If you're reading my blog in the next day or two, please send Muir some good vibes because he caught (another) cold or something after we returned from Taiwan. He asked me to find some NyQuil for him, but no such luck. Instead I busted out my awesomely broken Chinese and bought some cough syrup at the closest pharmacy. The conversation I had with the pharmacist went something like this:
Pharmacist: "What are you looking for?"
Me: "My husband is sick."
Pharmacist: "What's the matter?"
Me: "He has coughing, cannot sleep."
Pharmacist: "Aw, can't sleep, huh? Does his throat hurt?"
Me: "His throat...not hurt, just coughing, coughing, coughing. And also his head hurt."
Pharmacist: "Do you prefer syrup or tablets?"
Me: "Uh, everything is acceptable."
[Pharmacist brings back a box of cough syrup manufactured by Boehringer Ingleheim with Chinese characters all over it, says a few things I don't understand.]
Me: "...Has dry coughing."
Pharmacist: "Dry cough, eh? This is good for a dry cough." [brings another box of medicine with Chinese and English on it, says more stuff I don't understand. I use my pocket dictionary to look up something she just said which meant 'hard to play a stringed instrument,' so presumably something about it being good for coughs, sore throats, and laryngitis. I read the English labeling and decide I don't want lemon, honey, and chamomile.]
Me: [pointing to the first bottle] "Inside has what chemical?"
[Pharmacist says more stuff I don't understand.]
Me: [pointing to biggest word on the first bottle] "This is the chemical name?"
Pharmacist: "No, [more stuff I don't understand]."
Me: "Is it the product name?"
Pharmacist: "Yes." [points to and reads other words on the box] "That's the drug name."
[Try to look it up, but not in my dictionary. Obviously.]
Me: "I buy this one." [pointing to first bottle] "This is how much money?"
Pharmacist: "30.40"
[I pay her and put the bottle in my bag.]
Me: "Thank you for helping me."
Pharmacist: "Don't mention it."
I'm glad that there are many tolerant people in Beijing willing to put up with my terrible Chinese.
Pharmacist: "What are you looking for?"
Me: "My husband is sick."
Pharmacist: "What's the matter?"
Me: "He has coughing, cannot sleep."
Pharmacist: "Aw, can't sleep, huh? Does his throat hurt?"
Me: "His throat...not hurt, just coughing, coughing, coughing. And also his head hurt."
Pharmacist: "Do you prefer syrup or tablets?"
Me: "Uh, everything is acceptable."
[Pharmacist brings back a box of cough syrup manufactured by Boehringer Ingleheim with Chinese characters all over it, says a few things I don't understand.]
Me: "...Has dry coughing."
Pharmacist: "Dry cough, eh? This is good for a dry cough." [brings another box of medicine with Chinese and English on it, says more stuff I don't understand. I use my pocket dictionary to look up something she just said which meant 'hard to play a stringed instrument,' so presumably something about it being good for coughs, sore throats, and laryngitis. I read the English labeling and decide I don't want lemon, honey, and chamomile.]
Me: [pointing to the first bottle] "Inside has what chemical?"
[Pharmacist says more stuff I don't understand.]
Me: [pointing to biggest word on the first bottle] "This is the chemical name?"
Pharmacist: "No, [more stuff I don't understand]."
Me: "Is it the product name?"
Pharmacist: "Yes." [points to and reads other words on the box] "That's the drug name."
[Try to look it up, but not in my dictionary. Obviously.]
Me: "I buy this one." [pointing to first bottle] "This is how much money?"
Pharmacist: "30.40"
[I pay her and put the bottle in my bag.]
Me: "Thank you for helping me."
Pharmacist: "Don't mention it."
I'm glad that there are many tolerant people in Beijing willing to put up with my terrible Chinese.
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