Not quite med-evac'ed

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  San Jose, Costa Rica
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Guess what this title is all about. We were on a "gira", a field trip, to visit current volunteers around Costa Rica and were staying in homes in the community. This morning, I got up, went for a jog, had breakfast, and the mother and I were leaving the house when I fell down the stair (yes, that was singluar) outside and twisted my knee and ankle. I was in SO much pain... I couldn't move inside, and so they brought chairs onto the porch for me and I was subject to the entire block's oggling. Everyone in the neighborhood found either an excuse to come over and chat (at 8:30 in the morning...) or to walk back and forth in front of the house, multiple times. I didn't really mind, I just waved and said "Hola". It's part of the Tico culture. I laughed to myself, through my tears, about how in 20 minutes, the rest of the community would soon hear about the Chinita-gringa's kluztiness. (Here, "gringa" and references to nationality are just a way to describe someone, it's like saying someone has brown eyes, and there are no connotations associated with it.)

I was given preferential seating in our cramped "Tourista" bus, so that was nice. And I taught everyone the "Hey Cow" game. (Yell "Hey Cow" at cows as you drive by and count how many look up.) The first time, I only got two cows, so the next time, I switched to "Hola Vaca" and still got two cows. Maybe cows only speak German.

We ate at a Carribean restaurant and met the PC nurse there. I was able to eat lunch with the group before returning with the nurse to San Jose. I ordered pickled fish with onions because it sounded interesting. When I recieved my food, there was an entire fish, from tail to head, staring up at my admist crinkle cut fries and two pieces of lettuce and tomatoes (aka a salad). It tasted wonderful. And the best part was that it cost, in USD, less than $4. Stick shock will be truly shocking when I return. I actually had real Heinz packets of ketchup- not "Tomate Salsa". They sell American ketchup here- at a price. I don't think Ticos are really into buying the American brands all that much since it's all imported and so expensive. In short, I can pretty much find anything I want, if I am willing to pay for it, which I am not and can't anyhow.

So nursie and I drove back in a standard, white, government SUV to San Jose. The scenery was wonderful. We drove through one of the CR's national parks and wow... It was so beautiful, a nice change from the populated mountains we are currently residing in. The coulds fall down the mountains every evening, but at the time we went through, they were at the peak.

The nice thing about CR is that everything is not too far away. I was amazed that the nurse was able to leave SJ at 8:30 and meet us by 11.

When we got to SJ, we went to the ER and I had my ankle x-rayed and briefly examined. It wasn't fractured as we feared, but it was "badly swollen" (as per the translation the doctor gave). Before I knew what was happening, my left (I don't think I mentioned that it was the left side) leg was being casted. Anyhow, by the time we were done, it was 4:30, too late for me to go home via bus, so here I am at a hotel in downtown SJ all by myself. The doc didn't think I needed crutches, but I'm not supposed to walk on it for a day. Luckily the hotel had an extra pair to lend me. It also has limited cable tv some channels of which are in English!

So all in all, an eventful day. I will need a cast for about three weeks, and I'm already wondering how I am to get to class every day since I live a 20 min walk UP the mountain and the house classes are in is set DOWN from the road. But I think I should be able to get the hang of the cast in a couple of days. Right now, I'm dependent on the crutches.

Other than that, I'm fine.

Other happenings:
For a class assignment, we had to ask a member of the community about our physical descriptions, and the person I asked said I had "labecitos carniceros" in other words, meaty lips. Which I definitely do NOT have... We all got a good laugh out of that.

People here are inquisitive and I'm always getting asked how old I am. I like to ask how old people think I am, and the lowest I've gotten so far is 11, usually it's around 15/6. Although I have heard that some of the other trainees originally thought I was someone's little sister or something at first.

My host mom made REAL chicharrones. (Actually, there are chicharrone sodas- mini restaurants- in CR, but I've never been to one. And the taste wouldn't be as good as my host mom's.) WOW, were they good. The stuff you buy as chips doesn't even compare. It's like comparing creek water to an exquisite bottle of vintage wine. Anyhow, it was the real thing, and by that I mean, the skin and the fat with bits of meat (muscle) still clinging to it. First you simmer it in water, then deep fry and flavor it. I restricted myself to four pieces, but the family kept teasing me and asking if I just wanted a little bit more. I wound up brushing my teeth so as to avoid temptation. But even the SOUND of people eating chicharrones... drool... I told my host family that if I kept eating all the good food the mom cooks, I was going to leave "gordita"- fat. That morning she made 2" thick pancakes and for lunch she made ziti with homemade tomato sauce and everyone knows how much I love pasta.

On a side note about food, I had a hamburger for lunch one day, and it literally looked like it had been ironed flat with it's 1.5" stature. The meat tasted like... a veggie burger trying to be meat. American food here isn't American unless it's an American chain.

Anyhow, we'll see how I hold up this week with the cast and everything. I have definitely lost feeling in my toes...

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