Father & son Tai Chi at the Botanical Gardens today.  More to follow.

Today was a blast.  Our lead translator/guide, Dr. Wang, took a few of us to the main campus of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, which is the school with which we are affiliated during our externship.  There are currently over 18,000 students in attendance there (that’s 100 times the size of OCOM), so we felt pretty astounded at the enormous size of our sister school.  We attended Dr. Wang’s English class, where we were met with enthusiasm, for us Westerners are a rare sight (the students were literally wow’ing when we walked into the classroom).  It was great to be greeted with much love from some kindred spirits and colleagues.  We were given a tour of the university by a few of the students, and then were all individually surrounded by groups of students for discussions on culture and lifestyle.

These pictures were taken around campus.  The statue is of Nanjing University’s patron, Zhang Zhong Jing, who wrote one of the most influential and iconic books in Chinese Medical theory.  He’s the man.  The other pics are some scenes around campus, a portion of the herb garden, Dr. Wang at work in English class, and a few of us with a handful of our Chinese compadres.

Later, I tracked down a tailor who will be making two fine suits for me.  Excellent deal.

I’m running behind on my reports since I’ve been busy traveling earlier this week.  I’ll post some pics from my trip to the Yellow Mountain over the next few days as things slow down during my return to clinic.  Got some pics and info on the days in Hong Kong that I think you will dig too.

Thanks for looking.  Peace,
Jon

This is Dr. Hao, an herbalist with whom I’ve been studying for the past week in Nan Jing, with one of her patients.  She’s a specialist in gynecology who sees patients of all ages.  I don’t know much about her reputation and history, but I get the impression she is a bit of a rock star/goddess of the Chinese herbal medicine field due to the way people respond to her and her sincere, wise, and friendly approach to their health. She has an Armani case to protect her cell phone, which plays Italian opera whenever someone is trying to call her.  Her student/scribe consistently makes sure that her cup of green tea stays full.  I’m sure that she will really dig the Pink Martini CD that I give her on the last day of clinic.  Anyhow…

The majority of her patients see her for infertility, cycle irregularities, infections, or menopausal complaints.  Occasionally, she also sees her patients’ husbands if they are having health problems that are contributing to their inability to conceive a child, or an occasional stray guy with reproductive complaints.   When I arrive each morning, there is a waiting room outside her office that is always packed to the brim, and in the quick five hours that I’m there to learn, she sees nearly forty patients.  Needless to say, I’ve been burning through a bunch of pens and notebooks, and learning a huge volume of new formulas and patterns from a very experienced medical mind.  Good times, very happy I’m in Nan Jing.