Throat fiery and nostrils overflowing, I forced myself, unwillingly, out of bed at 7 ‘o clock for a dentist appointment followed by a follow-up for my lab tests. I drove my usual route to Cal State Northridge in the maroon ’91 Chevy Astro with a drooping ceiling on the drivers’ side. When CSUN came into sight, there was a tinge of bittersweetness. Four and a half years worth of experiences, memories, and stomping. The paths are worn now.

Entering the Student Health Center for my dentist appointment as a part of the Peace Corps procedure, I was greeted by the same secretary that I had seen from the first time I entered in 2005. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like watching people enter only to take their leave four years in the future. Much akin to how NCOD staff must see things, I guess. ”Upstairs.” said the secretary.

I took my seat, anticipating the dental X-radiation pictures. Eighteen minute square plastics placed in, followed by a low mosquito-like buzz, and out of my mouth. I always abhorred pointy items being pressed under my tongue. “All set! Dr. ‘Ciangh’ will see you now. You can wait in the cleaning room.” The dental assistant motioned me to the adjacent room, and there I waited for both the dentist and the X-Rays to develop.

“So, let’s take a look at your teeth today.” The dentist, correctly named Dr. Chang with the support of his nametag, waved around the teal x-ray strips and started flitting through them. Slowly, a wave of badly hidden confusion inched across his surprisingly youthful but aged visage.

“Didn’t you know? Deaf people gain X-Radiation reflecting powers as a result of their years of audiological testings?” retorted I, with a smirk.

“Wh? Reall…? Hahaha! Jane, this guy says he’s superman! These are no good.” A younger dental assistant, quite fair, made an elegant entrance into the now crowded room to proclaim that we would need to reschedule. The fair maiden motioned for me to follow her into her office. The dentist followed and asked, “So Josh since you’re Hungarian, can you speak..?” Before I let him finish, I squeezed in “Persze tudok Magyarul! Milyen Magyar ferfi vagyok ha nem tudom Magyarul e?” as quickly as I could.

Now, what the dentist said next was something that I did not expect. Not in a million years would I ever expect a dentist to retort something like this.

“Did you know that there are only three races on Earth? Black, Yellow, and Reds which are the Caucasians. You just might be a Mongol. As we can all see, I’m Chinese yellow and she’s a Spanish red. You can identify a Mongol by checking their lower backs soon after their birth for a purple spot. Bearing a purple spot indicates Mongolian ancestry.” prattled the dentist. I wasn’t sure what to do with this newfound knowledge, so I looked it up! (Later, of course)

Officially, it is called The Mongolian Spot and is prevalent among the people of Mongolia, China, Japan, and Korea. But wait! Lo and behold, 22.7% of Hungarians have the spot occurring among their populations. Not surprising, considering the Hun tribes of Mongolia migrated to reside in the Carpathian Basin, which is largely Hungarian territory today.

With that, I was rescheduled for Friday and took my leave. At the abode, my nose started running furiously to my annoyance. While looking for simple remedies, I stumbled across the Rosemary Oil – the bush of which I have that’s rather prolific in my yard. Apparently, the procedure for making the oil is simple. Separate the needles from the stems, let them dry for 24 hours to prevent any future mold growth and cover them completely with an oil of your choice in a jar. Grapeseed oil works best for the skin. Place the jar, covered with muslin and fortified with a rubber band, in a sunny spot and shake everyday for 6 weeks. After 42 days, presto! We have Rosemary Oil! If you sprinkle a few drops around the room or during a bath, it is said to relieve headache and stress. It can also be used as a mouthwash diluted in water, an ointment to prevent wrinkles, grey hair and even baldness! As you know, and if you don’t; you do now, baldness is near the top of my list of fears.

Well, I took a stab at this blogging experience. I hope  you enjoyed it for what it was worth. The random fact of the purple spot may come in handy someday, and no one doesn’t want to prevent aging in some way much less relieve some stress.