Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Dropping The Kids Off At The Pool & Corporal Punishment

Unfortunately, I had to call off work today. I HATE doing it, but my stomach was in knots. Everytime I stood up for any amount of time, the nausea was intense. I went to the doctor yesterday. His theory was I had a bad reaction to something I ate and it caused my bowels to go haywire...ugh. He examined me and said my bowels were working too hard...I'm praying this doesn't lead into I.B.S.. He gave me some medication and I'm feeling better tonight. One visit to the doctor (who spoke English perfectly), a ton of pills, and the bill was only about $15 american. Once again showing how screwed up the US health care system is.

I've been learning a lot about how things work here. For instance, I was speaking with one of the Chinese teachers at my school yesterday, she was explaining how the teachers in the state schools still use corporal punishment. She has a friend who teachers 4th graders, this friend whacks children on a regular basis, on their hands. The bench-mark for test grades is 85%. For every percentage point the child is below that mark, they get 10 whacks on the back of the hands...kid gets an 80%, he/she gets 50 lashes. What a crime!

I had another ride on a scooter yesterday (to the doctor's office). It was a blast. I am seriously considering getting one. Riding one here is like being in a crazy video game...lol

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