Please pass the Cipro

Sunday, July 3rd

Please take a moment to join me in thanking God for the makers of Cipro. It is truly a miracle drug. In fact, I would be happy to do a commercial for them exclaiming its worthiness and usefulness if it wasn’t for such a gross symptom. I have traveled far and wide toting this little prescription. I was so concerned about what I was consuming in Kazakhstan that I took it twice a day, every day just for preventative purposes. The bathrooms there were not exactly the place where I wanted to become one with the porcelain throne. Besides, I don’t think they are porcelain there.

This has not been the case in China which is a good thing since I am traveling alone with a toddler! I have required the services of Cipro 3 times (so far). The first was in Xi’an and was a very mild case. It was so unbelievably hot in Xi’an. The temperatures ranged from 104 to 110 degrees almost every day. In fact, the weather in Guangzhou is about 96 to 98 degrees every day and doesn’t even feel hot after Xi’an! I had run out of my bottled water and the driver offered me an unopened, sealed bottle of water from a case that he kept in the back of the van. I gave some to Cameron who has had no issues at all (obviously he is used to every parasite in China), and I had a few sips of it. I was sick about 15 minutes later. For those of you who are reading this who are preparing for your trip to China, here’s an FYI…the green labeled Chinese brand of bottled water is not safe for us wimpy Americans. Go for the good stuff and get the blue-labeled bottle water from Nestle.

The second time Cipro was necessary was Saturday after my first big outing in Guangzhou. Everyone, and I mean everyone, insists that when in Guangzhou (specifically on Shamian Island where we are) you must make a trip to Lucy’s Bar and Grill. They serve the closest thing to American food (sadly that means cheeseburgers, french fries, pizza and pasta) to any restaurant in China. I am not sure if it was their ice in my drink (ice in the hotel has not been a problem) or perhaps the vegetables on my cheeseburger (yes, I caved) were rinsed in untreated water, but at any rate I was SICK. It was short-lived thanks to my trusty Cipro.

The following day I decided that it must have been a fluke because I continue to only hear good things about Lucy’s. So, I returned. I got something totally different this time. Calamari and french fries. 15 to 20 minutes later- SICK. Unfortunately, I had decided to run errands after we ate dinner at Lucy’s and the tummy rumbling started when I was in the middle of arguing over the rate of laundry or a book or something. All was well again 10 minutes after the Cipro.

I met a dad and his adorable daughter at breakfast. They are from Buffalo and have been to China much longer than me because they did an extra week in Beijing before going to their daughter’s province. He was explaining that the rest of the family was back in their room SICK. So sick and had been for days that they have had to cancel their touristy things the past couple days. I felt so bad for them. I decided that they needed my Cipro more than me. I saved a couple just in case its service becomes necessary as the week progresses but gave the rest to the dad. Being 12 years old and struck with traveler’s sickness sounds like an awful way to spend your summer vacation. I am not giving Lucy’s any more chances so hopefully, I will be safe from here on out.

I actually invented a fun new game last week in Xi’an that I have named Chinese Roulette. In this game, Cameron and I walk into a local restaurant for dinner. I do pick ones where the waitress staff wear uniforms because it seems safer. We then attempt to order something from the menu and then actually eat it. The local restaurants have no English in them whatsoever. No English speakers. No English on the menus. And most often, no photos of the dishes as guides to what you are ordering. It’s just a laminated piece of paper with Chinese writing and a number next to each item. So, I pick a number at random and see what we end up getting for dinner. I had a 50% success rate in Xi’an which I thought was pretty good. Most items were a little too spicy for me, but good nonetheless.

Guangzhou is not shaping up to look like I will continue this little game of mine. The breakfast buffet has some pretty amazing Chinese food as well as Western so I might just be getting my main meal here and punting the rest of the time. The equivalent of Chinese Ramon noodles is easily accessible in 7-11 and grocery stores. I have just met a family in the hotel playroom who has informed me that Papa John’s delivers to the hotel. I saw the menu. It looked like real pizza to me. It will still be a cultural experience for one of the Murrays. After all, Cameron has not been introduced to pizza yet. I think it’s time that he tries this staple food.