First contact

Today we asked to leave school early so we could go for the monthly check-up. After a long taxi ride through the busy and smelly traffic we arrived at the hospital (in China you never visit a doctor, you go to a hospital). At the first counter we paid 20 yuan for the visit and at the one next to it we got the blood results from last time. Everything was ok...

After waiting for half an hour in a small hallway with 30 pregnant women and 20 other people we noticed that the room of our doctor never followed up with the numbers. People walked in and out and when in room number 5 person 17 could go in, room number 2 only was up to 7.

So Li Yan decided to walk in like everyone else. And there I was standing in the hallway... Yes if you're a male being, you have no access to the doctor's room. Hospitals have no privacy in China; rooms with one doctor and 7 women is not uncommon. Result everyone in the room hears and sees everything. After 20 minutes I saw the mom to be leaving the room and going to the bathroom. Li Yan came back and told me that I could go in the room to listen to our baby's hart beat... but I had to wait till the nurse called me. Five minutes I was called in to the women's kingdom but I had keep distance so sneaking into the doorless examination room would be impossible. But no worries I could hear it from four meters away... it was alive!

The first contact had been made, a total relieve... it has a heart.

One minute later I was already send out of the room; you never know what secrets I could hear while listening to the Chinese chatting?!

So with my long nose and white skin I walked out and sat down waiting ten more minutes while in the meanwhile I was wondering if any other man had seen me sneaking in. As those rooms are highly restricted to (pregnant) women only. Our mom-to-be came out and we walked happily out of the hospital.

On the way out she told me what happened inside; of course she asked me if I could come and listen to the heart beat but the doctor said I couldn't. Li Yan answered that it is very normal in my country to share all of these pre-baby experiences. And so she said ok but he has to stay at a distance... she is a great mom to be!

So living as a white guy in a yellow country has it's advantages... sometimes ;)