I'm in the process of applying for a visa. It requires blood work, physical, EKG, and x-rays. So, I go to the hospital yesterday to get the tests done. First up, blood work. She was nice and said I had good veins. :) Then, onto the EKG. This is where it got interesting. I was told to take off everything from the waist up. Normal. However, I was NOT given a gown or shirt for privacy/coverage. Nope. Instead, I was placed next to a window (no kidding!) with no drape and just hooked up with suction cups like it was no big deal. I felt SO out of place. Thank goodness the doctor was a woman.
Once I made it through that, we headed to x-rays. You guessed it. Same thing!! Only this time, I had to walk from the corner (where there is a partition to remove clothes behind, but no shirt, so not sure of the point) to the table in the middle of the room. AND, as if this wasn't enough, the door doesn't lock. So, there I am, cupping my boobs (trying to have SOME form of privacy) and the door opens. A Kazakh man looks at me, I dash behind the partition again and wait. The doctor, also a man this time, instructs me how to stand and puts my arms behind my back and gently pushes my shoulders and chest up to the table. At this point, I am now thinking "we can create machines to take images of our bones, but we can't make them with warming devices?" My girls were cold. haha.
I do a quick x-ray and return to my little corner, where I have never been so happy to put my clothes on. It is times like this that I truly realize the differences between American culture and most of the rest of the world. I am glad it is over. The one thing that made up for it all? Three blood tests, an x-ray, and an EKG - all cost me $40 total!!! Yep, again, the differences in America and other countries portrayed loudly. Thank you, Kazakhstan, for keeping health care affordable for those here.
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