Medical Check

Today all of the new teachers went to have our medical check, which is required for us to be able to work in China. We had to go to a special clinic specifically set up for these kinds of medical checks, which was about a 30-minute taxi ride from the main office in People's Square.

When we got there, we each took a  number & filled out the intake form with the help of our shepherd for the morning, a Chinese woman who had accompanied us from the school. The form was entirely  in Chinese.

They were very well-organized at the clinic. There were several rooms where each step of the process would take place, but still none of us knew exactly what would happen in each room. The mystery made it kind of fun.

Each of us were called into the first room one by one. When it was my turn, a nurse measured my height & weight: 1.8 meters tall, 65 kilos. Then I was told to get undressed, put on a white robe, & wait to be called to the next room. It was kind of like going to the spa.

In the second room, they took blood samples, then lead me to wait for the third room. What's going to happen next? I had to wait & see. In the next few rooms, they tested my hearing & eyesight, took a chest x-ray, & did a breast exam.

I entered another room where I was told to lie down & open the robe. The nurse quickly attached electrodes to my chest: pop! pop! pop! I started giggling. I felt like I was in a Stanley Kubrick film. The nurse chastised me & I tried to control my laughter. A few seconds later, pop! pop! pop! The nurse removed the electrodes, handed me a print out of my EKG, & directed me towards the next room.

The final room was the ultrasound room. Again, I was told to lie down & open the robe. The nurse moved the ultrasound wand over my belly & ribs, causing more giggles. It seemed like she took an extra long time looking at my insides.

Finally I was finished & was allowed to get dressed. All told, it took an hour for six of us to go through the fun house.

Getting a Visa for China

Of course, the whole reason I came to Hong Kong was to apply for my entry visa to China. On Monday I went to the visa office where there was a long line of people hoping to get their own China visas.

After about an hour in line, I finally was allowed inside the visa office where I took a number & sat down. It was like waiting at the MVD: there were people there from all walks of life, some talking on their cellphones, some reading the newspaper, some just staring off into space. Good thing I brought a book.

Three hours later, I was called to a window where a woman took my paperwork, stamped several pieces of paper, gave me a receipt, & told me to come back the next day. Hm. I had heard that it would take 3-5 business days to process my visa.

On Tuesday, I went back to the visa office. The line was much shorter this time. Once in the office I was able to go straight to the collection counter. I paid HK$1200 (about US$160), & they handed me my passport with the visa inside. Ta-da!