John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

Brutal beginnings. . . my first trip to an Asian hospital

by

John Gunter and his first study program in Asia
This picture was taken of my study program in Asia a few days prior to this story. . . we stopped by California for a few days.

Way back in August 1999, I arrived in East Asia.  I didn’t know how long I would be here, but I did know it would be a while.  Two years minimum, but I had already felt I was supposed to be here “long-term”. Just didn’t know what “long-term” meant quite yet.

I arrived with a group of five others from Atlanta.  We were the first ever foreign students at this university.  As you might imagine, that first week was packed with wildly variant emotions.  Looking back, it really was dream like.  However, one event seemed to wake me from this dream and force me to embrace the reality that I now lived in East Asia.

On my seventh day in this gargantuan Asian city, I suddenly began to feel very ill.  It was different than anything I had ever experienced.  I thought at first I was just suffering from a bad stomach virus. After all, it was East Asia.  It usually takes a while for stomachs to adjust to new foods, environments, etc.

No big deal.  Just needed to drink some red Gatorade and lay down for a spell.

There was no relief.  As a matter of fact, the pain in my stomach was becoming unbearable.  Worry started to set in for the first time.

After a while, I sat up on the corner of my bed to see if that position would feel better.  It was then that I realized I was sweating profusely. Much worse than I did when I played basketball.  Given the fact that I am not normally a “sweater”, this was highly unusual.

As I leaned forward while still sitting on the corner of my bed, a small pool of sweat formed on the ground below me.  Not normal.  I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but at this point I did begin to think this might be a little more than a stomach virus.

By this time the pain was beyond awful.  Unfortunately, [Read more…]

I am thankful for FRIENDSHIP. . . (Processing my birthday)

by

John Gunter, with Yuh Tseng and Eugene Kim
Yuh, Eugene, and I in Hong Kong celebrating my 40th birthday together (never got a pick with Sam in it)

Today, I am thankful for friendship in general, and for my friends specifically.

I am currently on a plane leaving meetings in Bangkok heading back to my home. The meetings went well and the short trip was worth the time and energy to get there. One strange thing, I guess, is that yesterday was my birthday. I went the entire day and none of the 20 or so people at the meeting knew it was my birthday. Actually, the only person to wish me a “happy birthday” was the Thai lady that cleaned my hotel room. Didn’t really know how to respond to that one, so I uttered some clumsy words of thanks back (though aware that she couldn’t understand me), while I’m sure my quizical expression was painful for her to see.

Being alone in a country where no one knows me (and I don’t even know the language) has brought me to a point of extreme gratitude for one thing in particular. . . friendship. The Lord has blessed me immensely for my entire life with wonderful friendships.

John Gunter and Sam Shin
When Sam & Young Mee Shin visited a few years ago. . .

I am still close with a few friends from both elementary and high school, which is exceedingly rare these days. Above that, there are even more friends from that time period where I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if I were back in the States we could pick things up exactly where we left off years ago. Old friends
, such as Ashton Cheatham and the James’ (Kirkland and Cummings), I miss and look forward to the day when time and space will allow an opportunity to reunite. Many have wished me well over Facebook these past two days and I have enjoyed each one. Makes me feel like I’m still roaming the halls of Henderson High School!

I am still close with several guys from college. This is actually an understatement. Four of these men form a life-time accountability/coaching/encouragement group with whom we have consistently met for eight years now (I will talk about this in a future post). Three other college friends, Sam Shin, Yuh Tseng, and Eugene Kim (Sam and Yuh are college and HS friends), flew all the way from America to Hong Kong last year to spend my 40th birthday with me. They were on flights for almost 40 combined hours to celebate this monumental birthday with me for a mere 35 hours on the ground. All of these relationships are as strong as ever, inspite of the miles between us. I am confident they will remain tight for the remainder of our days on earth. [Read more…]

Rabies shots for all!. . . (video included)

by

John Gunter at his rabies shots
Me in front of the clinic where people go for rabies shots and all kinds of other like stuff.

If you have not read my previous post, “Lego Land and flying Bat Battles”, then please click here. This post picks up where that one left off. . .

Battle worn from two seemingly successful skirmishes with our uninvited guests, the disgusting little bat(s), I retreated to my room and Rankin slept in theirs. Morgen, meanwhile, surfed the internet for exposure to bats. She found out the following:

  • If infants are in the same room with a bat, you have to assume rabies
  • If a sleeping (or drunk) adult is in the same room with a bat, you have to assume rabies
  • Rabies is 100% lethal if not dealt with within the first 10 days of the virus infecting humans

My good friend who works at the CDC, Dr. Eric Tai, confirmed what Morgen had read, as well as their Los Angeles based pediatrician. Suffice it to say, we were in the emergency room getting the children inoculated the next day. I was going to do the same since I had been sleeping in an enclosed bat ridden room at my parents in Atlanta two short weeks earlier. However, the Michigan doctor told me that since I was past the 10 day window from initial exposure in Atlanta, it was too late for me. If I had contracted it, I was a goner. Not what you want to hear [Read more…]

Lego Land and flying Bat Battles

by

Stephen & John Robert Bracher and Nathan Chapman
Three of my nephews (Nathan, John Robert, and Stephen) at Lego Land during “Camp Meme and Pops”. . . just before the bats came back for round 2!

A few interesting facts I acquired this summer that I did not expect to learn:

  • Bats are disgusting little creatures
  • Bats are everywhere, especially in Georgia and Michigan
  • Even a little exposure to bats means you might have rabies
  • Rabies, once symptoms are onset, is 100% lethal in humans

You ask, why do you know this, John??? Allow me to explain.

One of my first nights back in Atlanta, I was staying at my parent’s house. My friend and colleague, Travis Todd, was also there, as we were in the midst of a week of meetings. Around 3am, I was awoken by the sound of a bird trying to get into the window. . . or so I thought. This seemed strange, but I tried to blow it off and get back to sleep. Instantly, I heard the sound of violent wings frantically fluttering above my bed. [Read more…]

An embarrassing blunder and a vital life lesson

by

John Gunter, Patrick Ku, and others in Asia
Patrick Ku and I in the midst of one of my many awkward cultural blunders (details below)!

I cannot begin to count how many times I have made cultural and life mistakes while living in Asia.  Pat Ku, upon moving to Asia gave me this advice regarding Chinese culture and the language. . . “however you do things/say things in America, do the opposite in Asia and the Chinese language”.  Though a little overly simplistic, it was solid advice just the same.

As a result of this, I have come to embrace one of the most helpful life lesson I have learned by living and working cross-culturally.  Whenever you enter a new environment, whether it be a new job, school, family, or in my case, country, FIRST notice what the local customs and norms are, THEN respond in all situations essentially in the same manner. This is THE fundamental skill in cultural and life adaptation.

This might sound as if I am endorsing conformity.  Nothing could be further from the truth.   At least not at a core values level.  Your values will stand firm and keep you grounded where ever you go in life.  However, styles, culture, and general ways people carry themselves around others will be different everywhere you go.  In order to be heard [Read more…]

Subscribe to Blog by Email

Follow Me