My first

visit to the gynaechologist this Mon, in 27 years (5 months & 17 days). It was somewhat embarrassing, even if you know he's doing the doctor stuff.

I'd decided to go for a checkup because after speaking to my German girlfriends, I realised it's common here to do a routine checkup (a Pap smear, ultrasound, a quick breast check) yearly starting in their twenties and that it's included in the compulsory health insurance I have to pay for here anyway. The doc was nice, (spoke English, quite important) and kept reassuring me (I'd told him I've never done a checkup like this).

I asked the doc at what age do they recommend girls to start having a Pap smear done and he said about 20 years old. Correct me if I'm wrong, but back home, I think our 'shy' Asian culture and the cost of having these checkups done routinely are reasons why I've never done it. To me, I used to think one doesn't go to the gynae unless one is pregnant.

Anyway, the whole process took less than 30 minutes. I thought the ultrasound was cool. :) And I'm all normal. Yay. So if they don't call me after they get my Pap smear results after 2 weeks then everything's a-ok. :D

Then next week, I go see a dermatologist for my dry skin. (You see, here, under the health insurance, when you first go to a doctor in whichever quarter of the year, you pay 10 euros and after that, you don't have to pay anything, other than for medications, to other doctors you see in the same quarter, so I have to make use of this in the last week of this quarter since I already paid.) Also planning to get my teeth checked by a dentist before the end of March. hee.