a small success!

just now, i had my first monolingual transaction in chinese! i asked to purchase a water cooler bottle for my room, for 5 RMB (a steal, really), all by myself. after a quick tutorial about how to ask to purchase water from my very conscientious interpreter and cultural broker, guo jia, who goes by her english name, jane, i have procured enough water for the next few weeks.

in other news:

on monday, some faculty from a nursing school in western hunan came to visit, and i was invited to join them at a formal lunch with faculty and directors from the school of nursing here. not knowing how to conduct myself at formal lunch gatherings, i doubtless blundered several times...one of the ones i noticed is that, when a toast is made directly to someone (such as me) that person must finish their entire glass of wine before the toaster drinks theirs. so. and the use of different plates at a meal! apparently, one plate is used exclusively for unwanted food (such as fish bones and animal fat). i was using mine as a device to catch food i wanted, which slipped off my chopsticks, for safe keeping. whoops. in any case, a troupe of us from the changsha nursing school will be traveling to western hunan in june to participate in a conference, at which i will be a guest speaker about care of older adults in community. perhaps i can redeem myself there after learning some table manners...

tuesday, i went shopping with "the girls" in the business district. i needed some cotton socks for my big feet, and managed to find some. i also came across some beautiful wooden handicrafts which may manifest themselves as gifts for some who are reading this so i shall withhold their identity for now :) i also got myself a chocolate-flavored soy bubble tea. yummy! we went in the evening, as evenings are much cooler than the day, and the sun sets early here, so even though it's dark, it's still early enough to enjoy the evening.

wednesday - i visited 2 community health centers with my research adviser here, feng hui. we went to garner support for my project, and ask if we could use the community health sites as places where i could distribute my surveys. both community center directors eagerly said yes (well, i think eagerly, given that i can't speak or understand mandarin and must rely on reading face and body expression!). so that was nice.

and the gem of the week happened on wednesday afternoon...i had my first focus group with 8 older adults, to review my survey tool and see if it was culturally and linguistically approachable for the cohort! feng hui facilitated the entire thing, it was great. the group clapped when she introduced me, they wanted their photos taken with me...it helps that the group were all retired faculty and staff from changsha university, and thus were well-aware of the yale-china relationship, which started in 1901 (www.yalechina.org). in any case, it was very exciting to be interacting with members of my population of interest, and evaluating the survey tool i'll be using in my research.

yesterday, i went to the nursing director's office in the morning, thinking that we might go visit one of the hospitals in changsha where earthquake survivors are being cared for. i have a volunteer t-shirt and everything! yesterday's outing was canceled, i think because all the students are in final exams, and i need someone to go with and translate. so hopefully i will have a chance to see the inside of a chinese hospital and meet some of the people most dearly affected by the earthquake. we've had some rain here in changsha this week, which has been nice, but i can't help thinking about how it must be raining in sichuan province as well, endangering more people and hampering rescue and relief efforts. i am following the news closely.

also, the president of the entire central south university system (3 campuses in changsha) was slated to visit the nursing school yesterday, so i was sequestered in an office for a few hours waiting to meet him, as a grateful american guest studying at his university this summer. well, he wasn't able to come to where i was, but the vice president did, and i met him and there were photographs taken...but the most rewarding part was that i spent the entire waiting time chatting with very intelligent, passionate nursing students. we didn't talk about nursing, but about english, traveling, greek mythology, traditional chinese clothing, silk, animals...it was really fun! english is taught here starting in elementary school, and continues through university-level education. so many of my colleagues are able to communicate quite well in english, which is a blessing for me since i can't return the favor in chinese.

last night i finally got my hair trimmed. the wash and blow-dry took about 40 minutes, and the cut itself took about 5! not bad for 10 RMB (~$1.75).

i am teaching a session about nursing education and roles in the USA tomorrow! should be interesting given that i know very little first-hand information about working, and am still in the throes of the educational piece. i will rely on the students to ask many questions related to their curiosity.

yuelu mountain outing

had a lovely field trip today with 4 nursing students from central south university. we all went to yuelu mountain, in the center of changsha, and hiked to the summit, which is ~300 meters (seemed like more to me!) we left at ~6:30 this morning, to beat the heat, but it was still plenty warm and i was drenched by the time we reached the top. i attribute the haziness of my images to humidity and exhaust, but can't eliminate shoddy camera work, either - while uploading these pictures, i found that i had inadvertently taken some very dull videos, while trying to photograph more scenery. in any case, what photos can't tell you is how absolutely fragrant yuelu mountain is. there are jasmine and magnolia blossoms out, but not an overwhelming number, certainly fewer than what i would expect for such a nice scent. and the trees, bird songs, shade, and breeze were such a treat. i am hoping to learn the bus route between central south university and yuelu mountain so i can scoot over every so often.

back in my air conditioned apartment, full of *fresh* pineapple. i have been pampered with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables! i've had no chocolate cravings in almost a week, which is really saying something :)

finally! some photos

i just spent a lot of brain energy writing about each photo, only to find the descriptions didn't make it onto the post! blogger novice that i am, now i can't find the original text either. so. i'll try again! here are some photos from the 6th floor office at central south university, where i have graciously been set up in the community health nursing office. from my perch, i opted to capture my immediate surroundings, including a new surgical specialty hospital and my new favorite tropical magnolia trees, with blossoms the size of frisbees. there is also the audible buzz of construction in changsha, with cranes dotting the skyline. enormous apartment buildings seem to be erupting out of the earth on every block, the pace is dizzying. changsha has a population of ~2 million, and as the provincial capitol of hunan province (population ~50 million (?)), is a destination for people within the province, both for medical and other services. i heard yesterday that some of the people injured in the earthquakes, in sichuan province (west of hunan), have arrived in changsha for medical attention. some of the students i am working with may have the opportunity to care for these folks, and national news coverage in china has dedicated 24-7 coverage to the rescue efforts and construction of temporary housing, as well as national mourning. i actually arrived in the beijing airport exactly one week after the earthquake, and was caught off guard by an anthem played over loudspeakers at the airport, during which everyone stopped in their tracks, stood, and remained silent for the duration of the anthem. i followed suit, not aware at the time of the significance of the event. i also heard from outside blaring car horns, which i learned later was also a demonstration of mourning and solidarity with people affected by the earthquake.

now that i sort of know how to use my new digital camera, and how to transfer photos onto my computer, and then my blog, there may be more images forthcoming this weekend, as i am hoping to take a foray into the surrounding parks in town!

on the ground in changsha

well. here i am! uneventful travel for the most part, except for not retrieving my luggage in beijing to bring through customs. the airline attendant at logan airport assured me that i could check my bags all the way through to changsha, but alas this was not the case so i arrived in changsha sans baggage. what a perfect introduction for my chinese colleagues who very enthusiastically welcomed me at the airport, as i have maintained my spaciness even overseas! my bags were delivered to me today from the airport, very conveniently...so i am all set with several changes of clothing, thankfully.

was promptly whisked away by car by the dean of the nursing school, along with 2 research colleagues, to an amazing authentic chinese meal. they had asked me if i wanted to eat western or chinese food, and i of course delighted in the idea of authentic cuisine.

i have been welcomed so so warmly. had much assistance moving into my accommodations on the central south university campus. i have a very comfortable bed, an air conditioning unit, a bathroom and shower, and a television. and internet - i am in fact blogging in my room! and my hosts provided a very thoughtful welcome pack including necessities such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, hangers, and laundry detergent...all things i need anyway but was offered without asking.

woke up feeling energetic this morning, met many wonderful and welcoming colleagues at the school of nursing here, and registered with the local police station as a long-term foreign visitor. ate a wonderful lunch out, dining is such a delightful community experience here. dishes are shared, there is an amazing variety (and i have several taste-tester volunteers to protect me from excessive spiciness that would scorch my naive tongue!), and i think portion sizes are actually appropriate, compared to our enormous meals in the US.

fatigue hit - hard - after lunch. i napped briefly, then rallied for a photo shoot with some of the masters in nursing students here. i was even clothed in a cap and gown from central south university, with the tassle of my cap on the right, as i have not yet graduated as an MSN student. perhaps i will need to return to changsha next spring to participate in graduation exercises! post photos i returned to my room, where i slept soundly through most of the afternoon and evening, eventually waking back up just before 9 pm here. enjoyed a light dinner of mangoes and small sweet buns. am now fully awake at 11:45 pm, and kicking myself for not forcing myself to adjust to the local time.

tomorrow will bring discussion of my project here. yes, i do have an academic purpose here, in addition to adventuring! much excitement awaits, and i have been eagerly anticipating my time here for a while. i think i may still be in shock that i am actually here and starting my project.

okay. will learn how to use digital camera and post images, as i know that's the most interesting!

cheerio,
erin

leaving on a jet plane

enjoyed an evening out with my mom in boston last night, we drove down yesterday since my flight leaves logan airport early this morning. we went, appropriately, to china town for dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed a meal at shabu zen on tyler street. authentic hotpot cuisine! delicious. i have dined there a few times before, and was eager to share the dining experience with someone in my family. so, off we went and now i hope that's what i'll be eating all summer.

i actually slept quite well last night, better than i have in a few weeks. perhaps because finals are behind me now and my plans for departure are coming to fruition after a process of writing a research proposal, interviewing in front of the international health committee at yale, preparing an internal review board application to indicate that i intend to protect my human subjects, and back-translating an interview scale from english to mandarin. in comparison to peace corps, this experience will be much different: i know exactly where i'll be located, i know what i'll be doing, i have already met my chinese research colleagues, and the duration is much much shorter (3 months versus 2 years).

i'm curious to compare&contrast further, and of course am very eager to explore changsha and other parts of china! my mom and i watched a 'discovery channel' atlas series DVD about china on friday evening, which certainly further piqued my interest in my destination.

and so, ta ta for now...

erin

tori amos

ironically, the only 2 songs from tori amos that i loaded onto my ipod are entitled "china" and "little earthquakes". the heartwrenching news reaching us here about the devastation caused by the movement of tectonic plates in the heart of china gives me pause, and makes me want to join the rescue mission upon my arrival in changsha, ~500 miles to the southeast of the epicenter.

truly, i am now a registered nurse and have skills that could possibly be of assistance. this very type of international situation is precisely why i chose the career path i'm on; to develop portable and useful skills wherever in the world i find myself.

geologic upheaval and destruction places worries related to final exams in perspective, as i sit comfortably in my vermont nest now. the smell of rain and grass are lovely, i'm contemplating packing/organizing/cleaning. and apparently blogging as well.

the home stretch in new haven

Greetings! This is my first post, and my first encounter with a personal blog. I tend to let people contact me first and ask questions before I spew information, so this is a new approach for a decidedly introverted person!

School is almost over, for this year, anyway. I have one more final exam tomorrow, in Adult Primary Care, and then I pop back home to Vermont for a few more days of frantic packing before I leave for *China* on Sunday! I'll be there until August, where I'll be studying healthy aging in older adults. That's a nutshell description, there's actually quite a lot of scientific theory and methodology to it, but I'll leave that for another time.

My hope with this blog is to write just a little, and share my adventures through pictures. I have finally joined the digital world and have acquired a digital camera. Still learning how to work that, but I think necessity may help me learn very quickly.

Toodle-oo,
Erin