Chengdu China 2000
So my Mandarin wasn’t amazing when I decided to go to Chengdu, China for a residency program.
I thought everyone speaks some English so I will be fine. No, no, no, not in China.
Action: I am in a taxi, yelling out the window in “Gabriel Mandarin” to random citizens of Chengdu, China. I was hoping someone could possibly direct me and my very clueless taxi driver to the Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, but no one had any idea what I was saying and kept pointing in different directions. They thought at first it was hilarious that this white guy was speaking broken Mandarin (which totally threw them off) and, actually, I don’t think they could get past that concept to even try to understand what I wanted. Everyone had an idea where we should go. After 10 stops and communication with 50-100 random Chengduians, the word University was finally understood and my new best/only friend in China — my cab driver (who was clearly experiencing the highlight of his life) — walked me inside some random, sad-looking large room and said that this is where I was suppose to go. I knew it wasn’t the right place as it was a weird auditorium inside a strange university. This was before Google Images, Waze, and even the iPhone, but it was clear that this wasn't correct and he couldn't leave me there.
Me and my cab driver slash best friend in China
I was exhausted. I just had gotten off the plane, it was so humid, and I was hot and hadn’t eaten (which is a bad combination for Gabriel), but the people I met on that four-hour cab ride (that should have been 15 minutes) wanted to give their two cents and help the poor white guy get to where in China he was trying to go. It was my first experience that opened me up to the warmth and love in China.
My first day at the clinic they had me down as Gabriel Shen, not Sher. They were taken aback that instead of an Asian, the tallest white guy they had ever seen was walking into their office. When they found out that my Mandarin was on a level with a first grade Sesame Street character, they couldn’t stop talking about how hard this was going to be for me. I inquired about translators and they kept telling me it was very expensive and not included with my tuition. I asked how much is a translator cost, expecting them to say $50–$100 a day. After a lot of nervous communication that I didn’t understand, they gave me the facts: $1 a day. Me, a broke student who debated whether I could afford Guacamole on my burrito, said with confidence, “Oh, I got this.”
The hospital was amazing. During my residency there I worked 3 days a week in gynecology and 2 in Gastroenterology. After the end of that semester I switched to dermatology, pediatrics and pain management.
Visualize going to talk to your doctor about your very private physical problems with everyone at the doctors office crowded around you, listening and giving their insight. It was so normal to them but at the beginning made me so uncomfortable. By the end I was like, “Did everyone get that?”
I had two shifts, one from 8:30–11:30 and then an afternoon shift from 1–4. It was amazing because as a student they allowed me to really practice. Experience, experience, experience. I was able to treat 30–40 patients at each shift. I became so comfortable with so many different conditions that I knew when I moved to NYC I would be ready on day one. The doctors that I worked with loved having me there and respected me so much as a practitioner. I think once I proved to them that I was well taught and knew the medicine, they were excited to help me expand my knowledge. With so much encouragement from my amazing doctors I learned so much about the culture, the medicine and the beauty of traditional Chinese medicine.
My time in China was life-changing. It gave me the opportunity to experience the medicine in its true form and to get a great understanding of the culture that is at its roots. The people treated me with so much love, interest and respect. I will always have a special place in my heart for the people of China and their medicine that they shared with me.
My very fancy toilet/shower arrangements. Gross!!
My two best friends.