Poked and Prodded

Apparently Peace Corps uses DHL to mail medical packets to people applying from overseas.  I'm REALLY happy about this! Instead of having to wait like 2 weeks to get the kit from the time they put it in the mail it only took 2 days! So I freaked out about not getting into see the doctor for nothing. 

Luckily I was able to get an appointment at the International Clinic at Seoul National University Hospital on Saturday.  This is the clinic that another applicant had been to, so they already knew a lot of what goes into this particular medical kit.  I also, happily, met another PC applicant at the clinic who had been emailing one of the nurses for a couple of weeks to make sure they new exactly what was needed.  This is great for me because all I had to do was tell them that I needed the exact same thing as the other woman.  And since they will be processing all of our stuff at the same time I'm pretty hopeful it will all go smoothly. 

However, this did turn into a 8hr ordeal.  I had to catch the bus at 6am to get down there (yuck!) and then I was early and had to wait for them to open.  The other applicant was supposed to be the only person before me but because her consultation took so long they told me I had to go last that day.  I got into see the gyno, eventually saw the doctor, had a ton of vials of blood drawn and got the polio-booster that I needed. I made it out of there around 2pm.  I did have a little trouble because I didn't realize I couldn't eat or drink anything for 8hrs beforehand.  Well, apparently that only effects of test, thankfully.  So I'll be going to the doctor near me tomorrow to have the TB skin test done.   

This actually wasn't too bad though.  There were a ton of other foreigners there who I got to talk to and it was great talking to the other PC nominee.  We both have to go back in 2 weeks to pick up our results and go over them with the doctor, so I'm hoping to run into her again.  We also exchanged info which is great.  It's good to know there is someone here who is going through the same process/stress that I can talk to.

I'm going to the dentist today, in about 2 hours, which I'm dreading and just really hoping they don't find any cavities/anything else wrong. I've heard everyone there speaks English, so, again, I'm hoping it goes smoothly.

And I've actually decided that I am glad to be doing all of this here.  Yes, having to travel farther for English speaking doctors and having to wait 2 weeks for them to be in the office is a little frustrating.  Still, it's worth it.  Medical treatment in Korea is much less expensive than it is at home, so I'm happy to be saving some money :)

So, dentist today, doctor tomorrow, and test results in a little under 2 weeks. Totally doable.  And hopefully everything is done correctly and I'm totally healthy!