seneca (expat in China)

I went to our people's hospital to get a crown for one of my teeth. Two years back, I thought the docs in this clinic could never perform such an operation, but the young woman did a marvelous job: two appointments, a total of about 3 hours, and the modest amount of 1225 kuai. No red envelope passed from my hands to hers.

But my very first session with that dentist was a sort of a nightmare: there just is no privacy. While she inspected my teeth there were eight other faces staring down into my gullet from right behind or beside her. There were all kinds of comments and questions - "is he a laowai? Yes, he is, can't you see that? Where is this laowai from? How old is he?" The dentist didn't know the answer to any of these questions.

A doctor sees a young patient in a clinic in Chiping county in Liaocheng city, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/IC]