Last Monday night I ate out with Jane, Erika, Todd and Bob for Bob's birthday. Almost every dish in the restaurant included plenty of various types of hot chili peppers. I don't like spicy food so I picked around the peppers. I'm not sure if it was from this food, but the next morning I became very sick. I called my school and said I suspected I had food poisoning. Although I didn't believe going to the doctor would help, I asked my colleague and friend Lisa to take me. Why? Earlier when I caught a cold the school thought that I wasn't really that sick because I said I didn't need to go to the doctor.

The experience was worth it. We took the bus to Lisa's family doctor, an elderly practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. When we walked in I immediately caught a whiff of all of the herbs stored in little lockers. The elderly doctor and a young doctor both examined me. Lisa acted as the translator. They had me stick out my tongue first. Next they scrutinized both of my palms, drawing their fingers along my skin. After this the old doctor left and the young doctor took my blood pressure and had a nurse prick my finger to test my blood. Finally the young doctor had me lie down while he patted my stomach in several places to test for pain.

My diagnosis was "a weak stomach". The doctor prescribed both Western and Chinese medicine. Additionally, he told me to abstain from cold foods like ice cream, to avoid eating raw vegetables, and to make sure not to drink any cold water. I think this will be the first time that I will completely ignore my doctor's orders.

It's impossible to order cold water in restaurants here. The Chinese believe that it's bad for your stomach and they always drink water that's just been boiled. I've been told that they still drink hot water in the heat of the summertime.

The cost of my visit plus the medicine totaled 30 RMB, which right now is about $4.75. Plus, I did not have to fill out any forms and only waited about three minutes.

After I paid for the medicine Lisa invited me to have lunch in her home which is just across the street. She said apologetically that if my family had known I was coming, they would have prepared a meal that was more special. I considered the purple porridge they served quite special enough! The unique color came from purple potatoes. Besides this they served several side dishes and steamed buns. I was very satisified after the meal. Lisa's parents and grandfather invited me to come again.

On Friday night I had a wonderful new hot pot experience. Bob and Erika took me to a restaurant they've eaten at several times before. When you walk in it's just like going to the supermarket. You pick up a basket, choose your pot with whatever soup base you want (we all chose tomato) and then pick out all the vegetables, noodles, tofu, fish, poultry and meat you desire. You then pay for it and area shown to a table. There is a table where you pick up your bowl to put your food into after it's cooking in the pot. All of the condiments, such as vinegar, minced garlic, chillies, etc. are there for you to choose from and mix in your bowl. They also have complementary juice, oranges, cucumber, two types of clear soups, and some type of chip-like side. The food was really good! Across from us were two English teachers and their friends, who introduced themselves and requested a photo with us. There were also about five other people who came and took photos of us secretly throughout our time there, but when we saw them we were happy to pose.

Saturday I was supposed to meet two of my students at the school to go have dinner. I was a bit late. Maybe they left before I arrived. I waited for half an hour. My friend and colleague Lisa invited me to have dinner with her and her friend Wing (who has helped me with my computer several times). But as we were leaving the school Amanda, one of the music teachers called Lisa. She speaks very little English and wanted Lisa's help to invite me to dinner. So the three of us went to Amanda's house. After eating Amanda insisted that I play the piano. It's been so long since I've practiced so I didn't play so well but everyone complimented me anyway.

On Sunday afternoon I took a walk to and around the nearest park to my apartment. It's quite small but still contains a lot of beauty. I look forward to the summer, when everything will start to bloom and turn green here in Baiyin.