crash course in Chinese health remedies

While my dad's side of the family has remained in the Kaoshiung area of Taiwan, my mom's side of the family has spread to different corners of the world: to France, Venezuela, the US, and, of course, stayed in Taiwan. Needless to say, reunions are rather difficult to coordinate. When I was younger, they would go months without speaking and years without seeing each other. Now, Skype helps. Mommy was very excited one night when all her brothers and sisters were on Skype at the same time (also difficult due to the time differences). It was the night she announced that I was getting married.

Three of my mom's five siblings are currently visiting her in Cary: Oldest uncle, aunt, and second uncle. Second aunt (married to second uncle) is also here, along with her niece, Penny. It's a full house and a microcosm of Taiwan. I stayed for a week, and I must admit that when I first returned to Brevard, some English phrases sounded off to my ears.

 
I also came back with a full fuel tank (aka belly) due to second aunt's delicious cooking. Matt had visited for a couple days and noticed one evening that the smells wafting out of the house were attracting the neighbors. Below second uncle is cooking under the tutelage of second aunt.

We were all picking oldest uncle's brain about Chinese health remedies. He practices reflexology in Paris and has the most formal training (although aunt and my mom also have picked up a good bit from talking to others). Every day, oldest uncle massaged my feet. This wasn't any ol' foot rub after a tiring day: No, it's supposed to dig in and hurt! I kind of dreaded the massage, but at the same time, I'm very grateful, because as he works on my feet, oldest uncle takes in my "bad" qi.

Earlier this year, I broke out in a skin condition that puzzled the doctors and dermatologists. It's mostly gone now, leaving pigmented patches behind. To be honest, I wasn't much of a believer in traditional Chinese medicine and may still not be. However, I do know that western medicine is flawed. The dermatologists are too boxed into their specialty to view my health as a whole, and place too much emphasis on steroid creams (a cosmetic band-aid). So why not try other things?

Oldest uncle had me drinking clay water, applying a clay poultice to my legs, rinsing my nose with salt water, trying to sneeze out the bad qi. To stimulate the flow of qi in our bodies, we all did this exercise where we hit ourselves - this doesn't hurt - in patterns following the meridians, fifty times along each meridian. It all sounds weird - and even weirder trying to write this in English - but older people in Taiwan are so much healthier than we are here in the US. And it has nothing to do with air and water quality.