Am I healthy?

Some days ago I was struck with a troubled stomach. If it was mild food poisoning or just Traveller's Diarrhoea, I don't know. But at least the Oriental bacterias did their job and made one day out of hell for me.

I've also been a bit harassed by mosquitos. For some reason they really like me, and on one arm only I had about 17(!) mosquito bites. While Christian (that lucky bastard), got none. The rest of my body also got their share of bites, but 17 on one arm is a record for me.

But I don't mean to share all my hypochondriac worries here with you. The real reason why I'm writing this is because of the Chinese and their ways of handling such happenings. In this country it is common to offer advice whenever you think you have something to contribute, and most Chinese can contribute in most cases. And when it comes to a common disease like with your stomach, advices, tips and tricks rain over you. People from the office, who normally shows us around, even came to our apartments and started preparing food for me. Now that's what I call a caring employer.

The focus on health in this country is rather amazing. And it has probably been like that for centuries. Everyone knows a lot about what's healthy and not, and it may be the biggest issue of their lives, from cradle to grave. When we were at the airport we found a hand-out called "The 3 Fives". "Five keys to safer food. Five keys to a healthy diet. Five keys to appropriate physical activity." And in this country it seems like everyone follows these keys, as they are of such importance.

For starters, we had to take a full health check when we were in Norway to get a resident permit. The Doctor had to clarify whether we had Syphilis, STDs, back trouble or other scary illnesses. He even needed to give the form an official stamp. But when we came here, they weren't pleased with what the doctor had done in Norway. Because of other focuses, we had to take more blood tests and even an ultrasonic(!) test. This was a new experience for us two Norwegians, but we can assure everyone back home that none of us are pregnant.

In almost every block there are some red and yellow apparatus. These are for exercise, mostly used by elderly people. Just like an outdoors gym, where you can show off your muscles to anyone who's passing by. I think Christian and me will try them out soon, who knows, maybe we will fit in just perfectly.

But the old people also have other ways of staying fit. Every morning we can see people practicing their Tai Chi, which is a kind of Martial Arts dance performed slowly. It's graceful and impressive, at least when you see the synchronized movements between all the participants. Tai Chi is a dance/exercise which is a part of the legendary Martial Art of Kung Fu. Maybe I can write more about Kung Fu another time, but not in this article.

In his article about food, Christian mentioned something about healthy food. The Chinese think that everything they digest should be healthy. That's why even snacks are made out of dried fruits and vegetables, without adding sugar or anything artificial.

We have also noticed people with face masks, both here and in Beijing. Some of them say that they wear them to protect their skin, something which is quite understandable here in the dry and sandy desert landscape. But during football practice it started raining and everyone ran away to find shelter. We couldn't see why, because in Norway we are so used to the rain, but the reason was that they were afraid of the rain. It is actually dangerous to drink it. So another reason for the health focus and face masks might be the polluted air. Close to the University there is a big chimney that sends out tons of smog from a rubber factory. And it makes me think, maybe I should buy me one of those masks.