Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China 2009

Getting Settled In

Getting Settled In
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

So here we are on a Sunday afternoon, all checked in to the Hongfu Jinlan hotel in Ak’su, which, by the way, is really nice! We had our team meeting earlier to discuss some logistics for tomorrow’s big clinic day, and we’re resting up to meet again at 4:15 p.m. for our first visit to the hospital. The plan is to set up the operating room, check out our supplies, and figure out what else we might need. I’ll let the experts figure out which type of suture they might need, and when they will be doing the hemogram test. I’m not even really sure what that is. My big task will be to find out where we can get SIM cards or calling cards around town, and buy some bottled water for the team. I’ll also need to start transcribing our team leader Beverly's welcome speech for the big banquet tonight. You can find a picture of us above. Wish us luck over here!

Wrestling our Luggage

Wrestling our Luggage
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

At Ak’su, we were greeted by folks from the China Population Welfare Foundation at the national, provincial, and local levels of the organization. The airport was no more than a building with kiosks, and the baggage claim consisted of a warehouse and a truck. When we got off the plane, the officers pointed us left of the building, and we all gathered around a truck to wrestle our luggage and boxes into a van. Moving all 34 pieces of luggage onto three flights was no small feat, so we were all extremely excited that everything (barring Deb’s luggage- sorry Deb) made it to Ak’su in one piece.

Journey to Ak’su

Journey to Ak’su
Originally uploaded by interplast

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China- Cindy Shih, Interplast volunteer coordinator/ translator.

After a 46-hour journey, the 16-member team landed in the Ak’su airport. The journey went (mostly) without a hitch, except for one lost luggage (Deb’s, our volunteer anaesthesiologist), some doubts that I was really who I am on my passport, and threats of exorbitant excess baggage fees. To be completely fair, we were “only” checking in 34 pieces of luggage that weighed over 700 kgs. With all that weight, I’m surprised they let us get on some of those small propeller planes that carried 50 passengers! Honestly, I was more than a bit worried on our domestic flight from Urumqi to Ak’su. Luckily, the view was so distractingly gorgeous that it made us forget we were travelling on a tiny, old plane, traversing treacherous-looking, snow-capped mountains.