me are saying 99.9% of the time. I've come to realize that we're not going to learn and absorb Mandarin Chinese just by being here. If I want to be able to communicate with the people I encounter every day, from a cabbie to the grocery store clerk, I need to start studying.
I guess the newness of living in Shenzhen has just plain worn off.
Always an optimist, I have to close by mentioning I am not entirely unhappy here, and I have confidence that this homesickness won't last. I just hope it passes sooner rather than later.
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