The doctor presses her fingers on Andrew's wrist to observe his pulse. She asks him to stick out his tongue. With a serious look, she turns to her translator, who then informs Andrew of the doctor's prognosis: "You need to lose weight." I give Andrew one of my *I'm trying really hard not to say something bitchy* looks and think to myself: "No fucking shit. I could've given that diagnosis using my two eyes."
The Traditional Chinese Medicine research centre was one of two stops that bookended our visit to the Great Wall on Friday. Frankly, it was nothing more than a tourist trap. The doctor gives you a free pulse test and then recommends herbal medicines you can buy at their store. We have something like this in Toronto too. It's called the Church of Scientology - just replace the medicine with Dianetics.
Snarky comments aside, I am a fan - and not dismissive - of Chinese medicine, even though I don't pretend to know a whole lot about it. I start every day with a cup of bittermelon green tea and devour big bowls of my mom's blackened chicken medicinal soup whenever she makes it (which is such a treat). When I feel sick or feverish, it's the Lou Han Gou beverage I turn to first (something my dad started me on). I just don't have a lot of patience for tourist traps.
Our first stop, that preceded the Great Wall, was the Jade Factory - where we were literally whisked by a demo of a jade artist in favour of 20 minutes of "free time" to roam the sections upon sections of jade merchandise. They were very beautiful to look at - but for $300+ CAN a necklace, it was wayyyyy outside my budget.
The visit was not for naught though. It conjured up a pleasant memory. When I was younger, my mom gave me a jade necklace - you know, one of those circles tied with a red string. Now whether it was real or not, it didn't matter. I wore it all the time - even to accessorize with my tropical t-shirts and shorts. Jade symbolizes happiness and that necklace did just that.
If I had the dough, I would've bought this cool large jade elephant sculpture. It would look nice as a centrepiece - and be an interesting juxtaposition - on our Ikea dining table.
1 comment:
and, i also remember that little stone thing with the matching stone grinder... put a little water... grind, grind, grind... another thing that papa and mama used when i was a kid whenever i'm sick. interesting blog on alternative medicine. that's it. i'm really going to make a stop to china in december too. =)
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