Wow, what a crazy weekend! On a recent Saturday, I awoke
to find a river in my backyard and a lake beside my apartment
parking. The water was five feet from the 1st floor balcony and a
foot away from the transformer box. Needless to say I was a little
panicky since I had to go to clinic in two hours. So my husband and
I unplugged all of our electronics in preparation for any water
damage. When I arrived at clinic, the parking lot was flooded,
leaving very few options to park. Lake Janse was overflowing with
water almost to the sidewalks. The swans probably loved the larger
area in which to swim. Marilyn at the front desk informed me we
were closing clinic and re-scheduling patients. However, I still
was able to treat two patients.
Chinatown
Saturday was a scheduled fieldtrip to Chinatown with Jin, my OM
Nutrition teacher. We have explored so many new food items in class
that she wanted us to have the experience of seeing first-hand what
they look and taste like. We went to an herbal shop that had an
array of exotic items in big glass jars and even more along the
store aisles.
The most abundant food item was the ginseng. They had American,
Korean and Chinese ginseng, both fresh and packaged of different
grades. Jin showed us items such as Mu Er, a black fungus that in
Chinese medicine moves blood, fresh Reishi Mushroom for cancer
protection, deer tendon to strengthen tendons and bones, as well as
abalone shell, cordyceps, shark cartilage, black hair moss seaweed,
sea cucumber, and the best - the bird's nest. The bird's nest
is the nest of the swallow. The swallow uses its saliva to make its
nest in caves in China. The Nest is used to improve one's
longevity and improve youthfulness and complexion. It is very rare
and it is sold along with the other very powerful herbs for at
least $300 per pound. I guess it is a safer alternative to Botox or
liposuction.
Dinner
We ate at a Southern Chinese restaurant. Jin selected all of the
food choices and we ate Dim Sum style. Dim Sum consists of many
dishes that are shared on a big lazy susan among the people at the
table. Jin said the Chinese think it's rude to pass the dishes from
person to person so they use the turntable instead. Foods consisted
of duck, tofu, crab and green veggies, lotus leaf filled with
sticky rice and shrimp and veggies and a few others. Each of the
foods we have learned about in class has many functions in the
Chinese culture.