Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Food-poisoning

I think it may have been the orange drink I had this morning.

Or it could have been the noodles I had last night. But God, I feel like shit.

I was suppose to hold four classes today. But I barely managed to get through one. I canceled the rest. My stomach is killing me.

People often say you have to watch what you eat in China. The sanitary standards aren't always up to par with American restaurants. I don't really see dishwashers at many of the "hole-in-wall" restaurants I eat at, although I do see government certificates on the walls. Sometimes I see a server wipe the sides from a bowl of noodles with some rag and then drop the food right in front of me. Where has that rag been?

Most every morning I go eat this "Chinese egg burrito wrap" from a woman with a portable black stove hauled on by a bicycle. It's my favorite food, but she wears no plastic gloves when she makes them and I don't see how she can wash her hands. Once I paid attention to those hands; something like black soot was around the edges of her fingers.

Sometimes I go to the convenient store to pick up a pack of Oreos. I then look at the plastic to see white numbers showing a date that passed by two months ago. Is this the best-buy date or the expiration date? I stupidly buy them anyways and eat them, only to feel my bowels rumble an hour later.

I think these terrible stomach pains are passing. But I wonder, what other things are lurking in my body. Ugh.....