Portrait of an LBX

Jour 64 (24/11/09)

Anji(安吉)

Province du Zhejiang(浙江省)

Ce matin encore, le réveil n’est pas brutal. Enfin… sauf pour Andy qui souffre toujours du genou. Conclusion: le départ est à nouveau reporté. Après un petit déjeuner identique à celui d’hier (nouilles au bœuf et niangao), Evan et moi partons à la recherche d’une fabriques d’objets en bambou, alors qu’Andy retourne au café pour se reconnecter sur internet.

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By Andy

I am still sitting in Shanghai nursing my wounds. A trip through the circus-like (but cheap) Chinese medical system last Thursday and Friday left me with a week’s supply of anti-inflammatory drugs, a two-week supply of some other pills that will supposedly help to regrow my cartilage (i.e. my degenerated menisci — I’m pretty sure the pills are just glucose and crushed seashells or something) and orders to rest for at least a week. For the benefit of family and other readers in the West who may not have had any exposure to the Chinese medical system, I’ll give a little overview of the experience. If you’ve been through it yourself there’s probably not much new in this post.

A little Interwebs research leads me to the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, to which Evan is kind enough to accompany me (we figure his own experience with knee trouble and the Chinese medical system will be useful). I should preface this explanation by saying that my trip to the SRRC Hospital is the smoothest and least frustrating of my encounters with the Chinese medical system.

The hospital is massive compared to the others I have been to in this country. The first thing I notice upon walking into the lobby is that the place is clean, and no one is smoking — a relief after visiting my sister in a Sanya hospital where she was recuperating from an attack in a bar in which she had a couple beer bottles broken over her head. The main lobby consists of an information desk (where we are immediately given some incorrect information) and a row of ladies behind glass, resembling tellers at a bank. My only complaint about the SRRS Hospital (outside the dysfunctional medical system in which it operates) is that this row of ladies at computers acts as both the registration and payment center, which means everyone has to wait together to complete either task. Other hospitals I’ve been to separate these. (more…)

By Evan

The origin of this post’s title derives from both the landscapes through which we have most recently passed and the unfortunate temporary loss to rehabilitation of our teammate and preeminent photographer, Andy. Wise men have made note of — in addition to the equally fitting adage “only fools rush in” — the tendency to go astray of even the best laid plans. Sage Woody Allen likewise reminds us, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” It’s easy to plan the equipment list, the route, the goals, the budget, the website, and a million other details necessary to make our trip possible, but there’s just no planning around inclement weather or bodily breakdowns. Today as I write this post from Shaoxing, it is sadly for the first time without Andy at the same table keeping us up to date on world news and editing his most recent take of photos. For those savvy on sports injuries, he has irritated the menisci in both his knees — probably the result of old stress placed thereupon during his hurdling days from the college track team — and has returned via bus from Hangzhou to Shanghai for R&R and second opinions. If you have any tricks for quick knee recovery or are a practitioner of any tribal religion / voodoo in which it is possible to heal a knee via strategic pricking of Andy-effigy (we’ll prick anywhere), your help will be most appreciated.

**Note: for the time being pictures in these posts will come mostly from my point-and-shoot Canon and not from our pro. Please excuse the quality deviations.** (more…)