They had a Canadian doctor talk about Health Care here. I don't feel that routine medical issues are really a problem because there are clinics that are staffed by American doctors. The problem comes when there is an emergency. Ambulances do not arrive quickly and they are not staffed with EMTs, although they do have a little training. Language is a big problem. This doctor said that if the person can be moved, then call a taxi to get to the hospital, it is the fastest way. The nearest hospital for emergencies, that has American staff, is in Puxi at least 40 minutes away. They will be opening one in Pudong by the end of the year. So no one in my family can need emergency care until then (actually I prefer never)!!!
He also told us that we should have 2000 RMB (about $320) on hand and about 10,000RMB (about $1600 - yeah right!) in a safe at the house because you will be expected to pay the medical bills up front when you arrive. If you do happen to take an ambulance, you will need to pay the ambulance driver when you arrive at the hospital. Not sure what happens if you do not have the money.
He also spoke about different immunizations we should have, medication and were to get them, etc. He talked about having the rabies immunization which is recommended for those places (here in China) that can not get the rabies shot for after a bite takes place. The medical peice was very helpful talk.
Some interesting statistics we learned: there are 23 million people in Shanghai, more than a half a million expats and 50+ Ethnic groups. Just some random facts thrown at you!!
The next section of the talk was about the challenges of doing business in China. The gentleman talked about dealing with Chinese who will not tell a boss something can't be done because they do not want to loose face. They will just say yes, even if they know something is impossible. Another issue that exist is that Americans deal with a problem head on. Asian cultures tend to ignore or go around problems. The Chinese are not trained to be creative thinkers, they are book smart. I know that many criticize the US schools, but after being here and talking to people, we really do have a good education system. We may not be able to pass all the standardized tests, but our kids are creative, can think outside the box and can solve problems. All this is very important in business. Chinese are seriously looking a that.
They talked about trailing spouses and things for them. How to protect your marriage, because the demands on the working spouse is a lot, but both spouses need to make sure to spend time together. Of course we know this, but always good to be reminded.
After we finished with our class, we headed to Puxi for the Expat Show. The Expat Show is in a large convention center. They had vendors from all over the city giving out brochures and business cards. Daniel has decided to start collecting business cards and gathered more than 100 at the show! I got brochures from many places such as: places that teach Mandarin, travel agents, health care and dental places, restaurants, etc. Randy found a newspaper printed in English.
We went to the US consulate booth where they told us that we should register with them so in case of emergency we are on file and they will contact us.
The Expat Show had some activities for kids. Daniel got to make a paper flower, got a few tattoos, bounced in a bounce house, etc. Plus he got a bunch of free things. He complained about going at first, but in the end he had a ball.
So much information in one day my head is spinning!
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