Thursday update

The agenda was health screening. The UAE tests all workers for HIV, TB, Hepatitis, etc. Sounds simple, right? I'm gaining an understanding that nothing is "simple" here.
We were loaded up on a bus to head to the hospital. We were supposed to be fast-tracked through the system... and we were... and it still took six hours. (Ann would interject here that she warned me and said I should go with her to the private hospital where I would be out in a half hour for only 100 dirhams more.)
Every day I'm here I see the class system at work. I wonder if it will ever cease to amaze me. As a white westerner I have a rank. The rank is below Emirati but above most everyone else. That doesn't mean anyone bows to me. It simply means that when a Sudanese has been in line since yesterday and I get to cut in line in front of him, the Sudanese guy just accepts it as the way of the world. Imagine that in America. Actually, I don't want to imagine that in America.
Oh, I should make it clear, I don't cut in line... I am placed in line front of them.
One humorous (hopefully) note: The guy running the blood pressure screen tested us and we were all coming out high. I tested at 160 over 119. Now, I have high blood pressure. I didn't bring any medication with me. But even 3 pots of coffee wouldn't get me to 160/119! After several of my colleagues also registered ridiculously high we were all ordered to come back after we've had time to relax. There was no thought that maybe, just maybe, the machine might not be callibrated right!
Sooo, Ann and Mike took me a local clinic to get blood pressure medicine. The waiting room was separated by men and women. The men were, well, lower social class. The doctor who saw me was new to the country. He spent quite a bit of time with me. I reached the point that I felt guilty taking up so much of his time. I started to get up because I thought everything was done. He said, "Please don't leave. If you leave they will send in another patient." Alrighty. I sat down and we talked some more. I understood his thinking. He'd spent the past hour at least dealing with illiterate/low functioning patients. I guess talking to me was a break of some sort.
The upside of today was that it gave me a chance to bond with some of my colleagues. I'm happy to report that the old extroverted Steve is back. Here's a question: You and 20 of your colleagues are sitting in two rows of chairs facing each other. You know you are going to spend the next two hours staring at each other before you go anywhere. (Noboby brought reading materials because we had been assured we'd be in and out.) Do you: 1. Stare blankly off into space? 2. Engage the person sitting closest to you in polite conversation? or 3. Find humor in the situation and try to engage as many others as you can? Obviously, I chose 3. Another woman and I were the outgoing ones trying to engage the others. 15 of the 20 simply sat in silence.

I guess the bottom line is that I've been here three days and I've already gained a reputation for talking a lot...