Breaking legs in Thailand
(a post from Meaghan Long, whose host government apparently isn´t friends with Blogger)
Hello from Asia! Since this is my first post, I'll tell you a bit about myself first. My name is Meaghan Long; I am 23 years old and I live in Shenzhen, China. Its a bustling city of about 5 to 10 million people. No one knows the exact number due to so many people moving here from all over China on a daily basis! Its right across the border from Hong Kong and the weather here is basically like Louisiana. Ive been living here one year already teaching English to primary and middle school kids. Thats the short intro, more on me later. Heres what I've been up too recently!
Well, the public schools all have a break in October for the Chinese National Day which is a great chance to travel around China or Asia. This year I headed to Thailand for 4 wonderful days. While I was there, I was busy with my new obsession: learning Muay Thai (Thai boxing). There is a class in Shenzhen which got me hooked so I went off to Thailand for more! Everyday I trained twice a day for 2 hours, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. What a great place where you can wake up at 7 oclock and have someone beat you up for 2 hours. And you pay them! Really it was great fun training with these Thai fighters. Kick! Block! Jab! Muay Thai is boxing with a little martial arts thrown in. Punches and kicks are used, as well as elbows and knees! Its a great way to get in shape, learn some self defense skills and have a really great time! At one point I was put in the ring to spar with the Thai kids who train everyday and have been training probably for their whole lives. Needless to say, the 8 year old kid threw me down just about everytime! With all these Thai men from the store next door watching! Watch the little white girl get her butt kicked by the kids! Fun times! When I wasnt training, I spent some great time at the beach just lounging around or treated myself to a Thai massage. (for the low low price of 250 Thai Baht, like $6 US) Luckily this trip I didn't get sunburned!
One of my favorite things about Thailand is the convoluted English they speak. Its different than the Chinglish (Chinese English mish mash) one hears in China. In Thailand its really very simple. Instead of asking if they have something, its just "Have, no have?" The reply: "Have!" or "No have!" Easy enough. They also love repeating words. "This very Cheap cheap!" but my favorite Thai saying: "Same same!" This phrase can be applied to just about anything! You want to buy one pair of pants but the others are cheaper? "this same same! Want cheap cheap!" Trying to explain English words to kick boxing instructors, "Punch, Jab. meaning same same!" Definitely one of the most useful phrases in the English language. They even make t-shirts in Thailand that say Same Same on the front!
So my trip was great, I arrived back to China and the next day headed off to my usual Muay Thai class. I'm having a good time, using my new skills, and we were practicing thowing each other like I had been doing all week. Except this time, I was slightly scared of falling on the floor because it was a bit harder than the ring I had been landing on in Thailand. So I tensed up, locking my ankle. The instructor went through with the throw with my foot firmly planted. My body twisted, foot didn't. Crack. 2 hospitals, and xray and a lot of waiting later, I'm informed that my ankle has been fractured. At the first hospital, they immediately tell me that I must stay because they want to operate. Yikes. No way am I getting an operation in China. My instructor asks him what kind of surgery and the doctor says "thats for me to worry about" Sheesh. This is a bit of a scam. Maybe I do need surgery but they really want me to have it because I'm foreign which equates to having lost of money that I can spend on surgery and hospital bills. Okay, next hospital! This one is a bit more foreigner friendly and one of the better ones in Shenzhen. They tell me I should put in screws. Again I vetoed. The fracture isn't that big and my instructor (who has broken multiple bones multiple times) syas that the bone will probably heal fine without them. So 20 minutes later, I've got a nice white cast. But no crutches. They don't sell them in the hospital. Sheesh. We hobble off to a taxi and go to a medical supply store to get crutches.
At the supply store, they are moving slower than Christmas. Im standing there on one leg obviously in some amount of pain and theyre just taking their precious time. I exasperatedly told them to hurry up. Then they brought me the wrong size. Twice. Finally we get it worked out. I want to give them back the cane I had bought prior to going to the hospital and they insisted on having the receipt which they didn't give me before. So now they've got me, my instructor (who speaks really good chinese) and my instructors assistant (who is Chinese) all yelling at these people. Finally we get it all worked out. I got my crutches and made it home safe and sound!
So thats the update of the last week of my life. I went to Thailand and paid guys to give me bruises and beat me up (oh yeah, and I burned myself on a motorbike) I make it home alive and in one piece. I'm in China a day and I fracture my ankle. The best part is, right before Muay Thai class, I was joking with the instructor because the medical store is right by our gym. I asked him if he wanted me to buy him a crutch from the medical supply store. Ah the irony. Karma is a pain in the ..ankle. Especially in China!
Hello from Asia! Since this is my first post, I'll tell you a bit about myself first. My name is Meaghan Long; I am 23 years old and I live in Shenzhen, China. Its a bustling city of about 5 to 10 million people. No one knows the exact number due to so many people moving here from all over China on a daily basis! Its right across the border from Hong Kong and the weather here is basically like Louisiana. Ive been living here one year already teaching English to primary and middle school kids. Thats the short intro, more on me later. Heres what I've been up too recently!
Well, the public schools all have a break in October for the Chinese National Day which is a great chance to travel around China or Asia. This year I headed to Thailand for 4 wonderful days. While I was there, I was busy with my new obsession: learning Muay Thai (Thai boxing). There is a class in Shenzhen which got me hooked so I went off to Thailand for more! Everyday I trained twice a day for 2 hours, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. What a great place where you can wake up at 7 oclock and have someone beat you up for 2 hours. And you pay them! Really it was great fun training with these Thai fighters. Kick! Block! Jab! Muay Thai is boxing with a little martial arts thrown in. Punches and kicks are used, as well as elbows and knees! Its a great way to get in shape, learn some self defense skills and have a really great time! At one point I was put in the ring to spar with the Thai kids who train everyday and have been training probably for their whole lives. Needless to say, the 8 year old kid threw me down just about everytime! With all these Thai men from the store next door watching! Watch the little white girl get her butt kicked by the kids! Fun times! When I wasnt training, I spent some great time at the beach just lounging around or treated myself to a Thai massage. (for the low low price of 250 Thai Baht, like $6 US) Luckily this trip I didn't get sunburned!
One of my favorite things about Thailand is the convoluted English they speak. Its different than the Chinglish (Chinese English mish mash) one hears in China. In Thailand its really very simple. Instead of asking if they have something, its just "Have, no have?" The reply: "Have!" or "No have!" Easy enough. They also love repeating words. "This very Cheap cheap!" but my favorite Thai saying: "Same same!" This phrase can be applied to just about anything! You want to buy one pair of pants but the others are cheaper? "this same same! Want cheap cheap!" Trying to explain English words to kick boxing instructors, "Punch, Jab. meaning same same!" Definitely one of the most useful phrases in the English language. They even make t-shirts in Thailand that say Same Same on the front!
So my trip was great, I arrived back to China and the next day headed off to my usual Muay Thai class. I'm having a good time, using my new skills, and we were practicing thowing each other like I had been doing all week. Except this time, I was slightly scared of falling on the floor because it was a bit harder than the ring I had been landing on in Thailand. So I tensed up, locking my ankle. The instructor went through with the throw with my foot firmly planted. My body twisted, foot didn't. Crack. 2 hospitals, and xray and a lot of waiting later, I'm informed that my ankle has been fractured. At the first hospital, they immediately tell me that I must stay because they want to operate. Yikes. No way am I getting an operation in China. My instructor asks him what kind of surgery and the doctor says "thats for me to worry about" Sheesh. This is a bit of a scam. Maybe I do need surgery but they really want me to have it because I'm foreign which equates to having lost of money that I can spend on surgery and hospital bills. Okay, next hospital! This one is a bit more foreigner friendly and one of the better ones in Shenzhen. They tell me I should put in screws. Again I vetoed. The fracture isn't that big and my instructor (who has broken multiple bones multiple times) syas that the bone will probably heal fine without them. So 20 minutes later, I've got a nice white cast. But no crutches. They don't sell them in the hospital. Sheesh. We hobble off to a taxi and go to a medical supply store to get crutches.
At the supply store, they are moving slower than Christmas. Im standing there on one leg obviously in some amount of pain and theyre just taking their precious time. I exasperatedly told them to hurry up. Then they brought me the wrong size. Twice. Finally we get it worked out. I want to give them back the cane I had bought prior to going to the hospital and they insisted on having the receipt which they didn't give me before. So now they've got me, my instructor (who speaks really good chinese) and my instructors assistant (who is Chinese) all yelling at these people. Finally we get it all worked out. I got my crutches and made it home safe and sound!
So thats the update of the last week of my life. I went to Thailand and paid guys to give me bruises and beat me up (oh yeah, and I burned myself on a motorbike) I make it home alive and in one piece. I'm in China a day and I fracture my ankle. The best part is, right before Muay Thai class, I was joking with the instructor because the medical store is right by our gym. I asked him if he wanted me to buy him a crutch from the medical supply store. Ah the irony. Karma is a pain in the ..ankle. Especially in China!
posted by Mark Clayton Hand at 7:05 PM
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