Bringing diabetes (and other) medicine into China

can you use chopsticks?

What's your favourite sport?

These and other similar questions will be come very familiar.

(My favourites are things like "do you like sport" NO "what's your favourite sport" I don't like sport, it's unhealthy"

Or "Do you like Chinese food?" sure, where are we going?)

 

I especially like "where are we going".  I will try that one next time. 

How long have you been in China?

Congratulations on the safe landing, Shroomy!  Just colour me green with envy.

Welcome, 'Shroomy.
Where'd you settle in Changchun? Hope it's the block with 24-hour water...

How do you think of China?
Which is more derlicious- Peeessa or hamboorger?

Thanks for the ALREADY redundant questions.  Actually, they were redundant in less than 24 hours after arrival.  I am getting over my jet lag and finally found an apartment today with the school's help.  It is a good deal, 2 bedroom unshared, 2nd floor (fewer pesky stairs than the one they showed me on the 5th floor with no shower), 24 hour water, clean, and only 1/2 block from school (great for napping between sessions).

Raoul, the apartment is near EF on Tongzhi Street, right downtown.  I have every sort of restaurant and street food I could want within 2 blocks and a great supermarket across the street.  Fairly soft landing.  I am not working for EF, though the school is just above it.  I even have a fridge big enough for 1-1/2 cubic feet of insulin, and food, or at least a supply of diet coke.

Stop by and visit if you're coming through town, or need a get-away to a town with not much to see.  I have a spare twin bed with a Mickey Mouse mattress.

Okay, off topic, I'm stopping now.

What's the weather like in your hometown?

Perhaps it's time for an update to this topic.  Since all this was written, the new Chinese airline rules went into effect saying that you can't bring liquids in your carry-on luggage.

I asked before going back to the US in June, since I needed to carry insulin back with me for the 2 month break.  I was told to get a Chinese hospital certification of my diabetes, and that the flight crew would have to hold my insulin.  Thanks to my connections the certification was easy to get.  To my shock I went to the teaching hospital on a random day and got a Chinese doctor (older) who understood perfectly in English what kind of papers I needed.

Anyway, I went to my domestic Changchun to Beijing flight with my papers in hand and insulin in carry-on.  The security scanners didn't even ask to open my carry on.  No one asked for the papers, the insuling stayed in the suitcase.  Even the needles were no big deal, even in the days leading up to the Olympics.

On the way back to Changchun, between the Olympics and Para-Olympics, I carried in 18 bottles of insulin and many, many assorted bottles of medications in my carry-on.  Again, no problem, no request for papers, no interest in seeing the liquid.  I mailed my syringes for lack of space (though, for the record, my friends say insulin syringes are available here) and had no problem with that.

I also passed my physical last year and should get the results of this year's physical this afternoon.

So, if you're diabetic and need to bring in insulin, my experience says it isn't as difficult as it sounds.

When Hubby and I went to the US this Summer, we were told that we couldn't take any "liquids or gels" in our carry-ons that were "over 3oz" - they would have to go into the checked luggage.  And that said items that we did carry with us were to be placed into "clear, plastic Ziplock bags". 
So, we duly bagged my nail varnishes and my prescription ointments.