Thursday, September 16, 2010

Coming Soon, Frances in China

When I was young I was fascinated by Marco Polo and his journey to China. It wasn’t quite as interesting as botany or martial arts, but as far as academic subjects went, I never minded writing papers about him.  Little did I know that I would eventually end up in China myself. By the time I was ready to choose a career, my interests would all converge and send me to the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM). Once it became apparent that that acupuncture and Chinese herbology were my life path, it also made sense to go back to the birthplace of these ancient healing modalities. I don’t know how the trip will turn out, but I’m sure there will be plenty of surprises. I hope to bring back some amazing medical knowledge to help my patients in the future. Therefore, I am now taking my limited knowledge of Mandarin and heading to China with fourteen other students from OCOM!


It is 10:10pm the night before my 7:35 take off. I am finishing up packing and asking myself questions like: How strong is the coffee in China? Can I buy Immodium in bulk? Should I take my bike helmet to China even though no one uses them? Which clothes do I want to abandon in Nanjing to bring my sweet haul back to the states? How many novels can I read on the 14 hr flight? And perhaps most importantly: Where is my towel? Seriously people, it should be a fun ride. Stick around because I expect the posts to get a lot more interesting soon.

P.S. I will not have phone service in China and Facebook is blocked by the "Golden Shield", so email, Skype and this blog are the best points of contact with me.

1 comment:

  1. Hope the flight went smoothly and contained no screaming infants or infectiously ill travelers! Chinese coffee is great by all accounts, but I am curious how many books you squeezed in between the excitement and preparations. :) Have a blast and I expect medical gems! ;P Hugs, dear. -Amanda/Maddisen

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