Day 5- health checks

This morning the entire group of new hires met up to receive our official health screenings.  This is the last step in getting our permanent residency card.  It was kind of like a health fair, in that you visited a total of eight stations to get screened, poked, and prodded.  While it seemed a bit intimidating at first, (I caught two different 'security' guards taking photos of me), in the end, it was no big deal.  The place was swarming with people, but even at that, it was all run very efficiently.  All of us were in and out in less than two hours, which was good, as we had nothing to eat or drink since the night before.  I packed a pbj so that the minute my blood was drawn, I could have a snack!

A couple of funny stories....the vision test.... A Chinese man in a white coat points to the eye chart and says, "this is M" and "this is E"  He then points to letter on the very next line, which was still higher than the halfway mark and says, "What this?"  I am looking at a five inch tall "M", so I say, "M?!"  He says, "You good."  And that was my eye exam.  The next stop?  The ear, nose and throat specialist, who never had me open my mouth or peek in my ears!

The funnier one was the ultrasound of our abdomens.  I get slathered with gel and she proceeds to pass her wand all over my midsection.  She keeps circling on my right side.  She has me roll up on my side and continues to move her wand all over my right side and back.  It finally dawns on me that she is looking for the right kidney that is no longer there.  She speaks no English; I speak no Mandarin.  I didn't have Wifi to use my iPhone app to translate.  It was a hoot trying to show her my surgery scar and with animated gesturing I tried to explain she was never going to find a kidney there!  This game of charades went on for several minutes before she finally acted disgusted and stamped my form anyhow.  Eight stamps collected, and I was done for the day.  Good to know I am healthy by Chinese standards, lol.

Several us went across the street to the convenience store in search of
drinks and snacks.  These are my new friends, Carlos, Hank, and Kirsten.
I loved the advertising to this man's store- an upside down McDonald's sign, lol

I got another yummy coconut ice cream bar for 1 yuan.
(that's just fifteen cents!)

Most of my teacher friends went back to their apartments after
the health checks to get settled in.  Since I was up until nearly 2am
the night before putting my IKEA furniture together and putting the
finishing touches on my 'nesting', I decided to be a brave little toaster
and tackle the foreboding Chinese washing machine. It was scary,
y'all!  Thankfully, Li Ang, our 'life coordinator' made a photo copy of
the controls and wrote in some English words to translate.  Even
at that, it was not the usual 'heavy, regular, or delicate' selections.
I added soap, said a prayer, and hit the start button.  Forty minutes
later, I had a clean load of clothes and no mishaps.  Alejandra was not
as lucky- she flooded her entire bathroom :(  God was smiling down on me!

The guest bedroom balcony alcove is my drying center.  The Chinese typically
do not have dryers- they hang their clothes to dry- but not in the dirty air!
This drying rack and a laundry hamper was provided to us by BNDS.

About twenty or so new teachers met up to go to dinner at The Peak.  It's a
popular restaurant and bar for expats as they have western food and beers on
their menu, in addition to traditional Chinese cuisine.  Even better? The menu
is in pictures so you simply point to what you want!  A burger and fries never
tasted so good.  These are some new friends, Kirsten and Jeanette.
Robert and I decided to leave after dinner, we weren't up for a  late night
of partying.  We bid our goodbyes to the group, and then I walked
full on into a glass door.  OMG, that was embarassing! (and it hurt like hell).
I swear, all I had to drink was a Coca-Cola, not a drop of alcohol in it, lol.

The early evening view from my apartment was beautiful- another
day of clean air to savor that mountain view.  G'nite, y'all!