Rough Beginning

Interestingly enough, once I landed at the airport in Beijing, I started feeling nauseous. Later in the afternoon, I was rushed to the hospital. People may declare a hospital is convenient for English speakers, but from my experience, that was not the case. Even with a helpful native speaker by my side, I never thought I had to move around to so many departments in a hospital for a fever. Waiting over two hours to see a doctor while the hospital administration vacillated between whether Medex insurance card given to me by Yale Light Fellowship is acceptable or not, I was outraged. Mainly because I was not allowed to take anything even Tylenol that I had brought from the States to ease the suffering until a doctor allowed it. First such treatment (denied access to even the most basic over the counter medicine) and the thought of countless who fare much worse tempt one to venture into the field of public health policy. As souvenirs I took away from the hospital some Chinese medicine, which the doctor that I saw insisted is far superior to American medicine I brought with me. Growing up in Korea, such medicine is well remembered by once a girl with overly sensitive taste buds. After a busy night of drinking bitter brownish liquid called Zhong yao, however, I woke up next morning feeling infinitely better. Since then, I have carefully placed the Chinese medicine in the drawer that I have designated as “important” along with my passport and other legal documents and tender. It’s all about having an open mind, no? Even if the bitter taste is prolonged in liquid form…