Another cold day, and another morning with the venerable Dr Tao. His clinic was busy, but the same sense of calm prevailed. Dr Bumptious appeared briefly early on, pushing his way to the front of every gathering. Thankfully he disappeared off to the staff changing room to play with his laptop. Dr Tao graciously answered questions and delivered a couple of mini lessons on diseases and treatments. His patients didn’t seem to mind waiting for some time to see him, indeed one lady occupied his chair while he was treating patients.

Investigations are done very quickly. One young woman with neck symptoms was sent for an X ray. She returned in under 30 minutes with the Xray and the report. A woman also with neck symptoms who was in the previous day similarly had Xrays and CT scans, all done on the day she came to the clinic and reported on. Compare that to the scandalous delays that apply in Ireland.

Consumption of tea goes on throughout the day everywhere. Almost everyone carries their tea container with them, this can be anything from a screwtop glass jar to a purpose made container with inbuilt filter to keep the leaves at bay. All the hospital clinics have a couple of large flasks of hot water near the doctor’s desk; periodically people top up their containers from the flasks. Boiling water is available in many public places, including train stations. Supermarkets and department stores and humbler retail establishments carry unbelievably large ranges of containers for tea.

Later in the day during a break in the ear acupuncture lecture we discovered grotesquely realistic models of tongues in the classroom, presumably used as teaching aids.

 

 

Tongues 3