18 October 2003Peace Corps
Oh, What Fun
Yesterday, I had to go see a doctor for some standard Peace Corps close of service tests. Oh, what fun. The absolute best part was the Chlamydia test. I don't even know why Peace Corps requires this. Probably because the want they statistics.
If I had Chlamydia, the symptoms would be obvious, right? Apparently not. You can have it and not even know. According to my doctor, about 20% of the sexaully active adult population has it and don't even know. Hence the test.
The test is a swab which requires you to stick something like a q-tip, albeit a little smaller, inside your urethra. Didn't I say what fun this was? You have the choice of having the doctor do it for you or doing a self-swab. I chose the latter. No big deal, since I regularly stick large objects up my urethra. NOT!!
CHLAMYDIA
Caused by bacteria germs; the infection starts a few days to a few weeks after having sex with an infected person.
In men it causes a liquid (pus) to come out of the opening in the penis. It may also hurt to pee (urinate). The symptoms may be very strong or very mild and hardly noticeable.
Women usually have very mild or no symptoms, but if untreated it can progress into a more serious disease (P.I.D.) and cause her not to be able to have babies in the future.
These diseases can be completely cured by antibiotics if treated early.
Posted by andrew at October 18, 2003 11:44 AM
Comments
You men have it easy when it comes to physical exams. I won't even talk about what we women have to go through. Just consider yourself lucky!
SO, since you had a close of service medical, that must mean that you have officially ETed (or been admin sep'd). Can you now tell us why you left the PC?
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'Oh, What Fun'.
Among the many benifits of being in the Peace Corps, one of the things you can apparently look forward to, as well as pats on the back and a long list of companies just throwing jobs your way, is the... [Read More]
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Haaaaah what a yeutce.
"CHLAMYDIA ("the clap")." Sorry but the Clap is Gonoreah. The original drippy dick.
And why whould anyone test a pcv for such things. Well there used to be a time when volunteers actually associated with country residents in intimate ways. Perhaps that is still the case in some places. Though I can understand the reluctance of many to do so now a days.
Wait until you have a few more years on you and some Urologist sticks an allen wrench up your dick to check out your prostate. It makes the ole q-tip experience seem like a sex act.
End of service physicals are a great idea. They just threw us out. I came home with half a dozen problems that took me years to get rid of. A few I still suffer from.
Maybe they will catch all the stuff you picked up. If not, you will always carry just a little bit more of Samoa with you than you really want. LIke a sore that never heals.
Anyway since it's your end of service physical it appears you are through with the corps. I'm surprised they didn't ask the Samoa CD back to do the End of Service, End of Medical Exam Procedure. You know that one? Its the "bend over I'm going to put my foot up your arse!' procedure.
My feeling is that you engineered all this. You can not be such a loser that you let some jerk-off third rate paper pusher boot you out of the pc. You have to be smarter than that! If not maybe you should seriously reconsider your opinion of yourself.
You take some beautiful pictures, your blog has been interesting. Its a shame that it didn't do the entire 2+ years. I believe you would have gained some very rewarding understandings in this last year. I would like to have seen that.
Remember, Service is just a phone call away. You don't have to go to Samoa to be a volunteer. If you found it rewarding, keep it up. Make it a part of your life.
Good Luck and Soifua