Flu Scare

These days Chinese airlines make a big deal of Swine Flu. We’ve heard horror stories of an entire plane being quarantined because one passenger has a fever. But they don’t check our temperature before we board in San Francisco. They fly us all the way across the Pacific first. Before we were allowed to deplane in Beijing, two officials came onboard wearing scrubs, surgical masks and gloves. They both carried some kind of portable temperature-taking device and moved down the aisles testing everybody. I was too afraid to take a picture of these faceless deciders of our fate.

Our guides in Beijing told us not to worry about the Avian Flu screening, that it’s mostly formality. But they warn us that they will check our temperature again before we leave the country. Then our guides also told us about more pressing dangers – don’t drink the tap water, don’t flush the toilet paper, and don’t feed the stray cats.

We’ve tried to be good about all those things. Here at the hotel we don’t have to worry about the flushing or the cats. But we still can only drink bottled water. At breakfast the first day it occurred to us they probably mix their juice concentrate with tap water.

This is after we both finished a glass.

Unprepared paranoids, we took that moment to speculate about what happens to Americans when they drink Chinese water. Diarrhea and vomiting are the usual suspects. Halucinations? Swine Flu-like symptoms so we can’t leave the country?

Heather smiles with equal parts humor and terror.

“Swine Flu. The water gives you Swine Flu.”

The Meeting

“Jamison, are you happy to be meeting your mommy today?” one of his teachers asked.

“Yeah! I’m happy!” I imagine he jumped furiously up and down while he said it.

This boy bursts with energy like no one I know. He touches everything, trying to be aware of his surroundings. Using his hands and his ears (and to a very small extent his eyes) he devours information. At the airport while he and Jewel and Sara were waiting to meet us, one of the staff members, he picked up the phrase “Nice to see you." And he’s not shy about using his English. We heard before we saw him: “I love you Mamma!” at the top of his lungs.

“Are you happy?” his teacher asked.

“Yeah! I’m happy!”

“Are you too happy?” his teacher asked.

“Yeah! I’m three happy, four happy, thirty happy!”

Spiny Snacks

I found this picture in the current edition of Mental Floss magazine. If this is what they serve in China, I’m in trouble.


The caption reads:
Love Fear Factor and food-on-a-stick, but don’t know where you can combine the two interests? Try China, where street vendors deep-fry scorpions and seahorses and serve ‘em up on skewers. Both foods are believed to have medicinal value. Seahorses are said to be good for men’s kidneys, and scorpions supposedly make your blood hotter in cold weather.



Just rice for me, please. I’ll take my chances with the cold weather.