A Retraction

Last month I wrote a rave review for Kunming Medicine Factory. However, I was a bit hasty to form an opinion since I had only been feeling better for about 5 hours. My symptoms returned that night - blowing my nose and filling a kleenex every half hour, extremely painful sinus headache, and, most wonderful of all, the mucus coming out my eyeballs.

So the next day before teaching I pulled out my huge English-Chinese dictionary and wrote down "sinus infection" and "sinusitis" then went to the two story pharmacy around the corner. When I showed them the paper the said "Mei you!" in very typical Chinese fashion. "Mei you!" means they don't have something. Say what? Super polluted China where everyone has chronic sinus problems that manifest themselves in the constant hawking of loogies doesn't have medicine for a sinus infection?? I know better than that. I have been here for a year now and am China saavy, so I just asked different workers until someone said, "You a!" Chinese will often say they don't have something when they do. It is a mystery to foreigners why they do this.

The pharmacist gave me two different boxes of medicine for 35 yuan and I happily went on my way. When I got in my room I found that one box was full of small bottles.

I was supposed to drink 1 bottle 3 times a day. The bottles came with a small tool to punch a hole in the lid and six tiny disposable straws. The other medicine was just regular looking pills of which I was supposed to take 2-4 pills three times a day. So at one time I was taking my regular vitamin, a vitamin C, 2 tylenol, 3 sinus pills, drinking one small bottle of bitter herbal medicine and feeling very sympathetic towards old people with pill boxes.

This medicine though, was actually a miracle. I felt better the next day and continued to feel better and better until I was completely cured after 3 days. It didn't just mask my symptoms, it actually cured me. Thank goodness for cheap Chinese herbal medicine. Kunming Medicine Factory can keep their semen and ephedra.

Qing Ming

Tomorrow is a Chinese holiday called Qing Ming. The Chinese should go to their ancestors tombs to sweep the tomb and pay their respects. I guess it is a little like Memorial Day in America, except that I've never gone anywhere near a graveyard on Memorial Day. I associate Memorial Day with barbecues and a three-day weekend.

By chance I have tomorrow off. Usually I am off Wednesday and Thursday, but because Jackie had to go to Ningbo on Wednesday for his visa I worked Wednesday and have Thursday and Friday off. This is really exciting because Friday my Chinese class is cancelled because of the holiday. I have the whole day free! Not just the morning or afternoon, the whooooole day. Hopefully the advertising company will call today and tell me they want to shoot the commercial. When Tom was here he did some voice-over work for an advertising company. He made company videos. So when the advertising company contacted me I thought, "Why do they want me to do voice-over work? I sound like I'm 8 years old." Regardless, I took up their offer for free dinner.

It was a very typical Chinese dinner that lasted 3 hours with another hour at a coffee house afterwards. At the dinner they introduced me to the president of a company that makes solar water heaters that are sold in Europe and Asia. The company wants me to take some pictures for their brochure and make a short 30 second commercial that will be shown on CCTV. CCTV! China Central Television. They said they wanted to get it done this week, but the end of the week is coming up pretty fast. If this pans out I could be on my way to Chinese stardom.

I might also be doing a 15 minute live show with my French friend Steven at the opening for new apartments. A company is building new high-rise apartments in the new north district of Changzhou to sell to foreigners. The whole thing is a little unclear, but I wouldn't be doing any talking just some action. That will be performed in front of the company building the apartments as well as some government officials. It seems a little sketchy right now, so I'll have to wait and see on that one.

There are so many random opportunities for foreigners in China. I have never thought I wanted to act, but here I am putting together my "performace resume" with impressive events like Indian Cultural Society banquets from university and a singing competition in Wujin last year. I may even go get some head-shots so I can be cool like Steven. Maybe cutting hair is not my true calling, maybe it is acting in China.