Le Tour d'Xi'an and Why You Shouldn't always be the First to Volunteer when Visiting a Chinese Hospital

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Today was our second full day in Xi'an. In the morning we visited the Shanxi School for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Our lecturer taught us about the history and current uses of acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping. For those of you who have never heard of the latter two, don't fear, I didn't know either. I did learn during the lecture that moxibustion is a kind of heat and aroma therapy. The plant mugwort is burned above the body, and apparently the warming of the skin and the breathing of the smoke is good. Cupping is when the air inside a vessel like a glass jar is heated and then the jar is placed at key points on the body. The hot air causes a vacuum and the skin is sort of sucked up into the cup. The result is enormous round hickies on the spot of the cup. Our guide said, “Don't worry, they only last about 3 weeks; except, I knew one guy who still had marks a year later.” What??

When the lecture finished, we visited the school's historical museum, but the real action didn't start until we got to the hospital where we were going to see traditional Chinese medicine in action. We entered a cramped little area of the hospital where there was a waiting area, some desk space, and small curtained off areas for patients. We watched one man getting stuck with acupuncture needles all over his head and back. I've never had acupuncture, so I was kind of excited (when I didn't let myself consider that I wanted to be stuck with needles in a dingy Chinese hospital) to try it out. Who do you think was the first to volunteer when they asked for volunteers? You got it.

So, I volunteered thinking I'd be stuck with some needles, take a couple of photos, and then let someone else try it. The doctor-lady asked me what my ailment was. (Remember, this is all through our guide translating.) Having no particular ailment, I told her my left upper back hurt from carrying my bag around, which is sort of true. She sat me down on a little stool facing everyone from my group who was crowding around with their cameras out. She started feeling/massaging the back of my neck and upper back. I was thinking, “Nice, a little massage!” Then she turned my head to the left, still giving a nice little neck rub, and then WHAM! She cranks on my neck and cracks it. It didn't hurt, but it was shocking and a little scary. I started thinking, “Uh, this is how James Bond and Jason Bourne kill people. I hope she doesn't do that again.” Of course, she turns my head again to the left and up and does it again! This time though, I was so tense and anxious that it really hurt! Meanwhile, the whole group is snapping pictures and the translator is telling me to relax in what was probably the least relaxing 3 minutes of the entire trip. She ended her spinal torture by cracking my upper back by jamming her knee in there and pulling my shoulders back. That actually felt good too, but I was very ready to get out of the chair and let someone else try. Lesson: volunteering for random medical activities in foreign countries is probably best left to other people.

I think this photo is me pre-neck torture. Notice I'm relaxed and smiling.

Prayer flags at the Lama Temple.

I think I was still a little shaken up through lunch and our visit to another Buddhist temple. It was beautiful, but it was so hot that it was hard to enjoy and even harder to focus on the information the temple guide was telling us. After that visit though, we went up on the ancient city wall of Xi'an and rented some bikes. They told us it was 8 miles to bike all the way around. Once we got our bikes, Caitlin and I took off. The pollution and humidity were starting to roll in, which is gross, but it also made for a kind of interesting, hazy ride. We stopped to take some photos here and there, and we still “won” the non-race (with no blood-doping, honest!).

The old wall around Xi'an.

Tonight we have the evening off, so we'll just eat in the hotel and relax. Hopefully the internet will be my friend and I can post this along with some photos!