Say ahhhh
Well, we've been back almost a week and there's not been much about which to write. I've been busy cleaning, unpacking, getting settled and organized for school--all under the haze of jet-lag. Essential stuff, but boring. I have a suspicion that finding things to blog about will be a bit more challenging this year. I may have to start posting cheesy book reviews of my kids' schoolbooks.Anyway, one thing I suppose I could do is give a brief review about is our medical exams. This is one of those things that I failed to mention last year. Basically, to get a resident's permit, we foreigners have to get a medical exam from a local clinic. Our team got ours in Kunming--whether it's because that's the official clinic or if it's just for the convenience since we're all passing through, I don't know. It makes for a good bonding experience either way. The clinic is close to the airport, on the south end of town. You go to one window to get your paperwork, then you go to another to pay your fee. After that it's a free for all as you go to various rooms for this or that procedure. Both this year and last I relied heavily on my other team members to find where to go next. They require you to get measured and weighed, submit to an x-ray, EKG, ultrasound and eye exam, and provide some bodily fluids for testing. Last year it was a trifle chaotic, as we had arrived very close to the cut-off point and we were hustled through so that all the medical techs could go to lunch. The memorable event is when they checked my blood pressure and it was incredibly high. I had just come off a month of frantic packing and cleaning and a trip across the ocean. I was not at all surprised about the reading, though the techs seemed a bit concerned. Not concerned enough to kick me out, though. This year my blood pressure was fine and the process was much calmer. There was a backup at the eye exam station, so I did end up getting through the x-ray and ultrasound at the last minute. (The ultrasound was particularly difficult as I was supposed to hold my breath even though the procedure tickled.) Then the desire to hustle was our own, as we tried to get back to the hotel to check out and have lunch before our afternoon flight. Not the most pleasant way to spend time in Kunming, but at least we weren't bored.
posted by John @ 5:29 AM
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