From Tamara

  Getting a cold is never pleasant; getting a cold in another country can be rather terrifying. My first week here in Beijing has been to deal with exactly that fear. Not more than three days into my adventure here I caught a rather rough chest cold, including fever, coughing, hearing loss/ pressure. It was a cold that went off and on, one day it was here, the next day disappearing, taking the appearance of just a 24hr bug. However, I was not so fortunate as to have it disappear on its own. Most students will tell you to immediately rush only to an American doctor or an American hospital if one has a nasty cold in China and the frightful tales of bad experiences with rural doctors have turned advice into protocol. I’m writing this to put that myth to rest, at least regarding a stay in Beijing. I had the opposite experience upon going to the Beijing University hospital/ clinic here at Peking University. I went with a staff member as my Chinese does not exist as of yet. What welcomed me was a clean, well organized and quite efficient hospital. Set right on the outside of the University walls it was no more than a 15minute walk from our dorm. I had to fill out a simple form: name, passport number and insurance (which is more a side note). Upon giving this sheet to the reception booth, I paid 50 yuan and received a medical history book, a receipt, a call number and a hospital card. The clinic/ hospital here, is split into specialties and depending on the region of your body affected that is the doctor you see. Mine happened to be on the 2^nd floor, where I sat no more than 10minutes before an electronic board flashed my number, doctor name and room (all Chinese of course). The waiting room was spotless and quiet. The female doctor that saw me was pleasant and used a mixture of Chinese and English to assist in me explaining my cold to her (though this is where having a member of the faculty with me was more than helpful). She typed in my prescription and my new medical history into the computer and also hand wrote it in my medical history book (which is to be brought with you if you visit again). Some of you might be thinking, well I have allergies and what about medicine? Both questions rose in my mind for I am one of the few people that is both allergic to shellfish and Jasmine (both the tea and the flower) and worried much about what “medicine” would be entailed. Well fear not, the doctor also was concerned about me having any undocumented allergies and the front of my little medical history book now entails both allergies. The medicine was western in form but Chinese in origin. I just had to swipe my medical id card at the pharmacy and in 2 more minutes I walked out with an arm full of pills, cough syrup (which had a very…uniquely Asian flavor to it), a form for my insurance (if you really feel you need to put a claim in) and a 8.30 yuan credit to be used next time I visit (which I hope goes unfulfilled). The experience was overly pleasant given the circumstances and for around $16 for my entire visit without insurance taking effect, I recommend it to all future students. Just bring a member of staff with you or a friend, its convenient and not even a 3^rd of the cost compared to seeing American doctors, especially for non-life threatening things.

Blog post #2