Jena Goes to the Hospital...and Other Short Stories

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Snip-its written over several days of being sick in Shanghai...
Well it has to be said that today was not my favorite day in Shanghai. I started getting sick about 3pm yesterday with cold chills. Last night was filled with a lot of going back and forth between being to cold and hot. This morning I got up and tried to get ready for work. While I was walking to the Metro I decided that going to work was not a good idea today. So I called my boss and went back to sleep. Around 3:30pm today I knew that I was pretty sick and needed to see someone so I called my insurance company in China(thanks Disney!) and they found me an English speaking doctor. The insurance lady(hereafter know as IL) told me to bring 700rmb to pay for my visit, as I did not have my insurance card yet. Well the doctor ended up taking blood and it was a lot more than I had brought with me so my IL came to the hospital and all I had to pay was my copay which in the end was only 165rmb. God bless her because I was in lala land due to my fever and she took care of everything and explained to me about my medications and sat with me while they put in my IV. I am back at my hotel now and feeling...well better than I felt a few hours ago. I am not allowed to go back to work till Friday though. Here however was my favorite thing about the hospital. Instead of on the bathroom door where you would expect to see the symbol for a man and a woman, right? Well here at this hospital a red high heel(I am gonna go out on a limb and say the ladies room) and a black pipe with smoke were more identify markers. All I know is that the next time I have to go to the hospital here I am bringing my camera.

Karaoke/ Amazing places to go out!
I am very behind in telling things that I have done on my trip. I therefore, must take you back to my first weekend here where we went out to a karaoke house. You know one of those cool Asian one where you get your own private room. We ordered some beers and pizza and I sang a lot. It was a great time and kind of a big "Welcome to Asia". That night some of us went out after karaoke. First to an amazing bar called Abby Road. It is in the Expat section of town and had an ALL CHINESE Beatles cover band. I loved it there so much! Then later we found a dance club that was all you can drink for 100rmb. It was a great night!
On July first we celebrated Canada day with our Canadian trainer. The bar we went to was a classic overpriced sports bar serving Moosehead. So I put on a Canada sticker and watched an Canadian MMA match on the TV at this bar to show my support.
Later that evening some of us who stayed out found a great bar that we went to again last Wed. for ladies night. Free drinks for girls in pretty little red bowl cups with light us ice cubes, free manicures, beautiful patio with giant beds to lay on with an AWESOME view of the city...yes please!?!?!?! That was a great night!

Harry Potter or Reading the last Harry Potter book was like destroying the 7th horcrux of my childhood(stolen from a facebook group by the same name)
A few days ago I set off to find this foreign language book store I had been hearing about. I didn't know what to expect or what book I wanted. I had just heard it was amazing and in need of a good book to read, I new it was something that would make me happy. As I perused the four floors of amazing books (losing my bag with a teapot and some socks I had bought in the process...oh well) I kept going back to the Harry Potter books. Now anyone who has known me for an evening (: knows how much I love me some Harry Potter. With the final movie coming out in a few days I have been wanting to reread the books but haven't gotten the chance. Knowing I didn't have time or the space to house the whole series(sorry I didn't get you a gift in China everyone...but you see I had to buy copies of all the Harry Potter books to read again and I couldn't leave them there!) I grabbed a copy of Deathly Hollows, trying to hide it from the people around me buying important books, and bought it. Being sick sucks( today to spice things up I decided to be crazy and add a banana to my saltine and water diet...big mistake) but having the Deathly Hollows to read has been a comfort to me. I know it is corny but being able to get lost with my favorite characters helped me forget about how sick I was for a little while anyways.
I was a reluctant Harry Potter reader. In middle school I was in some GT(gifted and talented...who messed up that paperwork?) program where I had to read books and write reviews on them. Mrs. Spidel assigned me to read the first Harry Potter book. "What is this!?!?! I only read historical fiction not this fantasy crap!"(for some reason that last line was said in my head with a french accent) I put it off, reading little by little hoping she would forget. For the first part of the book while Harry was at the Dursley's I was as miserable as he was. Then we got to Hogwarts(big smile!) and I was hooked. It honestly changed my life. It became a part of my everyday life, I should have bought stock in Mugglenet.com or HPLexicon.com because I was on them four or five times a day(imagine how that number increased during the summer)! It helped bond me with people I hope to be friends with the rest of my life(lets face it once your friends have seen you dressed as Molly Weasley for a book release or crying in your friends bedroom at a graduation party because you had to bring the book to finish it and they already had ruined the ending for you) you pretty much know these are the people you can trust. Or when you have to control making references to Harry Potter in everyday conversation because 1. Everything relates to Harry Potter right? or 2. No one cares. Wow...tomorrow I shall pretend this is all the fever talking.
Anyway...people are pretty quick to knock down Harry Potter and me being me I always feel I have to pick up my wand(: and defend it! (me defensive...noooo) They think it is childish or poorly written. Then there are the very sane people who call it evil. To me I saw none of this even as I go through it as a 25 year old. I have done a lot of reading in those years and always find myself wanting to pick up a Harry Potter book and slip back into the familiar story with the characters that I love and grew up with.
HP was a big part of my teen years. In a way it was like being a part of something bigger than myself. I combed the fan sites for theories and reread all the books more times than I can count.(seriously it is a lot) It was nice belonging to that community. For me there has never been and I believe never will be a series that means this much to me again. So with the last movie coming out this week I am a little sad that I won't be home to see the it with my friends. I hope to find a showing in Shanghai and enjoy it with people here who might get dressed up...might cry...but definitely want to enjoy the last part of a series that has meant something to us.
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/13/137802346/3-grown-up-books-for-the-hogwarts-grad

It is Thursday now and I am feeling a lot better. I have not really been doing anything exciting the past couple weeks . Training was well....as fun as training is. I met my kids on Monday and in my first session of summer camp I have 6 kids in the morning and 3 stay over till the afternoon. I am excited to get back tomorrow and do some more singing and dancing with them!
In other news...RIP my Map of the World umbrella which fell apart when I tried to use it the other day for the first time. It was bent on the plane here and never stood a chance. You will be missed very much...):

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Photos

In younger and happier times...
Memories light the corners of my mind,
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were...Barbra Streisand