Operation Smile - Wenshan, China and More

I never really thought I would go to China in my life. Sometimes life comes up with unexpected opportunities though and that is how I made my way to China.  I was not disappointed though, I can say that much.  The kids and families I met in Wenshan made the whole trip worth it.  Plus, I may have also got to see a lot of really cool cultural, historical, and super Chinese things.  

After a number of plane rides (that added up to about 22 hrs on the plane plus layovers) we hit the ground running at the Wenshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.  After a day of screening and three full days of surgery we had changed the lives of 86 children and adults by helping repair their cleft lips, cleft palates, and burns.  I have done few things in life that are as fulfilling as that.  You really can't imagine what is like to be in the recovery room with a kid when their parents get to see them for the first time after surgery. It's awesome.  That is why Operation Smile is so addictive.  

I have a lot of pictures I wanted to share and instead of trying something fancy I'm just listing them with captions so that those of you who really wanted to know about some details of the trip will hopefully enjoy.  

Across the bridge soup.  This is a specialty in the Yunnan Province. You get a super hot bowl of broth and oil and then add the meats and egg first and let it sit while it cooks. The meat is really thin so it will cook.  Afterwards, you add the rest of the ingredients.  It was delicious. I have to say that the thing that was nicest to get back to after China was not the food in general because we had delicious food.  However, in China there is no differentiation between breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Meat, veggies, and rice/noodles are served for every meal.  So although it really wasn't a big deal, I was quite happy to come back and have a 'normal' breakfast.

In Kunming, a stopover on our way to Wenshan, we stayed a night in a hotel across from this square.  That morning before leaving for the airport we went over to see a lot of people participating in Thai Chi and all other sorts of morning exercise.  I especially loved these two men. One was brushing Chinese characters on the ground and the other was doing a sword dance of some sort.

 Screening day. I didn't get to do screening in Paraguay last fall and it was so fun!

 When screening day started to slow down I took stock of some things we were missing for the OR and Recovery Room.  There were no arm boards and since that would have meant a lot of lost IVs in the Recovery Room I went to work.  Resources were limited but cardboard works almost as well as a real arm board.

 The Recovery Room team including the our doctor, a resident, myself and three other nurses from China, and our translator from China who knew such great English and saved our lives in the Recovery Room.

 Some of the local nurses and members of the international team.  Imagine if I had to show up to work wearing that.  I love what I do, but I don't think I'd be a nurse.

 Randomly, the mission coordinator had gotten four nurses not only from Utah but also all from Primary Children's. It was so great getting to know them and we've even gotten together since.

 We had one free day around Wenshan that wasn't originally going to happen so they threw something together quick for us.  We spent the morning hiking up to a temple set in the mountains and it was beautiful.  That afternoon, they worked hard to have a American BBQ for us in China that was delicious and pretty legit.

 After the BBQ a few of set out to really experience Wenshan since we had been inside a hospital the whole time.  We went downtown and walked around taking it all in.

 We also climbed up to a tall pagoda we had been noticing in the distance all week. The Chinese really love steep steps up to monuments and temples apparently.

 Some food samplings from our final dinner.  Nothing like a duck's head and a chicken's foot.  I tried everything that was ever set out on the table in my time in China, but I couldn't do the chicken's foot.

 I was lucky enough to be able to stay in Beijing for 2 extra days and have some of the other international volunteers and those from Utah stay too. We packed those two days with sites but we got to hit the highlights and it was totally worth the long days of walking.  We started super early at the flag raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square, then went to The Forbidden City, Coal Hill Park, and the Llama Temple. It was great to experience so much Chinese history and see such different architecture and style than what I'm used to.  Between the cloudy day and the Beijing pollution the pictures are terrible and we were quite cold all day but it was a good day.

 The second day we got to go to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. I was sad to have left Brent home the whole time, but I really was missing him when I was on the Great Wall because I know he would've really loved seeing it.  The area we were in had barely any tourists that day and so we really got to be in a lot of sections without seeing anyone else or having anyone in our pictures.  The wall was really amazing and the surrounding mountains were beautiful (it looked a lot like the Wasatch Mountains actually).

I'm a sucker for anyone that can make something artsy right in front of me and especially if it is unique.  I don't typically buy souvenirs but I couldn't pass this up as he carved my name into the stone in English and Chinese characters (he consulted a legit book of names and sayings translations). If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a note in the mail someday from me signed with a stamp from China.

 Finally, before we rushed to the airport, we stopped by the Summer Palace, which I really wished we could have spent a whole day there in the summer when all the trees and flowers were in bloom and spend the day just walking around the lake.  I'm just saying that if I were an empress I would've gone there too in the summer.

As you can see, it was a great trip.  Now I can check China off my list.  I can't wait until Brent can actually come with me on an Operation Smile trip.