Surprisingly I trust the taxis drivers here in China. To say the ride is hair raising though, is yet another understatement because all the hair was pulled out of various places, from a white knuckled grip.
Worse than taxi rides, taxi rides to a health center to get blood drawn with a known fainting problem. Worse still, getting blood drawn in front of four nurses, two doctors and four people one spends a lot of time with. Thankfully I didn't start crying first...or maybe I did. First we waited in a hallway that had a line of very stare-ful Asians. Or maybe they were just cranky because they had to wait standing up, and were jealous we were sitting down. I think I started feeling light headed when I got into the taxi, and my eyes started squeezing out tears about when our numbers were called up. We were lined up, much like cattle, and sent through one by one to get our picture taken...for a still yet unknown reason. They do not tell you when they take the picture. Or they wait until you think you are done and quickly snap it. Either way my picture appeared to have taken the xanax I wish I could've actually taken.
Tricia did warn me not to look into the next room where our blood was going to be forcefully drained out of our unwilling arms...I listened. It was then very noisy, things moved very fast as we were pushed into the room that look like bank tellers had recently vacated. Nurses sat behind glass windows with slots big enough for arms to pass under. Did I mention they handed me the vessel that would contain my life's force? Why not just hand me a jar for my liver too??
Next thing I know my arm is taken over by a masked face with a rubber tube. She tied it off above my elbow and that's when full panic set in. She started moving my hand into a fist and make me clench and unclench. I turned my head and my fear of passing out, and watching blood leave my body in an unnatural fashion reached its peak and I could do nothing to stop the onslaught of raw emotions. I looked at Tricia next to me and her expression mirrored my own, naked fear and tears coursing down her cheeks. I felt like we were in a movie set with all the noises and the pace quickening. Then the prick of a needle, two seconds pass and someone telling me to get up and hold the q-tip to my arm. Shocked, traumatized yet conscious I sank into a seat laughing and crying, thanking the nurses who were also laughing. Everyone else looked mildly surprised at such an outburst of emotion going on.
I have never had such a feeling. In my country, I might not be a person to a company, but I've never felt like a number, or a faceless entity. Here I felt like my being was merely to irritate the healthcare officials, and no personal attention was given to my well being after I was funneled through. What a disorientating and shocking feeling.
I knew this trip would open my eyes, and I knew that this country has very few things in common with my own, but today my eyes were opened to a new level. I saw the apartment buildings scattered across the city and I found the conditions to my standards, as squalid and uninhabitable...yet there are millions of people here, living here, working here. Obviously my idea of livable is not universal and maybe not even practical any more. So here's to a slightly more informed world view...and here's to more where that came from.
On a happier note, I finally got a tour of my fabulous (yes my) hotel, and let me say this people, its truly a place of rest and beauty. It is not overly plush or chintzy, but elegant, serene and peaceful. A true Shangri-La.
Also, I totally sat in the Governor's Room bathroom's tub. It was awesome.
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