Blow on your eyes
A request I didn’t expect at my annual eye exam…
This morning, I visited my neighborhood hospital for a routine eye test. It was more thorough than my annual check-up in New Zealand, comprising tests at four different machines, plus the eye chart test, and manual examinations from a nurse and an ophthalmologist. All for NT$360 (NZ$18).
It was at the second machine that I received a strange request. As I leaned towards the chin-rest, the English-speaking nurse said “Blow on your eyes!”
I looked up at her, and said something like “Huh?”
Once again, she said “Blow on your eyes!”
“I’m sorry? I need to…?”
“Yes! Blow on your eyes!”
Deeply confused, I hesitantly started removing my mask.
Should I stick out my bottom lip?
Should I cup my hands to direct the airflow?
Then, no more than two seconds before I actually tried to blow on my eyes, the nurse called out “Wait!”
“Machine blow on your eyes!”