Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Two weeks ago, we went to the hospital to find out the Buddy Boy's head was facing the wrong way in my womb. Since then, we've been coaxing him with words and an assortment of "alternative medicine"-type ways to get him to turn the right way. A lot of prayers were said as well.

Today, we went into see the doctor, and Buddy is facing the right way!!! He really is the perfect child. We also found out that his head is now the right size too.

Other discoveries at the hospital:

• there are "free" labour & delivery rooms, and there are ones you can pay for. The difference? The free-of-charge room means you could be in pain with a bunch of other women in pain. If you pay 2000NT (~$70Cdn), you can be in pain in private.
• there are four different kinds of hospital rooms: free, and ones that cost 2200 NT, 2400NT and 2600NT. The difference? Again, recovering with a variety of other women or recovering in private. The three different levels of payment depend on the size of the room. The middle one has a double bed so a couple can sleep together. The most expensive one has an entire living room, a double bed, and a single hospital bed - I guess in case the ENTIRE family wants to spend the night with you and your baby.

I also had an AMAZING encounter with the post office/bank (yes, our bank is through the post office, plus our bank's logo is a Yoshi-like character... very sophisticated). I went in to claim yet another winning receipt (here in Taiwan, every receipt you get comes with a lottery number! So far, I've won at least 200 NT every other month. Last time, I won three 200 NTs, and one time, I won 1000 NT and 200NT!).

Anyway, I also inquired into opening my own bank account. The guy was so nice & efficient. He handed me forms right away, and had me fill this and that. Then, he asked if I had my chop. (A chop is a stamp that Taiwanese use in place of a signature.) I didn't. So he told me about a shop down the street where I could get one. I must have looked confused enough that he said, "Why don't I just call them and tell them to make one, and you can just go pick it up?" He told me it should cost about 50NT (just under $2 CDN). We drove over, and sure enough, it was carved & ready to go. And the bonus? She only charged me 30NT (~$1 CDN)! When I returned to talk to the post office/bank guy, he told me not to say anything - I asked him if she charged me so little because he had phoned, and he proudly nodded! :) This was one of those experiences that makes me so glad to be here and not in bureaucratic Canada.

Things learned about the banking system:

• An ATM card is not a given. You have to request one to be made. I asked how you take out money without an ATM card. Apparently you bring your passbook (yes, you still use a passbook that you have to put into a machine to print all your transactions - and if you don't do it after 10 or so transactions, you can't use your ATM card.), your chop and your ARC to the teller, fill out a form, and withdraw your old money the old-fashioned way.

Anyway, it was a terrific day filled with terrific fun and news. We're still taking suggestions for baby names... let us know!