Let's Get Physical, Physical!

On Tuesdsay, we went on our first school field trip! Unfortunately, it was to the hospital. Yes, despite spending hundreds of dollars on tests back home and submitting them to the Chinese government, foreign workers have to have the tests done again when they arrive in the country.

All of the new teachers loaded onto a bus and drove for about 45 minutes to one of the two hospitals in Shenzhen permitted to run these tests on foreigners. The department didn't open until 2pm, but luckily we arrived a few minutes early, because a truck-load of local ESL teachers arrived to line up after us. They reminded me of Mel and I a few years ago, and they looked closer to our age than the staff at our school now does. We used to be them! Now we're professionals, yo.

The tests were assembly line-fast. In the first room, I was weighed, my eyesight was tested and my blood pressure was taken. In the next room, they did an ECG. Then I had an ultrasound (good news- no baby!). Next they took some blood (and tested it immediately, right in front of us) and then I peed in a cup (tricky in a bathroom with no ledges to place the cup when you're "done" and the squat toilet floor is covered in poo- picture of unguarded tray of pee above). Last, they did a chest x-ray, which was quite different from home- you don't even take off your shirt. That was it. At the rate they worked, it would have taken less than 5 minutes if no one else had been there, but it took about an hour this time.

Also- #1: the hospital smelled like thick cigarette smoke

and

#2:

no cats are allowed :(

Next, we'll have interviews with local police before our visas can be issued. Then we can leave the country to go explore Hong Kong! So excited! We can see HK from our bedroom, which makes the fact that we aren't allowed to go all that much worse!