Day Two Part Two

When the time came for our medicals to begin I was called into the doctor's office. This was a psychotherapist I think. It was a medium-sized room with two chairs and a view of the inner courtyard. He spoke basic English and he asked where we lived and what I did for work. He asked if I took vacation time and he advised that I needed more. After a few minutes he said that I was healthy and asked me to get N to come in. N's questions were similar and simple. He signed and stamped our papers and we were on our way. One doctor down, seven more to go. We walked down the long hallway and visited the next doctor's office. The next visit was with the dermatologist. I removed my shirt and stood up. She looked at my front, arms and back. Then she asked to see N and we were signed, stamped and ready to move on.

The next set of doctors was on the second floor. This floor was recently renovated and had very modern furnishings. The kids did fine reading their books in the chairs in the corridor. This is also where we saw the other families also heading our direction later in the evening. At this point N and I were split up to move more quickly. I don't remember who did what at this point. I believe I saw the neurologist next. I was asked some simple questions, asked to touch my nose with my eyes closed. One doctor asked me to remove my shirt and lie down on the table. He pushed around for a bit, very similar to what you get done at your annual physical (nothing intrusive). The reflexes doctor used the little hammer and hit various areas. They all looked at the test results we brought. For the doctors that did not speak English our facilitator, P, came into the room and sat behind a screen to translate for us. One doctor took my blood pressure and listened to my heart. One of the last doctors served for two sign-offs and looked at the x-rays we brought from home. He did not examine us but only looked at our test results. He asked a few questions (we were both in the room for this one) and we paid the doctors fee (850USD each). It was really nothing to be worried about as we're generally healthy. Now we have the official Russian stamp and seal of approval! P put the examination documents in an envelope and advised us to give this to our facilitator Y when we arrived in Siberia.

V drove us back to the hotel a little after 3pm where we stayed until 4pm checkout. The car ride to the airport took about an hour and a half which seemed quick for us as we all slept for some of the car ride. We found out from another couple (who we met at the clinic and saw at the airport) it took them two and a half hours. When we arrived at the airport we checked-in and found a corner to rest. The kids watched a video and I scoured the airport for a voltage converter for the kids' DSs. After no such luck I went back for a short nap. We ended up eating dinner at the airport Elki Palki since we were familiar with the menu. After our meal we went to Area C to go through security and wait for departure. The security lines here do have the body scanners. There is also a line for just a pat down. We did that one because it was the shortest. It really was no big deal, and we didn't have to take our computers out our backpacks. We struggled to find seating on this side of security so we found a corner and just sat on the floor. So, if you're going to spend time at DME, rest outside of security where there is more seating.

When the time came we approached the gate and boarded the bus to get on the plane. This Airbus 319 had 3 and 3 across so we had 3 and 1 in the 4th row. Russians do not bring carry-ons like Americans do so there is usually plenty of overhead space. My backpack was the largest bag in the vicinity of our seats. The flight attendants spoke some basic English so we were able to communicate regarding food, etc. It seemed one of the attendants was quite excited to use her English. This red-eye flight would have arrive in Siberia at 7:15am the next morning. It was a smooth flight, and as we approached the attendant advised us of the local time and temperature: -29 degrees C (-20F). In a few minutes we would only be miles from our dude.