Stop Everything...

...and cue the angelic music. Today I found a pharmacy.

I went to Lotus with my neighbor. We are both new to China, so we thought we would try to go to Lotus on our own. That way if we get lost, at least we'll be lost together. In the end, there were students on the same bus going and returning, so we had people to talk to and a little reassurance that we were going the right way. I had a few goals today.
Baking soda: negative.
Flour: affirmative.
Curling iron: negative. (Well, expensive and all complicated ones are available.)
Lentils, written in pinyin and characters: negative. :(

Another goal was to get bandages and something to disinfect a cut. So I asked a few people by saying bian1 dai4, which means "bandage." I also showed them a hang-nail, and made a motion like wrapping something around my finger. Eventually, I got pointed to this little area in the front of the store. It was a real pharmacy with everything. I got bandages and some cotton swabs with disinfectant inside. I also got tiger balm. My cold is almost gone, so I didn't spend the time trying to negotiate cold medicines. But, wow! Nobody knew that it was at Lotus. People were telling me crazy places to go to a pharmacy, which were far from us and difficult to get to. This pharmacy definitely had anything you need. It also had English labels on the shelves and cases, such as 'gastro-intestine' and 'gynecologic' and 'fever/nausea' and 'vitamins.' My neighbor got some calcium supplements there too.

I don't even care that much about the lentils anymore. It's just so satisfying to know where the pharmacy is, for when I get sick, and I don't feel like navigating the city to find one.

Yay!
-吴佩芙