Tuesday, June 28, 2011

We interrupt your currently scheduled posting...


Antibiotic Packets

I have to put our Singapore trip on hold for a moment to fill you in on our first Doctor's appointment. It started out with a little cough that progressed into Wyatt hacking up organs, so I figured for the sake of everyone and for the love of Taiwan, I should probably bring him somewhere to be checked out. I called an English speaking Doctor's office this morning at 9:05 am. The appointment was scheduled for 9:30 am and I was told that I was number 8. Having no idea what that meant, I figured we were in for quite a long wait despite having been taken in for an appointment at a moments notice. We were fortunate enough to have Will drive us there and were greeted by a cheery office with a play set in the front foyer. Sweet feature (though I figured incredibly germ infested- I know, my Debbie Downer brain can't help it.). The office didn't want my insurance card, had us fill out a questionnaire approximately 5 questions long, none of which covered medical history, (though one did ask about allergies) and no social history questions other than number and address. After paying 500 NT dollars for the visit (approximately 15-16 US bucks) we were seen at exactly 9:30 am. There were two electronic number counters on the wall..kind of like what you would see at a deli. Despite me confirming that Cooper was Wyatt's last name, they proceeded to call him Cooper throughout the visit, taking the customary weight and temp prior to going into the Doctor's office space. We saw what I assumed was the Doctor right after Wyatt's weight was taken, as preliminary introductions were not made (other than confirming who Cooper was). This was a no-nonsense visit. She took a look at "Cooper" looked down his throat, checked his ears, listened while I gave what I perceived was important medical history of our kid, prescribed a bag a meds to be picked up at the pharmacy next door, said he had a red throat, an infected right ear and to schedule a time to have his ear checked in about a week. Gee, I'll see if I can fit it in. Wyatt was thrilled. There were no shots involved and he got a balloon, sticker and a lollipop. It was efficient, and hopefully after a week effective enough that he can no longer communicate with seals. I do however have mixed feelings. While the appointment took all of 10 minutes and I am hopeful we won't have to return frequently, I missed the patient care. I miss our pediatrician. Anyways, we walked next door to the pharmacy and I handed the prescriptions that were given me. Ten minutes, a hundred crack bags (I jest obviously) and a bag of differing colored liquids totaling 300 NT dollars (10 US bucks) later and we were done. How to get Wyatt to take any of this? Well, your guess is as good as mine.


The pharmacy

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Birds...




 
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Birds are beautiful creatures. In fact, when I was younger and my elementary school teacher told us to pick what animal we would want to be, it was always a bird. The thought of taking flight, perching in a tree or on a wire, taking in the world around me and flying away from things that bothered me at a moments notice; well, it all sounded quite appealing. This being said, the idea of going to the Jurong Bird Park was enticing, and I knew that Wyatt would have a great time (particularly since they had stroller rentals there to prevent maximum "sweatage"). Jurong Bird Park was set up a great deal like the zoo. The park had an open airy quality to it and was  made to feel, I'm assuming, (if I were a bird), very much like the animals natural environment. They also had a Ben and Jerry's there. BONUS. Downside? There were a lot of hills, making me quite cranky, as I was pushing Wyatt up, seemingly for a greater part of the day. Trying to make the best of my own sweat issues, I was struck by how close we got to the birds. Luckily I was not literally struck, but the possibility was certainly there. I didn't even get crapped on. How awesome is that?! We were able to walk through massive aviaries and admire the beauty of differing species. Wyatt and I (or at least I) appreciate involvement and interaction on our adventures and could not pass up feeding the Lorries. For a mere 3 dollars (I jest) for a tablespoon of nectar or whatever the stuff was, we could walk through this massive aviary(?), hold out the cups and wait until we were accosted by hungry Lorries. I am so stupid. Seriously. What exactly did I think was going to happen? I was excited and terrified at the same time. One by one they started to land (on me) and beat by beat my heart rate increased. Crap. Not literal crap, but CRAP. I felt like they were all over me. Two were on my arm, then one or more landed on my backpack (which was on me)......and I didn't get a picture. I was trying desperately to work the camera while  my son was hightailing it to the entrance. I believe his exact words were, mom, I'm freaking out, I'm leaving. Short of shooting me the peace sign, it was probably the fastest I'd seen him move all day.  Honestly, I was freaking out too, but how does one shed a Lorry? They cling tight.....
They finally departed and my brave boy held the cup quickly to feed a couple of the birds.  Then? We were out of there........Into the next aviary of doom. OK, Wyatt and I were pretty whipped at this point. We were heading towards the exit when I saw another aviary off the beaten path. I asked him quickly if he wanted to go in and he was game. Opening the door with the stroller we were confronted by a large blue bird (approx the size of a pheasant or peacock) with red eyes. Piercing red eyes. Talk about freaked out. I mean as parents we try not to freak out about EVERYTHING (though I'm failing miserably at that...) but this guy was creepy. And he did not want us to go by him. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. Wyatt was done at this point, but I was determined to go further in. I would NOT be deterred by some red beady eyed creature. Yeah. Until I was deterred by the red beady eyed creature. He clearly was not budging despite an oncoming stroller. Admiring his resolve, Wyatt and I decided the best choice would be to relinquish the battle to the bird. You can't win them all- that and the fact that Ben and Jerry were beckoning us to visit. 


        



Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Singapore Zoo


We'd be remiss to visit Singapore and skip the zoo. The cool thing about the Singapore Zoo is that it has a Night Safari after 7:30 pm throughout the week. We took the tram throughout the park and I have to say it was completely awesome to see the animals roaming around at night. Wyatt was a bit bummed until he saw two bats roosting in the rafters on the way out. He had been searching for his coveted (*nasty, albeit needed) nocturnal creatures the entire night. I find it important at this juncture to state that I have a deep seated fear that bats will fly, tangle and nest in my hair. As any good husband would do, Will naturally played upon my terror until I gingerly ran out of the park. In my defense, we were on our way out anyway. Wyatt was tickled about the adventure in its entirety and Will was tickled to see my Couch to 5K training in action.

While at the Night Safari it seemed like a good idea to purchase the park jumper pass for myself and Wyatt so we could enjoy not only the splendor of the Zoo as many times as we wanted throughout the week but get a gander of the Jurong Bird Park as well. (More on that later).Wyatt and I proceeded to come back to the zoo two more times throughout the week. Did I mention that it was hot? I also spent an exorbitant amount of money for other people to take pictures of all the cool things that Wyatt and I were doing. I mean, we can't rely on memories alone for Pete's Sake. Our first day was spent exploring, escaping explosive thunderstorms and taking in cheesy skits that Wyatt soaked up like a sponge. (Figuratively and literally....it was very wet.) One of these skits involved saving the rain forest and getting a photo op with a snake. Wyatt adamantly declined the offer to have the large reptile wrap around his neck, but I jumped at the chance. Why not?? 
The Zoo itself was fantastically impressive. It had a very open feel to it (almost  too open...) and if you looked above, you could see chimpanzees sitting in trees, swinging from ropes and kangaroo hopping mere feet away. The layout was great and it was super fun for the both of us. It actually kind of reminded me a little of Jurassic Park... kind of cool and a little creepy at the same time, like something could jump out at you at any given moment. The second time we went, experts at this point, we had two missions. Ride an elephant and go to the kids water park. Done and Done. After selling more plasma and bone marrow to pay for our elephant photo we headed over to the contained chaos that was advertising itself as a miniature water park. By this time Wyatt was VERY sweaty, cranky and ready to get in the water. *Real Mom Moment* Though I'm not going into extreme detail, please know that I was not the calm, cool, collected, cobra-holding mother throughout our two day zoo excursion. I threatened, exploded and raised my voice from time to time......I say this in the spirit of honesty folks, I just had to get that off my chest. I mean I REALLY wanted to ride that elephant. Not failing to mention the irony of having had this previously mentioned explosive episode in the Ele"fun" house.Yeah. He needed to get over the sweat thing. C'Mon.
SO, having made it to the water park, ready with suits in hand, I noticed that none of the mothers had suits on.- They were just kind of standing on the side getting drenched. Not my idea of a good time. I wanted in. BUT....was I allowed? I CAN'T READ CHINESE!!!!!I really didn't spot a whole lot of parents frolicking in the germ infested water and flying down the water slides. Unsure, I waited it out- while Wyatt had a blast running all over the place, immersing himself in the bacteria laden water. He looked SOOOO refreshed. Spying another mom with a suit, I made a dash to change and ran around with Wyatt until it was time for another cheesy show to start. All in all successful? Yes. My tan? Killer. 



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Singapore Recap

The Coopers Arrive in Singapore- Take 1.


Will said that the hotel room was my kind of camping. He said this after an elongated pause in the doorway and blocking my entry with our suitcases. It was cozy and the approximate size of a nice sized tent. Key word=cozy. In short while Will was working, Wyatt and I were together about 24 hours a day. Ate, slept, swam, played...together. Pure awesomeness ensued. Naturally. We flew in on a Saturday and had Sunday together as a family. We obviously took advantage of the family time and took in the sites. We hit the Biggest Observation Wheel (uh...Ferris wheel ) in THE WORLD. Yeah. It was big...and it moved very slow so Will could hyperventilate at an even slower pace. Poor guy. Not a fan of the heights, but he was a trooper. A Coopa troopa. Hahaha. Singapore was hot. Sunday was hot. Let's be honest- the week was hot. Wyatt, as per mentioned in an earlier post...not a fan of sweat. That had to be the biggest dilemma of the week, as I was not a fan of carrying the Wyatt and he was not a fan of not being carried. See the burgeoning problem? It's all in the details. They're coming. I promise.



Thursday, June 9, 2011

Hot as Fire Breathing Dragons



You may have heard the term Africa hot- well it ain't got nothing on Asia. Sweet mommy. Taiwan is HOT....and you wanna know the greatest part about Asia hot? Apparently my kid doesn't like to sweat. Yeah that's right. He's anti-sweat. That is just an unfortunate side note that I wanted to share before I begin to retell the tale of the Dragon Boat Festival. Tale? Well that implies that the following may be long. It's not really. Shall we start with the weather? Monday was an Asia hot kind of day. We had a fun filled family bike ride to the river, (waking up and getting out of the house at the incredible time of 8:30 I may add)....and took in the sites/smells of racing dragon boats, people balancing eggs, cheesy kids games, the wafting smell of stinky tofu....ahhhhhhh yes. Oh, and did I mention the sweat? I mean how much fun is Taiwan? You can sweat in Virginia, but Dragon boats? I think not.
For more about Dragon Boats and eggs......
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/dragonboat/dragon.html