Getting a Physical

No big deal, right? Well, here everything is an adventure. To get a visa, we had to go to the International Health Clinic. What helped with the adventure portion was that anyone who wanted to travel, foreign or national, had to go. One thing I have found out about living in a city of 10 million is this: everywhere you go is crowded! By the time we arrived, the crowd was in full form. A key to getting around in some places is to maintain the dumb foreigner look - which just means I act naturally. We came prepared with passports and 4 photos - all us foreigners look alike. We went to the first counter and received our forms. We sat down and filled them out - while being stared at. We then went to the second counter, received another form and proceeded to the actual check-in counter. From there, we went to the payment counter - grand total: about $50 a person. What a deal. We then went upstairs for our urine and blood tests (good thing I studied!). After that, another floor for our eye check - I need glasses! Then, across the hall for ears, nose and throat, followed by a chest x-ray and an EKG - good thing I have never been hairy. One friend had to actually be shaved. One of the new rules, is there is no smoking in the hospital. So, the herd of smokers (which was quite large, smoking is quite a problem here) would step out of the main lobby and the second they were outside, which meant stopping in front of the door, they would light up. Since the doors were wide open, smoke quickly found its way inside.
As we finished, we passed our completed forms - with pictures - to the first lady we had met when we first entered. Unfortunately, our teammate finished ahead of us and skipped that step. So, when we went to pick them up, his wasn't ready. Which meant another trip and more adventures. Since there was only the physical portion and no mental tests, I passed.
One thing I have learned, be it physicals, visas, exchanging money or enrolling in a gym, you can never have too many extra copies.
We do start teaching this week, so be thinking about the students He places in our paths.

I'm also attaching a video clip of the New Year celebration: