Where's the Beef? Korean Beef Imports

Disclaimer: I hesitate to write this post because I fear that I may offend my Korean associates if they chance upon this site. Please know beforehand that I have high respect for my Korean friends and students. There are some points of ideological differences that I wish to address between the West and Korea, though.

Korean protests over American Beef
American Beef Imports
Because I was previously unaware of the Korean ban on importing American beef, I was surprised a few months ago when a large number of my students (at the Korean International School) talked incessantly about eating, and then dying from, US imported beef. As they wrote sentences to practice the new grammar patterns, many of them alluded that American beef is, in fact, the greatest threat to life itself. American beef is the devil.

I soon learned that the new controversial Korean president had signed a bill to overturn the American beef ban despite widespread fears of Mad Cow Disease. Apparently, the media has determined that President Lee cares more about Korea's relations with Washington than the Korean health issues. They also added rhetoric to spark widespread action that he cares nothing for the safety of thousands of school children who would literally go insane from the beef he sends to primary schools because he hates school children. Well, isn't it obvious? And it seems that the masses ate up the media's claims; millions have hit the streets over the past few months to shout their beef with US beef.

Korean Pseudo-science Perpetuated by the Media
The issue (in combination with other ones I've recently heard) sparked my curiosity about Korean logic and beliefs to a whole new degree. At work, I often hear about questionable Korean scientific conclusions which have been 'proven' by the all-knowing Korean scientists, like:

1) Kimchi cures bird flu, SARS, and most other diseases,
2) if you don't blow-dry your hair before bed, you'll get chronic headaches for the rest of your life,
3) tongue-cutting--if you cut the piece of tissue that connects your tongue to the bottom of your mouth, you will not have a Korean accent when you speak English (many parents will do this to ensure good English skills in their kid's future)
4) if you aren't in a deep REM cycle by 10pm you'll be short in stature when you grow up (my office-mate is vehement about this with her three children and she strongly appeals to science to prove it),
5) fan death--if you sleep with a fan on in an enclosed room, you'll die (the fan steals all the oxygen causing you to suffocate; Korea regulates that fans actually have timers installed as a safety device; the media actually reports cases of fan death often on news programs)...
The multiple times I've questioned Koreans I know about their sources on these issues, they are quick to declare that it's all been proven with scientific evidence, though they don't know anything about the specifics. When I've asked who proved it, they say, "the scientists!" (And yet Korean students' math and science test scores are among the highest in the world. Explain that one to me.)

What's the risk?
World statistics list 208 victims of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (Mad Cow Disease) from 11 countries since the disease was first reported in 1996, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Only three of the cases were in the US. Two of the three almost certainly contracted the disease in the UK (due to the fact that they had not been in the US long enough for the 10 year incubation period by the time of diagnosis). The third person very likely ate contaminated beef in Saudi Arabia. (His history does include annual trips to the US, allowing for a slight possibility that he contracted the disease in the US.)

With nearly 100 million cows in the US (and millions more that have been slaughtered since 1996), and only one possible domestic CJD case existing in the history of the US, I feel safe in concluding that there is a significantly low risk to eat American beef. Though Koreans have demonstrated their excitability over many issues of seemingly small importance, this one has created the need for a significant riot police presence to quell the masses... How could such a slight health risk incite such restlessness... unless it is about something other than beef, right?
What's it really about?
I've read many arguments from both Koreans and foreigners alike who claim the protests are not so much about the beef, but as an outlet to express their discontent with their newly-elected President Lee Myung-bak. Other people argue that they fear importing American beef will disturb the pricey Korean beef industry, which they have tried hard to protect by limiting imports in order to keep prices high. I agree with them that the issues run deeper than health concerns.

Of course, Westerners and Koreans have a very different way of problem-solving. Being Western-educated, I think it is much more reasonable to be upfront, direct, and honest about issues to get the desired result. After working at the Korean International School, I realize that it is usually impossible to do this in Korean circles because of cultural restraints; directness is often associated with aggressiveness, which is widely frowned upon in Korean social situations. It is true that many people recognize that there are deeper reasons to protest US beef, but in my experience, I still believe that most of them view the deeper problems only as side-issues to the main health concern, of course perpetuated by claims from the media.

So, to me, it seems like the media is implementing this propaganda campaign in order to mask their discontent with the real issues in their political fight, by controlling the malleable population like a marionette. The media knows how and what strings to pull to get them to act, which has a powerful effect because the real issues alone won't unite the masses enough to get them out on the streets; there needs to be an overlying threat to Korea, so they sensationalize it.
Back to the Beef: Korean DNA
The media, no doubt in cahoots with "the scientists," went as far to blame weak Korean DNA as a cause for national panic. They claim that Koreans are more susceptible to Mad Cow Disease than any other race, even though no Korean anywhere in the world has ever contracted it, even among the Korean-American population. When a prominent Korean-American (and US Beef eater) in the L.A. area spoke up to disprove the claim, he was quickly labeled as a puppet of American ideals and a hater of the interests of the Motherland. I've also heard accounts (though I haven't seen the source myself) that the media has purported that this is a Washington scheme to weaken the Korean race, and slowly eliminating them. Now, if that were true, I would join the riots myself.

Result
How serious has it gotten? Well, people have been protesting and demanding changes since April. The Prime Minister and his cabinet offered to quit in order to take the blame away from the President. President Lee's approval rating dropped under 20% after only four months in office. Just yesterday, President Lee finally dismissed three top ministers in a desperate grab for an image change. The media has accomplished their goal in cunningly directing the public to fight their political battles. Seoul is in chaos. The riot police have gotten a lot of practice in crowd control. Koreans feel empowered in their anti-American sentiment. I am determined never to live in Korea. Their country is safe from Mad Cow Disease.


Bonus:
The following sentences are quotes from my writing students about the issue. While I understand that they are only high school students, their attitudes echo that of their countrymen. These convictions have infiltrated the entire education system and are not questioned by any other Koreans.

"As the government is asserting to harm the health of the citizens and the economy of Korean beef, Korean people will not stop to parade on the street until their requirements would be accepted."
"It is very dangerous to people. If you eat American beef, you must die."
"Korean's DNA is clearly weak with mad cow disease. Scientists found that Koreans have more opportunities to get mad cow disease."
"Koreans are the easiest to suffer mad cow disease of the world people." "Therefore, Korea population will be less and less."
"Korean's DNA is weak with mad cow disease."
"People won't import American beef because it is not safe at all."
"First of all, American beef contains BSE which causes mad cow disease."
"In addition, these imported cows are not only used in the restaurant, but also in daily necessities, for example, in spices and diapers." (huh???)
"According to the scientists, Koreans have the highest rate of getting mad cow disease than any other people."
"At least 300 people have died out of MCD in America, but if they import it to Korea--who has the highest rate of getting mad cow disease--there is no guarantee that they will not get disease." (really only 208 in the world)
"Most American beef which comes to Korea has mad cow disease."
"The government said that they will spread American beef because lots of kitchens in schools, companies and restaurants."
"American beef can keep friendly relationship with America, but it can't defend the country and citizens."
"They are mad cows; it will kill many people."
"The cows that we plan to import have mad cow disease. It will give the disease to many people."
"Korea is the only country that still imports American beef."
"Koreans have the highest percentage of getting mad cow disease."


pictures are taken from (a great article!): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/south_korean_protests_over_us.html

This can't be right...

Kyle's ice cream flavor personality is:


Is this what my life has come to? The way I see it, the only connection I have to Vanilla ice cream is a shameful yet persistent urge to buy to Rapper Vanilla Ice's 1991 big screen cult classic,"Cool as Ice."



So, how can this be? Vanilla ice cream is not only boring, but also completely dependent on other flavors and add-ins to truly be enjoyable (with the exception of Breyer's Vanilla Bean recipe). I guarantee that if I took this scientific Internet survey 5 years ago, I would be something much more exciting and in-your-face like...

...a 4-gallon tub of Birthday Cake flavored ice cream with frosting swirls, sprinkles, and other sugary goodness. I would be so potent that one spoonful of my delight erases all signs of sleepiness for another 5-6 hours, at least, when taken late in the night, and may even temporarily cure my narcoleptic compatriots. Of course, there would be a Mr. T design on top when you open the delicious, energetic, and motivational tub of inspiration. There's no way I'm plain vanilla, right? I'm way more complex than that.

I need some encouragement... and not that "there's a lot of great things about vanilla" bologna. I'm looking for the truth-mingled lying variety that will falsely build my self-esteem until I can come to terms with my current boring personality traits on my own time table. Sorry, Tiffany. Sorry to all of you, for what I have become.

T.I.C.

I was talking to my Pop a little while ago and we were lamenting something like Sacramento's gas prices, desert landscape, and surprising lack of decent sushi venues, and my Dad just sighed and conceded, "T.I.C."

"What is T.I.C?," you may be wondering. I wasn't quite sure myself, but no sooner did Dad reveal the acronym as "This is California" than I instantly understood his meaning. See, I've been saying "T.I.C." at least once daily, in my heart, for the past year. Of course, my T.I.C. means "This is China." Often, my dissatisfaction is not nearly as good-natured as my Dad's with California, though. As my departure date steadily draws nearer (21 days to go!), I seem to find more and more cause for frustration as I maneuver through town, though of course I've been giving myself much more permission to be displeased, disgusted, and disgruntled.

It's amazing that only a few short weeks ago we were still heavily considering staying in China for another year! WHAT WERE WE THINKING?! Of course, here's where attitude plays a role. If we'd decided to stay, I very likely would survive another year in China, as formidable as that may sound to me now. Here are a few things I will NOT miss about living in Tianjin:

-using a small bucket for bathing the kids
-daily stopping Didi from eating the paint chips that fall off the walls, pulling up pieces of the kitchen floor, floorboards, etc.
-perfect strangers railing me about my kids being too hot, too cold, eating the wrong things, not being held properly, crying, wearing uncomfortable clothing, etc, etc, etc
-even though our apartment is very nice by local standards, numerous parts of it are falling apart, even though it's only five years old-- won't miss that, and I won't miss the landlord telling us to just fix it ourselves when something minor breaks, as if I have a clue as to who to ask to fix it and what to say
-squatters. I'll spare you the details.
-leaving restaurants smelling like I'm a chain smoker
-the reality that, when in public, I am constantly being stared at from several directions at any given moment
-having precious few options for buying attractive clothing and safe toys
-the hock-a-loogey sound, which is particularly offensive when it comes from a nice, attractive, well-groomed woman
-no stains come out in the washing machine, and having no dryer
-hauling strollers, bags, and kids on public transportation
-our bathroom that reeks of mildew, but we can't find the source
-Didi getting into the ash trays in taxis
-the near one-hour ride to church and having to go an hour early and stay at least an hour after every week for Kyle's meetings (simply attending church consumes a good eight hours of my Sundays)
-lack of recreational activities available, especially public parks and libraries
-getting into conversations that I can never finish because the fluency just isn't there
-never actually seeing the sun through the haze, stare as I might
-real ice cream (Dreyers or Haagen Daas) costing $10 a scoop
-carpet-less floors, and all the bruises Didi gets from his falls on them
-traffic jams at every hour of the day
-needing help from a translator to do things I've been doing for myself for years, such as pay my cell phone bill
-our shower that is only technically enclosed-- in reality puddles cover the entire bathroom floor after every use
-the loneliness, the missing family and friends, the having no one to share things with
-being cut off in lines (avoidable only if I'm pressed up against the person in front of me)
-having to cook every day without cheese or processed foods
-the kids and grown men peeing all along the sides of roads
-having great acquaintances, but only a couple actual friends, and even then there's the language barrier
-the lack of manners and social graces (by western standards)
-dirt, dirt, dirt coming out of the woodworks and infesting every conceivable space (I honestly think dirt roads in Uganda felt cleaner than walking through this city)
-unnecessarily greasy meals
-one errand taking up an entire day
-the oxy moronic reality that in a city of 10 million, I feel isolated and sometimes completely alone
-having no idea where I'm going or how to ask someone how to get there
-trying to keep kids from touching anything that might give them diseases, which is a lot of things
-absence of customer service
-no sense of privacy
-mafan, mafan, mafan, everywhere I go
-getting defensive because the Chinese are highly excitable and brutally honest (aka tactless), and often fighting back and harboring negative feelings about the whole experience
-having to control two unrestrained toddlers on a bike, car, or bus, and also knowing how safe their freedom of movement is not
-lack of restaurant cleanliness and ambiance
-problems with having a housekeeper (it's not as glamorous as it sounds)
-Chinese hospitals
-carrying the stroller up and down flights of stairs, squeezing it between teeny aisles, and cramming it onto crowded buses
-comments that indicate I should love my son more than my daughter
-being cheated because of my nationality

Wow, that was a surprisingly easy list to make, and I could truly go on. I have indeed become more cynical than ever in recent times. I'm not blaming my bad attitude on China, although indignation and expressing blatant dissatisfaction (even to strangers) here is completely permissible and not often offensive or inappropriate. That makes it easy to justify the habits of fault-finding and criticizing (I mean, I just do it to fit in!).

Still, I know that succumbing to such a mindset takes a toll on the soul. It does take more work for me to be positive than it ever has before, but that doesn't mean I can't do it. Sure, China can suck the health and effervescent optimism right out of my system at times, but all in all, I know it still claims its charms. I don't always feel so resentful and disgusted with my circumstances. A lot of the time, I like certain things about China, and will even miss some things about living here:

-15 cent ice cream bars sold on nearly every block that I use to bribe Ellie with on outings
-being able to afford eating out every day (not that we do, but we could, as could most people here)
-never having to wash dishes. or clean the toilet. our ayi is worth her wage right there.
-there's no vegetable I can't afford
-lamb shishkebabs, Uigher style
-spontaneous sleepover parties in the living room, watching $1 dvds
-getting lots of compliments on my kids' good looks, playfulness, obedience, big eyes, etc.
-perfect strangers always being willing to hold Didi for extended periods of time, which particularly comes in handy while I'm trying to shop
-bartering in Beijing
-being the church pianist, because my mediocre skills will likely never qualify me to play in church in a big congregation
-being in a branch (church congregation) so small that I know every individual quite well and it feels more like a family than any church group I've ever known
-shopping for fabric
-no t.v. (I've honestly gone the entire year without it and haven't missed it much at all)
-really appreciating it when that rare patch of blue sky briefly appears
-knowing people who truly and honestly want to babysit my kids for free (though I've only very recently taken advantage of this and regret that deeply)
-making great money tutoring English and teaching piano lessons
-helping friends with less Chinese experience on shopping excursions and errands
-strangers being genuinely interested in my life, particularly concerning the kids
-Kyle being able to come home for lunch every day, and working only eight hours a day in a relatively non-stressful job (compared to his future, at least)
-finding great deals at local markets and presenting all of my treasures to Kyle at the end of the day
-a pretty simple life, and lots of time for just the four of us to be together
-the challenges that make me a more interesting and well-rounded person, hopefully

No doubt I've learned a lot about myself this past year. Even though my list of bads is much longer than the goods list, it still has been a great year and I don't regret our decision to move and stay here. I know it was part of our lives' plan. I suspect in times to come that we will look back on this year with gratitude and even fondness.

Memorized lines

Recently, I booked flights and hotels for my little sister and her friend who are coming to China next week. Though the travel service employee was technically speaking English, in reality I felt I was speaking with an automated phone service. A sample excerpt of our conversation...

"The check out time is 12:00. Would you like to make any other changes to your hotel reservation?"
"Yeah, actually I have a question. We need three beds so can we pay to have an extra bed pulled in or do we need to book another room?"
"I'm sorry. I don't understand."
"See, we have three adults so we need three beds. Can three people sleep in one room, and if so, will it cost more?"
"I'm sorry. I don't understand. Would you like to book another hotel reservation?"
"No, but we have three people, not two. Do we need another room or can we pay for an extra bed?"
"...[pause]...The check out time is 12:00. Would you like to make any other changes to your hotel reservation?"

It rather reminds me of how a couple weeks ago a stranger showed up at our door (claiming she "knows" me because I'd passed her in the neighborhood once before), practically inviting herself in while soliciting seemingly urgent assistance. After Kyle showed her in, plugged her zip drive into our computer and started translating and editing an enormous document for her, I started getting suspicious and inquired as to the nature of this document and what we had to do with it all. It turns out she needed to memorize numerous phrases in English in order to interview for a position with an Italian cruise liner. These English lines were supposedly responses to questions that she would be quizzed on, demonstrating her English fluency.

Suddenly there was an ethical dilemma-- not only was it dishonest for us to rewrite sentences that she would be claiming as her own into perfect English, but we would also be promoting the falsehood that she can speak English at all. Still, she kept insisting that her employer couldn't care less how fluent she is on the job as long as she can "pass off" the memorized dialogue. After all, my travel agent had clearly memorized the script, and that's all that was required of her.

Thus is much of the Asian world, so consumed by the perpetuation of favorable appearances that they sometimes don't even know who they really are underneath the layers of desperately maintained images. (But that's a topic for another post.)

And I guess in a country that is seeking with all social and economic and ethnocentric desperation to elevate its status in the world, English speakers are unconditionally in demand. And so I don't condemn either the cruise craving girl, the inept travel agent, or either employer that would endorse them. I can't assign the blame, but I feel I'm among the many who witness and experience the consequences.

Gray skies in Tianjin

This morning my feelings have been more or less congruent with the rainstorms we've had here the past few days. Ellie picked up on this, asking "Mom, why are you sad?" "Ummmm, because I don't feel happy." (Dumb answer, I know.) "Why don't you feel happy, Mom? You miss Daddy?" "Yeah, Ellie, I miss Daddy. And I miss Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Christie and Uncle Joe, and Aunt Mish (and I recited all the family members and friends) and I miss being able to handle stress and being able to keep the house clean and seeing sunshine and being able to buy groceries without Daddy's help and not stressing when we have people over and I miss looking forward to every day and I miss caring about people and things and enjoying playing with you and Didi and I miss --" "Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Good question, Ellie." I'm worried that going back to the US isn't going to make me feel happy and able to handle stress. I'm even worried that a good old anti-depressant won't do the trick. My life is different now than it was before Didi--perhaps I'll never be that old perky me again. I can't thank my family enough, though, for their encouragement and reassuring insights. (Indeed few families understand as much about depression as mine.) Despite the heaviness hanging over my heart, I know deep down inside that there's hope for recovery. I don't always believe in it, but the fact that those who love me do gives me the strength to persevere.

No shame to my game

Today I pursued one of the most daunting cultural experiences any of us westerners could imagine: the Korean bath house (don't worry--this will be a photo-less blog post). Yes, I realize many of you (my sisters, in particular) are gasping in horror or hiding your faces in embarrassment (by association), but there really was no such shame to be had amongst us community bathers.

A Korean lady in our church group has been politely encouraging me to join her at the bath house since basically the week we moved into Tianjin. I've avoided it these many months, fabricating excuses at every invitation... but to be perfectly honest, I didn't 100% loathe the idea of experiencing it. And though I lumbered with somewhat dread toward the locker room this morning, another part of me was actually looking forward to it.

And indeed, once I got Didi calmed down and into a baby bath and Ellie was gleefully splashing around in the warm tub with "Olsen," her favorite grandma figure in Tianjin, I was able to relax and enjoy it, realizing that absolutely not a single soul in the room (and thanks to the season there weren't terribly many) cared about a single other woman's physical imperfections.

It was even a little Garden of Eden-esque; "And they were [all] naked,... and were not ashamed." Any germophobes out there can rest assured that the hygienic standard was admirable. Everyone showers thoroughly before entering any of the baths and the water is changed regularly. I'm quite certain walking through the Tianjin air facilitates more germ transfer than any Korean bathhouse. After an invigorating exfoliation session, sweating in the sauna, and polar bear plunge in the cold tub (to close the cleansed pores), indeed I feel fresher and cleaner than I have in ages.

Kyle will probably be a little embarrassed when he finds out I posted about this, but what I'm realizing is that our standard of appropriateness is not always mandated by indisputable, universal morals, but rather, simply by culture. (Trust me, by and large, the Koreans are a much more modest people than Americans.) And I can guarantee you that American women at the pool, the gym, and virtually anywhere are out to flaunt their bodies more than anyone would dream of at the bathhouse today (and yes, I think even if it was only women at the pool, we'd still feel the need to flaunt). The experience I'm relaying is probably much more appropriate than the amount of flesh any one of you sees during regular public outings.

In fact, the bathhouse experience even felt a little like a celebration of womanhood. Those of us with stretch marks and a little extra here and there didn't need to feel any less respectable than those with "ideal" shapes. I was impressed with the reality that every single one of us was created with the incredible ability to carry and care for children. Whether or not all of us yet have is irrelevant, but the reality that our bodies were created in light of these nurturing abilities is empowering.

So, at the bath house and in the delivery room, I have nothing to be fearful of; nothing to be ashamed of. It's those who are scantily clad in the pursuit of non-celebratory functions of the female body that have cause for shame. It's those who shun or disrespect the incredible female ordinances of pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation that are the ones who will never be pleased or grateful for the way they look.

I'm not saying I'll never again groan when I step on the scale or can't fit into my jeans, but I believe my perspective is broadening. And I surely believe that the world over-- men, women, and children alike-- could use a great deal of the kind of enlightenment I received today.

Tag--I'm it!!!

I never understood the blogging concept of "tag." The rules were never explained to me as they seem to have been to blogging residents of the Free World. One day I just found three friends had posted autobiographical trivia in an identical format under the title "I've been tagged!"

I never felt compelled to participate in the tagging game, partially because I missed the introduction and rules, but also because who could honestly care about my Narcissistic ramblings on personal preferences and the like?

And then I realized that this is exactly what blogs are about! They provide a socially acceptable outlet for an individualistic, one-sided conversation that is totally and completely all about me, no apology needed!

Sure, I like to think that my posts are selflessly centered around my kids. Yet that's only because their lives are my life. I enjoy babbling about myself and my ideals just as much as the next person, and the blogging world tells me that's okay.

In the spirit of this discovery, I will now "tag" myself (and don't tell me that's against the rules that you never bothered to explain to me).

8 things I like:
-bright (but not tacky) color schemes, usually involving green
-big yards, gardens, fountains
-"all-out" themed parties
-the way milk crystalizes when poured over ice cream
-natural birthing philosophy
-a picnic at the park
-sleeping in
-friendly debating


8 things I would like to be if I were not momming:
-event planner (eg weddings, reunions)
-middle or high school social science teacher
-interior designer
-children's dance instructor
-public health/nutrition/women's health worker in the developing world, probably Africa
-doula
-florist
-journalist


8 interests/hobbies:
-watching BBC's Pride & Prejudice (and Kyle's tastes are so improving that he requests it himself from time to time these days), but NOT the Keira Knightley wanna-be version
-do-it-yourself home decor, especially if I can sew-it-myself
-precious stone jewelry sales for Mothers Without Borders
-"Hairspray" and other musicals
-playing piano, especially my newly-mastered LDS hymns
-international adoption
-novel hunting, with novel reading to come...
-herbal/natural dietary supplements


8 places I would still like to live:
-New Zealand
-Seattle, WA
-Vietnam
-Australia
-western Africa
-Beijing or Shanghai
-South Carolina
-New England


8 foods I could eat forever:
-soft, warm, whole-wheat bread doused in honey butter
-fresh strawberry slices over Breyers vanilla bean
-grilled cheese sandwiches
-bacon and spinach quiche
-lemonade stand pie (way yummier even than it looks, get it on kraftfoods.com)
-barbecued lamb shishkebabs (a specialty of the Muslims in western China)
-Red Robin chicken fingers dipped in honey mustard (by far the best h.m. in existence)
-and yes, a good shredded pork salad at Cafe Rio


8 things I wish I was good at:
-ballet
-violin
-giving people the benefit of the doubt
-getting up early
-swimming
-remembering/keeping track of birthdays, bills, etc.
-non-begrudgingly cooking two meals a day
-homeschooling my kids


8 things I should be doing instead of blogging:
-preventing those messes Didi's making
-chopping veggies for dinner
-practicing hymns for Sunday
-reminder calls for the youth activity
-reading scriptures
-taking a nap (Didi just fell asleep, and when they're both down, napping is my first impulse!)
-sorting our pre-move piles of junk around the apartment
-replying to emails

Better get on to all that... Thanks to anyone who made it through that somewhat bland summary of my life. Ooo, now I get to tag someone else, right? I think everyone has already done tags like this and moved on to more elaborate and creative topics, but I'll tag my sister Christie, because anything she writes is entertaining.

Ellie's epidermal disaster

We're really not quite sure what to think. It seems that most of them itch, and Didi and I are getting bitten by bugs, too, but then a random blister showed up on her thumb today. The bumps are covering her arms and parts of her legs and face. All 42 have surfaced within a matter of days, less than a week after Didi's "grass allergy" hand and foot rashes, which have mostly healed but a new rash has developed on his face. According to all we can read about it online, it doesn't fit the description of hand foot mouth disease at all, but I guess anything's possible. We bought some mosquito treatment for the kids' room tonight and if her flesh is still looking highly devoured come tomorrow, perhaps I'll make another landmark visit to the hospital.