Medical Fun

To become a permanent resident in Qatar, you are required to go through certain medical screening requirements. We went a couple mornings ago - you have to plan for a whole morning.

When you arrive, men and women are separated. We were fortunate to have someone herd us around in small groups, because otherwise I would have felt relatively helpless. You start by waiting. Then you continue with some paperwork and yelling the date of your last menstrual cycle up to the receptionist lady. You get to know your fellow expats on a personal basis relatively quickly :)
Next, you wait some more until you're called to a window and they take a picture of you. Then you go to another line, wait, get a vial, and wait in another line. Then they draw blood. Then you go into another room. If you were lucky and someone forewarned you, you've worn a white t-shirt. If not, you've gotta change into some old, funky-looking hospital gown. Then you wait in another line for a chest x-ray. They don't really warn you that people are having x-rays while you're standing in line so you have to be careful that you don't suddenly walk in! And periodically the machine stops working and then you just hang out and wait some more.

Overall, not a bad experience, just a lot of waiting and generally hanging out. I recommend bringing a book!