A new day, a new taste. Smack in the middle of the plate of old favorites, a tea egg. If you've never had one before (available at roadside stalls and 7-11's throughout Asia), they're pretty easy to make.Hardboil some eggs, and crack the shells with the back of a spoon to make a beautiful cobwebby pattern. Mix up a concoction of soy sauce, loose leaf tea, star anise, black peppercorns, a touch of sugar, and a cinnamon stick. Simmer the hardboiled eggs for at least an hour; I like the flavor to really infuse the eggs, so I let it go longer. A perfect snack (I've even taken them hiking).
Morning rounds. This little guy was a total ham.
All right, surgical-type photos coming up. Notice has been given.
My first patient of the day. Another incomplete cleft lip, this one on a 22 month old boy.
Healing quickly after surgery. If you've been wondering why every lip has an oddly purple tinge to it, it's the Dermabond. Perfect dressing for lips in any country.If you've been wondering why every baby has that Angelina Jolie look going for them, it's normal postoperative swelling. It usually peaks the first day or two after surgery, then comes down to a regular sized lip.
Warning: more graphic surgical photos upcoming...
Second case of the day: an isolated cleft palate on a darling 2 year old boy.
This cleft was a bit narrower than the previous day's cleft, and the palatal shelves came together nicely.
My little guy, after surgery. He was still working on getting his pep back up to his normal wildly spirited self.
With my patient, his mom, and a beatific Jen in the background.
Skulking about the OR with Abby, one of our more petite translators.
From left to right: Carin, Anita (elegant and graceful, another one of our very hospitable interpreters and city guides), me, and Azriel.
After another long day in the OR, we trotted off to have massages. Here I am with Johnny in front of the joint, being welcomed.There were a good dozen or so of us weary boys and girls, and I was a little concerned that there may not be enough masseuses to go around. Silly me - this is China, land of 1.2 billion strong.
Not only were there enough masseuses, but we could each get one for the body and one for the feet, working simultaneously. And, we had the option of a male or female masseuse, and then another choice: regular-sighted or blind (the Chinese believe that the blind have a special skill for massage). Incredibly, all that attention - for over an hour - cost us the equivalent of around USD$20.
The girls, enjoying our post-massage tea and our post-massage hair. Left to right: Stef, me, Steph, and Pam.I heard that in the boys' room, there was a little alarm over some of the neck manipulations being performed. Not to name names, but Charles asked if the masseuses had ever killed anyone. Apparently they just giggled in response...
And, the dinner of infamy. Another excellent choice by our designated host, Pan. This restaurant was famous in Changde for its stinky tofu and pigs feet.
In the photo above, you can see folks lined up for some of that famous tofu to go. 1RMB for 3 delectable pieces, if I remember correctly (Alfred couldn't wait to be seated, and it was a very excellent decision).
Stinky tofu, you ask? Yes, it's exactly as it sounds - fermented tofu, with a very distinctive odor and surprisingly sublime taste. Kinder fans might try to trick you by translating it as "fragrant", but there's really no mistaking cho dofu for anything else. Catch a whiff of something vaguely resembling ammonia, rotten eggs, and maybe a bit of dog poo (sorry, but it's true) from a very crowded restaurant? You've found it.
Although to be honest, this restaurant's version wasn't half as stinky as some I've had elsewhere.
Left: the famed stinky tofu, deep fried and glorious.
Right: pigs feet (or trotters). The Chinese say that eating pigs feet makes women more beautiful; the science behind it might be all the collagen in the dish...
Charles and Jagoda, one of our lovely caretakers - who speaks five languages, and was working on making Chinese her sixth. Notice the Michael Jacksonesque style she's sporting; it was a key maneuver in manhandling the pigs feet, which were incredibly sticky to eat.
Fish head soup. Tasty, but watch out for bones...
Left to right: Jeff, Alfred, Heidi, Charles, Jagoda, Max, Joyce, Karra Lea.
Left to right: Paul, Jen, Alex, Stef, Pam, Johnny, Steph.
Fortunately, it never came down to this. Sorry, but if you don't know, you'll have to ask any of the folks in the pictures above for the full details...
