Wednesday, November 26, 2008

physical exam

today i went to get my physical, which is part of getting my residence visa. It was quite amazing and i wish that i had a photo journalist with me. I did have my camera but was busy running from room to room so i did not have time to take many pictures.

this all takes place at a designated hospital. you take a number and when called you turn in your paperwork and they take your picture and a fingerprint. you then proceed to the cashier and then the fun begins.
it is set up so you go from room to room for all the different requirements. I was impressed that people were actually queueing. i started with what was the shortest line.

rooms:
  1. two vials of blood

  2. visual acuity

  3. ear, nose, throat check

  4. height, weight, reflexes

  5. chest x-ray

  6. ECG

  7. dental

  8. sonogram

  9. urine

if you have ever seen the movie "the court jester" it reminds me of that. in the movie Danny Kaye's character is to be quickly knighted so they just grab him and frantically shuttle him around from one event to the next so that he can speedily be knighted. it is very funny and i couldn't help thinking of this as i ran from room to room fulfilling all the requirements for residency. watch it you will die of laughter.


the last thing i did was the urine deposit. i had to laugh because you just deposited the open cup of urine on a cart outside the bathroom door. secure right. in about a week i will know if i am going to receive an all right. then it will be on to the police to register with them.


Parrish making friends at the hospital. this gentleman along with three women, all from the Philippines, is here for four months. they are working at the Sheraton as entertainers. singers i think.

5 comments:

MsTypo said...

What are they looking for in the physical? In Australia weight is a big thing and they will decline people over a certain BMI. Here in Egypt you have a pass an AIDS test.

lizzy-loo said...

i don't know it is crazy. you have to answer all the personal history questions and then go through all the exams, but i must say they were fast and fairly efficient. although i don't know what you are going to find in a 2 second sonogram.

Christine Gram said...

Sounds like a fun ride through the hoops. And a lot more efficient than the exam I had to do for my job here in Italy.

Ballerina Girl said...

sounds like another fine day in the expat life!
the cup of urine would cause me some concern though! hahaha
BG

Brenda said...

I've been there, unfortunately. Its a crazy part of living in another country, but it helps us learn the culture