A Tough Day

Today was the most challenging day that we have had.  This morning Dexter woke up and his cough was a lot worse.  We were a little concerned that he wouldn't be able to get the shots that were needed.  He seemed better after we were up for a while. He seems to be a resilient little guy.

After breakfast, we ventured out a bit with one of the other families in our group.  We went to a local market. It was very interesting to get another perspective on how the Chinese people live.  Some of the most interesting things at the market included live scorpions and dried seahorses. We took lots of pictures. While we were at the market it became clear that we are quite intriguing to the Chinese people. As much as we enjoyed taking in the market, they seemed to enjoy watching us.

When we returned from our adventure, we rested and had Papa John's Pizza for lunch while we waited for our appointment to have Dexter's medical exam and vaccinations. Medical care here is definitely different that what we are used to. Although the clinic was clean, it seemed to be a disorganized mess. The hearing test consisted of a doctor playing a children's keyboard and using squeaky toys to see if he reacted to sounds. The physical exam was abrupt and frightening for him. He had to get two shots which was also pretty traumatic for him (and us).  The nurses were not the most gentle people around.

Dexter did pretty well for a while, but started to have some issues shortly after supper.  He started to run a fever and we could tell he was having some pain in the areas where the shots were given.  He is also now having trouble sleeping comfortably.  Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

The funniest part of the night was a surprise that I found in one of our bathrooms. As I walked in, I noticed some movement on the bathroom counter.  It was a little lizard that looked something like a small gecko.  I found a little bag to put on my hand to grab it and then put it into an empty water bottle.  I showed it to Missy and then brought it down to the front desk.  The girl at the desk jumped back when I put the bottle up on the counter.  I just wanted to know what it was and if we needed to do anything to make sure we didn't get any more in our room.  She never told me what it was called but said they eat mosquitoes and usually live in trees.  She said it is not a common occurrence to have one of these in the room.

It is getting late - - more tomorrow. . .