Yay! Yuwen, my tutor, is back in town and we’re having a lesson tomorrow. She originally thought that she wouldn’t be back until March 6. That meant it would be another 3 weeks of no class. Yikes! But now I can squeeze in some class time before my parents get here.
Kunming is slowly starting to wake up from the New Year festivities. More store fronts are open today, although fruit and vegetable stands are still near non-existent. I saw one guy selling bananas. Finding fresh food has been impossible.
Walking around on campus today, I’ve seen so many new foreigner faces. It’s exciting, but also a little sad to see the constant revolving door of foreigners arriving and leaving. It’s been such a ghost town for the last few weeks, so I’ll be happy to meet some cool people.
The Spring Festival continues here in China. I’ve never seen Kunming so empty. There are a handful of stores open. The buses are running. Pharmacies are open. The big box stores are open. But mostly it’s really very, very quiet here. Nights are still peppered with fireworks going off until the wee hours. Quite beautiful, but noisy.
Jeremy’s been on a few expeditions to some of the temples just outside the city. Not surprisingly, he’s produced a new movie!
Ok, I didn’t mean to scare you. The last couple of posts have generate an enormous wave of anxiety-filled questions. I just want to make it clear (Mom, Dad, and Jeremy’s Ma) that everywhere we stay will have a Western toilet. You will be able to sit on the porcelin, just don’t flush the paper. No other rules or troubles. We will bypass the squat toilet and all of your related questions about the procedures and methods. Calm down.
Mom asks:
Why is this the year of the Golden Pig?
Well, you know about the Chinese zodiac, so you understand pig part, but what you might not have known is that each year also has a related element: metal, water, wood, fire, and soil. This year is fire. Here’s a nice chart.
Mom also asks:
If someone was born in January would they be born in the year of the pig or the dog? How do January and February birthdays figure out which Chinese year they were born in?
The new year that begins February 18 uses a lunar calendar. So, just like Easter lands on a different day (of our regular calendar) every year, so will the Chinese New Year. Therefore it’s difficult to determine what Chinese year you were born in if you were a February baby without going back and examining both calendars. Here’s someone who’s done that for you.
Sarah asks:
…they don’t kill & eat pigs in honor of the year of the pig, right?
Um, I’m sure some people eat pork for the new year. Are you picturing some kind of elaborate sacrifice ritual? Or maybe church-picnic-style pig roasting on a spicket? No, I don’t think that happens.
Local government officials in China have been criticised for spraypainting a barren mountain face green. Laoshou mountain, near Fumin in Yunnan province, was left an eyesore by quarrying. But instead, of re-foresting the mountainside, foresty officials hired seven workers for 45 days to spraypaint it green.
Nearby villagers have been driven from their homes by the strong smell of paint, reports City Times. They claim the workers told them the work was being done to improve the view from a newly-built government building.
Local businessman Huang said: “At first I was glad to see the green mountain, thinking the government was paying more attention to the environment. “But then I noticed the great contrast with the surrounding mountains.”
Another villager complained: “We thought the workers were here to spray pesticides before planting saplings. But it turned out to be green paint.”
Ok, well… the insanity of some Chinese people.
I also wanted to acknowledge the insanity of the… er… some American people. I believe this NPR story, Ban Thwarts ‘Year of the Pig’ Ads in China, is anti-China nonsense:
A ban on pig references in commercials illustrates problems with China’s advertising industry. The Year of the Pig begins Feb. 18, and many advertisers planned pig themes. The pig ban is meant to protect the sensibilities of 20 million Muslims.
This isn’t true. Or, at least, it isn’t happening here in Yunnan Province, where a huge percentage of the country’s Muslims live.
Yes, this Sunday begins the New Year here in China. It will be the Year of the Pig, and more importantly the Year of the Golden Pig. Anyway, it’s a very lucky year, and so the holiday is extra crazy this time around. It is by far the most important holiday season for the Chinese. New Year’s is the only day all year that some businesses close. So, of course, the holiday is about BUYING things and buying LUCKY things, like things decorated with pigs or advertised with/by pigs. This includes billboards, newspapers, and t.v. commercials. Really, pigs are everywhere.
Ok, while we’re on gross-out subjects… I have to prepare you for something important before you visit me in Kunming.
China’s bathroom technology has really progressed in recent years. First there was indoor plumbing and then bathrooms. Even so, you can still find apartments without these luxaries — so public toilets and showers are commonly available outside older apartment complexes.
On your visit here, you may not have to deal with public showers, but you may find yourself at a public toilet once or twice. These are unpleasant places: smelly and not so private. You usually have to pay 1 mao (1/10th of 1 RMB = $0.01), and if you forgot to bring your own, you may be able to purchase an overpriced pack of toilet paper for 1 RMB ($0.12).
You may already know about “squat” toilets. These are either holes or troughs that you squat over to use the toilet. All public toilets will be like this. The only exception to this rule is the token “western” toilet (the traditional throne) in the ladies room at the airport or sometimes at a university.
Most restaurants and coffee shops will not have a toilet. When cafes or bars have toilets, they are for urination (pee, number 1) only. You cannot poo (poop, crap, shit, number 2) in these toilets. There are often amusing signs informing you about this in multiple languages, threatening enormous fines for violators of this (very important) rule.
No matter where you go — outside of our home and your hotel room, you must carry toilet paper with you. It’s available at any convenience store in handy little packets.
Ok. Now here’s the bad part: You cannot flush toilet paper. Really. Not allowed anywhere. Not at the hotel, not at our house, not at the airport. The plumbing is just not good enough and you will instantly have a toilet running over. Yuck. Used toilet paper must be put in the trashcan beside the toilet. Wrapping is advised, but is a courtesy not always practiced in public bathrooms.
I asked Dr. Katherine to email me some information about treating bladder infections. There are a few different treatments and Katherine’s given us the Chinese hanzi as well as pinyin. You should be able to ask at any pharmacy and purchase these drugs over the counter.
Bladder infections are also known as urinary tract infections (UTI). The Mandarin Chinese for “urinary tract infection” is “尿路感染” (niao4 lu4 gan3 ran3). Anyway, hope this helps someone out!
Urinary tract infection (UTI) uncomplicated
The classic symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women are dysuria, frequency, and urgency. If there is fever, flank pain, blood in urine present, or the symptoms exist a long duration, it may be a more complicated case and one should seek professional help.
Treatment
One of the following:
Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole double strength (D.S.) 1 twice a day (BID) x 3 days
= Co-trimoxazole 复方新诺明 fu4 fang1 xin1 nuo4 ming2
Trimethoprim 100 mg 1 twice daily x 3 days
If allergic to sulfa or trimethoprim:
Nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) 100 mg twice daily x 7 days
= Nitrofurantoin 呋喃妥因 fu1 nan2 tuo3 yin1
Ciprofloxacin 250 mg BID x 3 days
= Ciprofloxacin 环丙沙星 huan2 bing3 sha1 xing1
UPDATE: We managed to find at least one of these over-the-counter. So just try asking the pharmacist to help you look for these medicines.
Again, if you have questions about any of this, please let me know. I can also put you in touch with my friend Katherine, an American doctor here in Kunming. I’d also be interested in hearing about any experience — bad or otherwise — with any of the products mentioned here. Please leave a comment or email me at elizabeth@elizabethinchina.com
Spent part of the afternoon in a pharmacy with Katherine, an American friend who is a doctor. A while ago I was talking to her about the great response to my posts about birth control (Sept. 15, 2006 and Nov. 13, 2006) and she was interested in digging a little deeper to see what’s available here.
We went to a Kunming pharmacy called 健之佳 (jiàn zhī jiā) and asked about birth control, both oral contraception and barrier methods. We also checked into treatment for yeast infections. It’s all quite available if you know what to ask for.
Oral Contraception, 避孕药 (bì yùn yào, bi4 yun4 yao4) - We found three types of oral contraception:
1. Marvelon, 吗富隆 (ma3 fù lóng, ma3 fu4 long2) - This is the brand name for the daily pill. An international company. It is a monophasic pill, every pill is the same: active ingredients are ethinylestradiol 30 micrograms, desogestrel 150 micrograms. You can start taking this pill the Sunday after your period starts. Take one pill every day at the same time. There are 21 pills in a pack. After you finish 21 pills, you should wait 7 days to start a new pack. You should have your period during this week. Price is 16 RMB/box (1 month). For more information (including information about what to do if you miss a pill), you can go to Marvelon’s Canadian website and you’ll need to enter 898599 as the DIN to enter the website.
2. 月悦安 (yuè re ān, yue4 re4 an1) - This brand is also an oral contraceptive. It contains levonorgestrel (6mg) and quinestrol (3mg). I was pretty mystified by the instructions for this one. It is 4 pills a month, but it’s not entirely clear to me how to take them. Try this website for instructions. It discusses the generic brand, Yue Ke Ting. Price is 12.9 RMB/box (1 month).
3. Mifolian, 弗乃尓 (fu2 nai3 ?) - This is emergency contraception, confirmed by the English on the box. The active ingredient is 25 mg of mifepristone. This is the same drug that was known as RU-486. I’m not sure about the instructions for use. Price is 15.8 RMB/box (1 pill).
You can find Durex brand condoms here. We found boxes with English. Most of the time the lubricant seems to be non-spermicidal. The only condoms I found with spermicidal lubricant were Durex brand “Performa” with 5% benzocaine. For a box of 12, the prices ranged from 37 - 49 RMB.
Jissbon, 杰士邦 (jie2 shi4 bang1) is another brand of condoms you can find here. Again, we found English on the box. All of them seemed to be non-spermicidal lubricant.
Remember if you buy lubricant that you plan to use with a condom, it must be water-based. If you use an oil-based lubricant, the condom is NOT effective — either as a birth control method or for protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s).
Finally, I asked about treating yeast infections. You can buy a standard one-dose remedy over the counter. The active ingredient is 50 mg of fluconazole. Katherine recommended a single dose of 150 mg, which is three pills. The Chinese name on the box was 氟康唑 (fu2 kang1 zuo). The price was 6.8 RMB/box (6 pills, 50 mg).
Ok, more to come about bladder infections. Aren’t you excited?
If you have questions about any of this, please let me know. I can also put you in touch with my friend Katherine, an American doctor here in Kunming. I’d also be interested in hearing about any experience — bad or otherwise — with any of the products mentioned here. Please leave a comment or email me at elizabeth@elizabethinchina.com
Writing from an internet cafe across the street from our new apartment. I’m surrounded by mostly young men smoking and playing video games while conversing loudly over the tops of their monitors.
It’s been a rough week.
Jeremy and I were planning on moving the first of the month. We discovered a cheaper, more comfortable apartment, so we found a new tenant to move in to our old place. We thought we had secured the new apartment with the current tenant, a young French woman, but as they informed us on January 30 (two days before move-in), the landlords felt they were under no obligation to rent to us. In fact, they were not so articulate as all that. They ran circles around us for about an hour — first ignoring us completely and then finally talking to us briefly, giving various explanations of why they were not ready to have us sign a lease. Very strange. The situation was quite mysterious, and after telling the story over and over I’m still not sure what happened. It was definitely a miscalculation on our part to communicate only with the current tenant, but we had every assurance from her that she had it worked out. Ah well. The bottom line is the landlords must have had their eye on bigger money and we had two days to find a new place to live.
Needless to say, we were angry and desperate. We went into overdrive calling friends and discussing the problem with our tutors and responding to every “for rent” ad we could find. To be honest, I totally lost track of time. A friend of a friend had an empty bedroom in an apartment with several foreigners. We considered moving in there temporarily and storing the lion’s share of our stuff at a friend’s. At least that way we could have a little time to look for a suitable apartment. It was really stressful and we cursed those bad landlords every step of the way! How could they just turn us away, knowing we wouldn’t have a place to live in less than 2 days? It’s greed. Landlords here have just discovered that they can rent to foreigners for crazy prices. Even old places like theirs.
In the end, we got very lucky. We were very fortunate that the guy who was moving into our old place was pretty laid back. When I called him to tell him the situation, he agreed to give us a few days to remove all of the boxes from the apartment. Then, miraculously, we found a very comfortable apartment nearby. Better than the place we were originally planning to move to. We signed the lease February 1st and began to move our stuff in. Oddly enough, on February 1st Kunming saw snow for the first time in 5 years. We don’t have a lot of stuff, so hiring someone to help us seemed silly, so we moved it all ourselves. In the snow, we carried our things up and then down the giant hill between the two apartments.
Well, that’s why I’m writing from an internet cafe. We still don’t have the internet up and running at the new home.
Sigh.
Our new apartment is great. Really. I was afraid we’d settle for something more expensive and less comfortable, but I’m actually quite pleased. For those of you planning on visiting, I should tell you it’s on the 7th floor. No elevator. That’s really the only vaguely invconvenient thing about the new place. It has a few more amenities than our old place: a big washing machine, a hot water heater, a microwave, and a little oven. It also has two desks, so Jeremy don’t have to share. We still need to pretty it up a bit, but it already feels like home.
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