Chinese cup massage

I felt so horrible today that I went to the Doctor to get more medicine. The medicine briefly soothed my throat but didn't take away my fever and body aches. This afternoon I had the chills and a really bad headache. I decided to drag myself out of bed to go get a body massage. I also had them do the cups on my feet and back. They light these little cups on fire and stick them to your back. The Chinese believe it takes the toxins out of your body. All that mattered to me was that it felt good and eased my pain. And now I have circles on my back like Ive seen on so many Chinese. The massage was a good idea but I was so weak I barely made it home on my bike. And when I got home my body was going crazy. I was freezing but my skin felt really hot. When I woke up my clothes were drenched in sweat,sounds gross, BUT I feel much better! One of my Chinese friends, Sam, thinks I became ill because I may be lonely in Linyi. In his mind, loneliness leads to an unhealthy lifestyle and affects you physically. I feel that there is truth to that. It sounds weird at first, but here people see the body being directly connected with the spirit. If your mood is bad, you are more likely to get sick. Anyways, I would recommend the cup massage to everyone! Perhaps it helped me sweat out the cold. I'm not sure if its just mental, but I honestly feel better!