Ouch . . . China hurts a little

I got a band-aid for my booboo : (

So Denis and I had to trek to Harrison (never thought I’d have any reason to go there, but going to that office as opposed to the Hoboken one saved us about fifty dollars) to get our Hepatitis A Vaccines.  Really, the whole experience pretty much sucked, except that the nurse who helped us was incredibly nice.

We were talking to her for a little bit, explaining what we were doing in China and how long we would be there, and then she got up.  I knew that this was it . . . SHOT TIME.  I hate needles.  I know most people do.  I thought I was above that now, but as soon as she went over to the drawer I turned in my chair and cowered like the baby I really am.  Facing the wall, I told her that I had to go first and that I couldn’t stand to look at the needle.  She made Denis hold my hand (my sweaty, sweaty hand) and then she told me to keep wiggling my left hand fingers (the side I was getting the shot on) until she said to stop.  I whole heartedly believed that this was to facilitate the vaccine entry into my system or some important medical hoopla like that . . . then I watched Denis get his shot.

Hmmm, no finger wiggling.  That is when I put two and two together and realized that I am a tool : )  That must be what she does for little kids who are afraid to get shots.  Oh well, I guess her magic works on big kids, too.

Just so you know . . . it did hurt.  That’s right.  Actually it burned for a while.  I had to drive home because Denis was too much of a wimp (throw me a bone, okay . . . I guess I am just more skilled at one armed driving)  We had to go to a wedding that night, and it was quite funny trying to make it through the evening without too much left arm use.

Now . . . is it worth going through this again for a tetanus booster?

Notice that my left arm is firmly planted to my side . . . not that it would be doing anything else in this kind of shot. 

Gianna looked beautiful even though it was about 800 degrees (and I was too lazy to take the red-eye out of the pictures : )

Congratulations Gianna and Alber!

Just a Little Closer

Well, I made it though my last full day of teaching.  One more week of finals and then the getting ready really starts . . . how am I going to pack for this.  People keep asking what I am going to bring, and I have no clue.  It cost about $400 dollars to ship a 40 pound package (about a large suitcase full of clothing) so the shipping thing isn’t really an option, but neither is bringing an extra suitcase.  We both already will have one large suitcase, one little one, and a backpack each.  That combination will be hard enough to drag around the Japan Rail trains before moving into our apartment in Shanghai.  This is going to insanely hard (I guess there could be worse things in life); I am really attached to my clothes, even if they are generally the same item in a bunch of different colors (if not the same color : )

If anyone has any suggestions let me know.

Less Than Two Months . . .

I can’t believe that we will be on a plane to Japan in less that two months. We leave on August 4th and arrive in Japan on August 5th. After traveling to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo, we will move into our Shanghai apartment on August 21st. It should be an interesting year . . .