Sunday, October 08, 2006
I guess I'll give y'all an update for Sunday as well. Lukas and I woke up at 3:30 A.M., Sunday morning. Lukas goes back to sleep after he plays for 1 hour. I haven't slept since and it's now 11:30 P.M. :)
While Lukas was sleeping I was doing some research on what kind of Chinese dictionary are available. I guess I really want to buy one, but the ones here are for Chinese people so the buttongs, etc., are in Chinese. I was also chatting with my mom and hubby for a long time. By the way, I want to share a wonderful service called SKYPE. You can sign up for an online account, pay them $10 dollars, buy a headset, and you can call anyone in the world for 1-2 cents/minute. Isn't this awesome! The party you call does not need to have a SKYPE account, but you do. Anyhow, it's pretty cool. Then it was 7:00 A.M. and I discussed with the doctor about Lukas stem cell treatment tomorrow. They have about 8 scheduled including Lukas. The stem cell will be delivered by IV this time. Next time he will get stem cells injected into his spinal fluids.
At 7:30 A.M., I got ready to go to church. Yes, we have to go to church on Sundays even in a foreign country. Of course we didn't understand a thing in church, but it was nice. Everyone keeps staring at Lukas. In fact, everyone keeps staring at Lukas in general. I don't like that. In the U.S., people are courteous enough to not stare; they simply mind their own business. Occasionally you get someone whose curious. Here, they stare, point, etc. And, when Lukas cries uncontrollably, I don't know how to explain to those who ask that Lukas is a sick baby; that he has a brain injury. Oh well... We got out of church at 10:30 A.M., and then went for lunch. As usual, it's not that cheap. There are really cheap food, but I don't want to risk getting food poisoning, etc. Lukas got really cranky during the feeding and so I end up eating while holding him and standing. I do that pretty often actually.
At 2:30 P.M, Lukas had therapy on the 4th floor. He did okay, but cried the last 10 minutes. Then I went shopping. I wanted to cook for Lukas since everyone uses MSG here. It's not healthy. So I bought a crock pot and lots of veggies and bones. I made a stew for Lukas to have for breakfast tomorrow.
On a side note, it's so boring the in room. I should have brought my stereo. Although I'm having troubles using the power converter anyways so that wouldn't help.
---Read below if you have time and want to hear about some of my experience while shopping--
First adventure: "Helping others in small ways"
I was walking around to familiarize myself with the area when I saw a confrontation happen. There was this lady who is a street vendor. In fact, she has a sac full of grapes who wanted to sell. She was sitting there when a guy came out of no where and didn't see her produce so he ran straight into it. All the grapes went flying and got smashed. Anyhow, the guy ran away after that and vendor was furious. She was an old lady. She went ballistic. She was screaming and crying and calling the cops (who didn't do anything). She was really really sad that it made me kinda sad too. In fact, I was trying hard to hold my tears back. I know how she feels. Sometimes things happen unexpectedly and you have to endure it. I understand her harship and how much those grapes meant to her; it was a living and a source of income to feed her family. I felt so bad for her, I paid for all the damaged grapes, which wasn't much at all, $15 US dollars. But, to her it was alot. She was still crying while saying "xie xie" (thank you in Chinese). I replied "Bu Ke Chi" which I guess is you're welcome. :)
Second adventure: "When being duped, call your friend who can speak the local language" :)
I went shopping at the department store which sells everything from grocery to clothing to purses and shoes. Anyhow, they sometimes have promotions where you spend $200 RMB (about $25), you get $100 RMB credit rebate. After you finish all your shopping, you go to the very top floor of the mall and submit all the receipts. They will add everything up and give you a card with credit on it. Maggie, my local friend, showed me how to do this a few days ago so I am really familiar with this process. Without her, I would not have known to go through this process to get a "rebate." Anyhoo, today I went shopping for a few items like the crock pot, etc., and sunglasses (I should have brought mine darn). So, I told them I wanted to get the rebate and one of the translators told me the things I bought are not part of the rebate promotion. I told me they are wrong so I called my friend Maggie. After talking to Maggie, they quickly changed the story and said I could get the rebate. I had to go through this maze in order to get to the rebate center. After processing, they gave me a card with credit on it. So I can use it to buy groceries in the future. So, a local friend is wonderful. Otherwise, I would not have known about these promotions or stand up for my rights. :)
As I was walking back to the hotel I saw some roast ducks and meats hanging in a restaurant window. I couldn't contain myself so I bought some. Their BBQ meats are beyond excellent, but I prefer roast duck in the US. It's kinda bland here and you have to dip it into several kinds of sauces.
While Lukas was sleeping I was doing some research on what kind of Chinese dictionary are available. I guess I really want to buy one, but the ones here are for Chinese people so the buttongs, etc., are in Chinese. I was also chatting with my mom and hubby for a long time. By the way, I want to share a wonderful service called SKYPE. You can sign up for an online account, pay them $10 dollars, buy a headset, and you can call anyone in the world for 1-2 cents/minute. Isn't this awesome! The party you call does not need to have a SKYPE account, but you do. Anyhow, it's pretty cool. Then it was 7:00 A.M. and I discussed with the doctor about Lukas stem cell treatment tomorrow. They have about 8 scheduled including Lukas. The stem cell will be delivered by IV this time. Next time he will get stem cells injected into his spinal fluids.
At 7:30 A.M., I got ready to go to church. Yes, we have to go to church on Sundays even in a foreign country. Of course we didn't understand a thing in church, but it was nice. Everyone keeps staring at Lukas. In fact, everyone keeps staring at Lukas in general. I don't like that. In the U.S., people are courteous enough to not stare; they simply mind their own business. Occasionally you get someone whose curious. Here, they stare, point, etc. And, when Lukas cries uncontrollably, I don't know how to explain to those who ask that Lukas is a sick baby; that he has a brain injury. Oh well... We got out of church at 10:30 A.M., and then went for lunch. As usual, it's not that cheap. There are really cheap food, but I don't want to risk getting food poisoning, etc. Lukas got really cranky during the feeding and so I end up eating while holding him and standing. I do that pretty often actually.
At 2:30 P.M, Lukas had therapy on the 4th floor. He did okay, but cried the last 10 minutes. Then I went shopping. I wanted to cook for Lukas since everyone uses MSG here. It's not healthy. So I bought a crock pot and lots of veggies and bones. I made a stew for Lukas to have for breakfast tomorrow.
On a side note, it's so boring the in room. I should have brought my stereo. Although I'm having troubles using the power converter anyways so that wouldn't help.
---Read below if you have time and want to hear about some of my experience while shopping--
First adventure: "Helping others in small ways"
I was walking around to familiarize myself with the area when I saw a confrontation happen. There was this lady who is a street vendor. In fact, she has a sac full of grapes who wanted to sell. She was sitting there when a guy came out of no where and didn't see her produce so he ran straight into it. All the grapes went flying and got smashed. Anyhow, the guy ran away after that and vendor was furious. She was an old lady. She went ballistic. She was screaming and crying and calling the cops (who didn't do anything). She was really really sad that it made me kinda sad too. In fact, I was trying hard to hold my tears back. I know how she feels. Sometimes things happen unexpectedly and you have to endure it. I understand her harship and how much those grapes meant to her; it was a living and a source of income to feed her family. I felt so bad for her, I paid for all the damaged grapes, which wasn't much at all, $15 US dollars. But, to her it was alot. She was still crying while saying "xie xie" (thank you in Chinese). I replied "Bu Ke Chi" which I guess is you're welcome. :)
Second adventure: "When being duped, call your friend who can speak the local language" :)
I went shopping at the department store which sells everything from grocery to clothing to purses and shoes. Anyhow, they sometimes have promotions where you spend $200 RMB (about $25), you get $100 RMB credit rebate. After you finish all your shopping, you go to the very top floor of the mall and submit all the receipts. They will add everything up and give you a card with credit on it. Maggie, my local friend, showed me how to do this a few days ago so I am really familiar with this process. Without her, I would not have known to go through this process to get a "rebate." Anyhoo, today I went shopping for a few items like the crock pot, etc., and sunglasses (I should have brought mine darn). So, I told them I wanted to get the rebate and one of the translators told me the things I bought are not part of the rebate promotion. I told me they are wrong so I called my friend Maggie. After talking to Maggie, they quickly changed the story and said I could get the rebate. I had to go through this maze in order to get to the rebate center. After processing, they gave me a card with credit on it. So I can use it to buy groceries in the future. So, a local friend is wonderful. Otherwise, I would not have known about these promotions or stand up for my rights. :)
As I was walking back to the hotel I saw some roast ducks and meats hanging in a restaurant window. I couldn't contain myself so I bought some. Their BBQ meats are beyond excellent, but I prefer roast duck in the US. It's kinda bland here and you have to dip it into several kinds of sauces.
# posted by Lukas Stem Cell @ 8:31 AM 
