So here goes.....
When you are working in another country (specifically Qatar) you are in the country on a visa. There are 3 different kinds of visas.
·Official QMA Visa
·Tourist Visit Visa
·Residence Visa / Work Visa
Each has a different set of rules.
For a person who arrived on a Official QMA Visa (One Month....which is what I am here on) this can be extended for five months after medical tests (Blood Test and Chest X-Ray) and fingerprints. If you do not wish to have the Medical you can fly to Bahrain and you will return on a Tourist Visa. (which we were unaware of at the time)
There are only 2 places in Qatar where you can have this done officially through the government. And sadly, these places are not the most accommodating for people who are used to clean and orderly medical examinations like those in the US.
6 of us were loaded on to a bus and shuttled there yesterday morning.
We were accompanied by an official from the QMA who was very helpful in getting us "V.I.P." treatment. (aka skipping in front of about 1000 Indian workers)
*Scandar was super worried about the Swine Flu (thus his new name Swinedar)The process was as follows:
First, you step up to the main counter and give them your passport, visa and 100 riyals. They take your photo and give you a sheet with your name and info and a barcode on it.
Next you go to another counter where a woman scans your barcode and gives you a tube (for your blood) with matching barcode.
Then you enter a line to have your blood drawn.**Mom, this is where you may want to stop reading if you didn't heed my warning earlier**
Once inside the room, I sat down in the chair and an Indian doctor began to talk to me. For some reason, he was under the impression that I was Justin Timberlake hahahaha I assume he has never seen a photo of him. Otherwise he may have thought I was Tom Petty or someone with equally long hair and nose haha.
"I love the song you sing with Madonna" he said.
I didn't understand what he was talking about until the other doctor said "Justin Timberlake" mixed in with what I believe was Arabic.
He then followed normal procedure, wiped my arm with alcohol, tapped my arm a few times, tied a "rope" around my arm and opened a clean needle.
I turned my head (looking at a needle going in my arm is not really my thing) and felt the needle go in my arm and then quickly come out. I turned to look thinking it was over. It was not. He missed.
So he tapped my arm again a few times and popped the needle in again.
Missed again. This time I felt it.
I began to feel a bit woozy. Adrian, my co-worker (pictured below looking rather zombie-like),
entered the room and the doctor asked him to sit with me. I felt a bit embarrassed at first but he proved to be very helpful. He sat and talked with me as the doctor began to tap my arm once again.Then I felt the needle go back into my arm. This time it stayed in. I could feel the slow leak of my blood going into the tube. So I turned and looked. The flow appeared to be coming far too slowly. The doctor said "We need more. It's too slow."
I started to feel a bit light headed. Adrian took my attention away from my arm and talked to me as the doctor did something I did not expect at all.
POP.... he pushed it in deeper. I felt myself instantly turn as white as a sheet and felt like I was going to pass out. The tube filled quickly and he removed it.
Adrian let go off my hand (which I was too spaced out to even realize he had grabbed) and the doctor applied a cotton ball and bandage to my arm.
I laughed nervously with them and got up and left the room.
Next, we headed into another line for our chest xray. The line was full of shirtless Indian men standing inches behind one another. I took off my shirt and the attention of everyone was quickly turned to my chest/abdomen. Tattoos here are very uncommon. Not to mention MY tattoos.
Then we entered the xray room one at a time. The process was quick and painless. The technician was very nice and enjoyed my "body art" very much. We laughed a bit and then I was done.
I put my shirt back on we were outta there.Once back on the bus.... I fell asleep nearly instantly. My head felt light and my arm felt heavy.
We returned to the office. People (who had yet to go through the process) began to panic when they heard how it went. Most are now opting to leave the country for a day. Had we known of that option before the clinic or had we known what the clinic was like, we may have done the same.
But.... we didn't so we acted as the "guinea pigs" essentially.
Today my arm has started to bruise and the 3 small holes are a reminder of why my arm is sore.
In conclusion (what is this a term paper? hahaha) I do not regret going there and having it done. It was an experience and a story and possibly helped others make their decisions on handling their visas to their own terms.
So technically..... Manuel, Scandar (aka Swinedar Coughing), Jim, Adrian, Mihai, and I (aka Lindberg Bin Al Hood) are martyrs. And shit... that ain't a bad title to have. hahaha
**Mom, I am sure you didn't heed the warning and you read the whole story... don't worry. I am monitoring myself very closely looking for any strange feelings/irregularities. I also intend on going to a REAL doctor in the coming weeks just to get double checked. Do not stress. Please. xoxo**
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