Things have been pretty hectic over the past few weeks. I have been working a lot, which is great. As you may remember, last year I couldn’t find work as a pan handler for much of the year. This year, I have been getting job offers almost every week. I am teaching computers and English, I have done a voice over for a tourism video, proofreading and translation, and yesterday I was offered a position overseeing a school. What a difference a year makes!
Aside from work, I am still playing basketball every week. Thanks to staying active, I have lost the weight I put on over the summer. The downside of that is that I can now fit into standard Chinese clothes. That’s right, I can go the local Wal-mart and buy clothes right off the rack. I recently bought a pair of jeans and I fit the first pair I tried on. Amanda says I look like a little Chinese guy. Along with the weight, I also lost the strength that I gained while fighting fires. A few days ago on the bus, a little old Chinese lady pushed me out of her way. I was in shock! A little old, sixty pound, four foot two inch, hunchbacked old lady pushed me out of her way! A few months ago, whenever they would try to get by me, they would just wear themselves out pushing and shoving and not move me an inch. Thinking back on it, maybe I have not lost my strength. Maybe she used an ancient Chinese, Bruce Lee move on me. Yeah, that must be it.
Some of you may have heard that I was recently sick. Now that I have recovered, I can tell you how sick I actually was. I started feeling bad after playing basketball one afternoon. That night I caught a chill in the cold night air, but I didn’t think anything of it. The next day I had to teach, and I coughed thru the whole class. In fact, I felt so bad that I tried to get one of the students to teach the class for me. When she declined, I used another approach. When all else fails, play a game. We played Hangman the rest of the class. After class, I cancelled a couple of appointments that I had and went straight home. Once I arrived at home, I turned the heat on, climbed into bed fully dressed, (winter coat, light jacket, sweater, two shirts, and long johns), and bundled up under two blankets. Despite all of that, I was freezing. Yep, I had a bad fever! As it turns out, my fever reached 104 F. After struggling with the fever for two days, I decided to go see my Chinese doctor, Dr. Jeff. Thinking back on that visit, I now realize I was very sick. After the doctor told me that I had bronchitis, the nurse kept saying to me “don’t worry sir; you’ll be fine in a few days”. I assured her that I was not worried”. I guess I was too out of it at the time to translate correctly what she was really saying. Here is how that phrase actually translates into nurse speak: “Oh my, you poor thing. Be afraid, be very afraid. I don’t think you are going to make it”. In fact, later on Dr. Jeff has a private talk with Amanda. It seems he was so worried about my condition that along with the IVs that I was to be given for bronchitis, he also instructed that I receive the swine flu vaccine. It seems he thought that if I were to catch H1N1 in my weakened condition, it could have grave consequences. I did not find out about this until I was well on my way to recovery. Having fully recovered, I learned something from this experience. What I learned can be summed up this way: People in the health care profession lie! All joking aside, I had to receive IV treatments three days in a row, for about four hours each time. Dr. Jeff and the nurses took very good care of me. They were very professional and efficient. Our friends were also great. They visited me both in the hospital and at home, they brought me flowers and a huge fruit basket, and they even brought Amanda lunch while she was with me at the hospital. One of my co-workers taught my class for me but refused to take payment. It is amazing what true friends will do.
So that is the latest from us in China. The rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I am still alive and kicking. - Frank
