Yesterday I spent 6 hours getting my HEALTH EXAM for my RP (residence permit). I would stop here... but I have to tell people about this weird system of getting a health exam.
All that needs to be done is blood test and chest X-rays - why did it take 6 hours? Oh that is because in true Doha fashion my number is finally called after sitting around for over an hour, go up to a desk to speak to an unfriendly lady that barely knows any English and she informs me I must go to room 7 where another gem of a lady informs me I don't have the write number in my passport as the paper I am caring. This means I must go to the other side of Doha and get this changed for a small fee of 500 riyals. I have the farm driver with me because he speaks Arabic (I was hoping he could speed the health exam process along but no men allowed) and he is not happy that we have to fight the traffic to go over there. As soon as we are at Immigration he goes up and pushes through the line for me only to told by the jolly police man to wait our turn (pretty sure it is because I am blonde and white because loads of other people where jumping the line). We wait for almost 2 hour. Joy.
After we got it all sorted I go back to get the health exam place and as I get out of the car this is the conversation:
Once I nervously walk in for the second time the lady monitoring the line recognizes me - THANK GOODNESS - and tells me to go right on ahead. Once on the other side of this... well this is wear it gets HORRIBLE. I was herded like a sheep. Waiting in line for my blood test was the worst. I am pushed into a line, given a blood tube, and forced to watch other people get stabbed for blood. I hate needles, and watching all the ladies get stabbed before me was painful. I finally sit down, give her the blood tube that had given me with my ID number on it... and she STABS me! Ouch! Needles are not my friend and this lady was not gentle about it. I was like the dartboard and she was aiming for the my vein was her bullseye!
After the horrible blood thing I go and sit in a line for the X-ray... All very confusing how this line worked but after 45 minutes I got to the the X-ray room and a very polite girl (yeah right) yells "take this off and she points to my t-shirt and throws a hospital gown at me and then she says "that too and feels my back at my bra strap." While waiting in line I am also instructed to pull my hair up... so I put it in a ponytail and get yelled out because it is not ALL the way up. A bun? You could have just said "please put your hair in a BUN!" So I am waiting in line again to go in with 5 other women and we are all embarrassed because of being so exposed. We hear a woman yelling from inside the X-ray room and it doesn't sound friendly at ALL. The lady by me starts nervously laughing and says "wow what is behind that door!" Of course now we are ALL nervous... Turns out the lady getting her chest xrayed was an 85 year old Indian woman and the yelling was very clear once we were in the x-ray room "MAMMMMA breath in... NO MAAAMMAAA don't move... MAAMMMAA one more try... MAMMMA please don't move for the x-ray! MAAMMMAAA go, finish, leave" I found it quite funny that this Arabic woman was calling this old Indian woman Momma - kind of cute in a way...
So I am permanently scared from that... I have a huge bruise from the blood STAB, and I now have to wait 3 days before I can carry on with the RP process.
WOW is all I am saying.
All that needs to be done is blood test and chest X-rays - why did it take 6 hours? Oh that is because in true Doha fashion my number is finally called after sitting around for over an hour, go up to a desk to speak to an unfriendly lady that barely knows any English and she informs me I must go to room 7 where another gem of a lady informs me I don't have the write number in my passport as the paper I am caring. This means I must go to the other side of Doha and get this changed for a small fee of 500 riyals. I have the farm driver with me because he speaks Arabic (I was hoping he could speed the health exam process along but no men allowed) and he is not happy that we have to fight the traffic to go over there. As soon as we are at Immigration he goes up and pushes through the line for me only to told by the jolly police man to wait our turn (pretty sure it is because I am blonde and white because loads of other people where jumping the line). We wait for almost 2 hour. Joy.
After we got it all sorted I go back to get the health exam place and as I get out of the car this is the conversation:
Farm Driver
"Catie... don't be your sweet self when you go back in there. Tell the lady you will not wait and that you have been here before. You need to jump the line! Do not let be mean to you" Mean - ha oh they are so nice in that building I have no idea what he is talking about... yeah right!
Me
"errrrrr okkk" and thinking well that is easier said than done since I am on the women's side and I don't speak Arabic. I also have manners...
Once I nervously walk in for the second time the lady monitoring the line recognizes me - THANK GOODNESS - and tells me to go right on ahead. Once on the other side of this... well this is wear it gets HORRIBLE. I was herded like a sheep. Waiting in line for my blood test was the worst. I am pushed into a line, given a blood tube, and forced to watch other people get stabbed for blood. I hate needles, and watching all the ladies get stabbed before me was painful. I finally sit down, give her the blood tube that had given me with my ID number on it... and she STABS me! Ouch! Needles are not my friend and this lady was not gentle about it. I was like the dartboard and she was aiming for the my vein was her bullseye!
After the horrible blood thing I go and sit in a line for the X-ray... All very confusing how this line worked but after 45 minutes I got to the the X-ray room and a very polite girl (yeah right) yells "take this off and she points to my t-shirt and throws a hospital gown at me and then she says "that too and feels my back at my bra strap." While waiting in line I am also instructed to pull my hair up... so I put it in a ponytail and get yelled out because it is not ALL the way up. A bun? You could have just said "please put your hair in a BUN!" So I am waiting in line again to go in with 5 other women and we are all embarrassed because of being so exposed. We hear a woman yelling from inside the X-ray room and it doesn't sound friendly at ALL. The lady by me starts nervously laughing and says "wow what is behind that door!" Of course now we are ALL nervous... Turns out the lady getting her chest xrayed was an 85 year old Indian woman and the yelling was very clear once we were in the x-ray room "MAMMMMA breath in... NO MAAAMMAAA don't move... MAAMMMAA one more try... MAMMMA please don't move for the x-ray! MAAMMMAAA go, finish, leave" I found it quite funny that this Arabic woman was calling this old Indian woman Momma - kind of cute in a way...
So I am permanently scared from that... I have a huge bruise from the blood STAB, and I now have to wait 3 days before I can carry on with the RP process.
WOW is all I am saying.
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