Wuhan Update—17 days

A dinner selfie...our space is a little tight!!

Things have definitely improved this week.  The adjustment period has settled down.  To help record our adjustment progress, we have created the Bickel Boohoo Cry Chart!  We record who cries and how many times!  It really has been fun and the kids are really into the recordings!  We have created some motivation to keep the crying down by having a “party” at night in their room (they all sleep in the same room, 2 bunk beds).  We have gone from some kids crying 6X in one day to no tears!!  They finally were able to have a “party” late in the week! =)

The deli!

Homeschooling has become easier but it does continue to be challenging in that there is one teacher and 4 needy children!  =)  This week has proven to be better though and look forward to continuing to improve!

Scott’s work has settled as well.  He has to remain flexible in that they add to his schedule and give no warning of the changes!  The school really enjoys having a professor from the States and are using him to the max!  A funny thing is that we plan on meeting a friend on a trip to Xi’an and a doctor found out about it and wants Scott to work while he is there!  The hospital in Xi’an wants him to come and help them!  The Chinese people are such hard working people…. They don’t really understand the concept of a “vacation”! 

 The hospital department

 Doing a little teaching...

 Trying to convince a mother and several physicians that there is nothing wrong with this child!!!

They kept telling Scott that his legs were different sizes

Treating patients...like riding a bike

We have been meeting many people and making relations.  We have really been able to connect with a family that is from Texas that have 5 kids, who live here permanently.  They have been such a blessing to our family and really shown us the ropes on how to get around and plugged us in to help serve our Father!!  They have connections that allowed Nanette to meet with some friends who are going through a hard time to help encourage them!  Our Father is so good and ALWAYS takes car of His children!

China - Day 10

 A family photo at Beihai Park

It’s hard to believe that we have only been in China for 10 days.  We have hit the ground running from the very beginning. 

Beijing

We started our trip in Beijing to see some friends from Birmingham.  Scott has a former student, Chuan Wang, that lives in Beijing and works with a private PT clinic that treats professional and Olympic athletes from China.  He has a very unique job, especially for rehab in China. It was great to catch up and to have a contact that could help arrange a few things here.  He went above and beyond the call of duty and really helped in so many ways like purchased train tickets for us, arranged dinners, cars, etc…  He was born and raised in China and this speaks to him personally, but also a characteristic of many of the people here…very hospitable.  They can certainly give the South a run for their money in terms of hospitality! 

          A UAB PT alumni event in Beijing!

We also got to spend some time with our dear friend Jenny, who also works as a PT in China.  She works at a large, inpatient rehabilitation facility and has been here a little over a year.  She was traveling out of the country when we arrived so we only got to have dinner with her and Chuan on Saturday night, but it was great to see her and catch up.  We hope to meet again during our stay…maybe in another part of China.

Wuhan

            High speed train

             "First Class"

We arrived in Wuhan on late afternoon on Sunday.  It was a neat experience to take the high-speed train from Beijing.  The train runs about 300 km/hr (~185 mph) and we got to see a good bit of the countryside.  When we arrived, we were met by 2 students that we had previously met on our October trip. They helped get us to our apartment where we spent the next day and a half getting settled and buying supplies.  We have enjoyed getting to know our surroundings and making new friends.  We can draw a crowd everywhere we go with our large group and people are generally amazed that we have 4 kids, which is very uncommon here.  We have made several new relationships, everyone here uses a few apps on their phone to communicate (WeChat and QQ) so we can easily get their contact info and communicate via text message to arrange meetings, get directions, etc… We have also connected with an American family that lives here who have 5 kids!  We got together for dinner at their place and all the kids had a great time (ours and theirs!), so we are very thankful for them.

        Nothing beats meat on a stick!

       Learning some new skills

Scott also hit the ground running with his work.  He has planned a 3-day workshop with students and clinicians in the area and given a lecture to international medical students on the basics of rehabilitation.  More is planned and he will be very busy keeping up with new responsibilities while also keeping up with a few UAB projects!

            Some new friends

Homeschooling has been an adjustment for all (teacher and students), but we are all aware that it will get easier as we develop a routine.  The benefit of homeschooling is that we can make sure that we understand a topic before we move onto the next!  

Thanks for thinking of us and being interested in what we are doing here.