Night # 21 - Blood Test!
I woke up very early this morning to go for a medical test today. It was meant for my application for my residence here.
It was well arranged by the company who got someone to fetch me and other lady to the medical centre and walk us through the procedure. When we got there, the place was packed with people standing outside the centre. We were told that sometimes it could take up to a full day just to have the blood test and x-ray. My goodness. We took only 2o minutes. We literally breezed in and then we were done and out. The people were still standing outside waiting for their turn.
Today, I am very conscious of my skin colour and differences in status over here. For one, the difference in status is a matter of hours of waiting time. If you know the right connections, you know the who and the how, you just breezed through the system. You will be attended to promptly and it will be hassle free. Why then the skin colour? There is also a difference if you are an asian or a caucasian or as they call it the easterner and the westerner.
Perhaps some people may shrug it off and say that it is part of this world, but being brought up in a place where we believe in equality in all races, this is uncomfortable. If I think back at the medical centre. Today, as I was told, is a quieter day as compared to other days of the week. The rooms where we were supposed to take the blood tests were empty. The staff was just sitting there waiting. The x-ray room was virtually empty. Yet there was a large crowd waiting for their papers and waiting to be called in to do the blood test. The major held up is at the registration. It is unbelievable.
Then again, this is one place where we should be glad if things HAPPEN your way. There is no reason why there's such a huge delay, but you should be glad if they decided that it is your paper that they will approve today. Sigh... perhaps there is some logic to the illogical.
It was well arranged by the company who got someone to fetch me and other lady to the medical centre and walk us through the procedure. When we got there, the place was packed with people standing outside the centre. We were told that sometimes it could take up to a full day just to have the blood test and x-ray. My goodness. We took only 2o minutes. We literally breezed in and then we were done and out. The people were still standing outside waiting for their turn.
Today, I am very conscious of my skin colour and differences in status over here. For one, the difference in status is a matter of hours of waiting time. If you know the right connections, you know the who and the how, you just breezed through the system. You will be attended to promptly and it will be hassle free. Why then the skin colour? There is also a difference if you are an asian or a caucasian or as they call it the easterner and the westerner.
Perhaps some people may shrug it off and say that it is part of this world, but being brought up in a place where we believe in equality in all races, this is uncomfortable. If I think back at the medical centre. Today, as I was told, is a quieter day as compared to other days of the week. The rooms where we were supposed to take the blood tests were empty. The staff was just sitting there waiting. The x-ray room was virtually empty. Yet there was a large crowd waiting for their papers and waiting to be called in to do the blood test. The major held up is at the registration. It is unbelievable.
Then again, this is one place where we should be glad if things HAPPEN your way. There is no reason why there's such a huge delay, but you should be glad if they decided that it is your paper that they will approve today. Sigh... perhaps there is some logic to the illogical.
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