The past week has been really weird because of my stupid ankle. Yesterday was the strangest and most frustrating day I’ve had so far. Our classes went to Quito to visit museums, so I had to do a lot of walking. It was hard, especially in the museum since I had to put most of my weight on my good foot so it got really tired. I was limping but not that bad. At the same time, I knew that it was not going to help it heal at all for me to be walking around on it all day.
When I got home I was all frustrated since I was worrying about going to the Cloud Forest with a sprained, swollen, bruised ankle. I’m sooooo excited about hiking there and swimming and everything, I don’t want to miss out on anything. I was upset and crying a little when my host mom came in my room and asked me about my ankle. She told me I should go to the doctor, so I said that’s fine and she said she’d take me when she got back from doing some errands. She got back around 8:30 and we went to the clinic.
I actually don’t think I’ll write about that experience here since it was so frustrating and uncomfortable and I just want to get over it. Anyway, I got an X-ray and it’s an extended ligament, so no big deal. But the doctor kept going on about how I shouldn’t go to the cloud forest and if I did I would have to get a cast on my leg sometime in the future, and none of it made any sense. It’s just a sprained ankle. I’ll give it some rest and it will get better. I had to buy all this stuff and it was like $70 that I don’t think was necessary at all. I think my program will pay some of it back after I get home but I was hoping not to have to get out more cash for a while yet and $70 could have been two month’s spending money pretty much. I have an Ace bandage on and I have anti-inflammatory pills and a spray that probably doesn’t do anything. The only cool part is that I got to keep my X-ray, which is the best souvenir ever.
So after everything I was all depressed and angry but my host mom finally offered to take me back and forth from classes, so that was good if a little belated.
Today I was in a bad mood because of yesterday, but I’m getting out of it now since it is an extremely nice perfect weather day. My window is open so I can get a breeze while I enjoy elevating my ankle. I gave my host mom a chocolate so I think we are okay again. She’s thinking about driving me around Old Quito tonight since I shouldn’t walk, which would be great. I’m hearing a lot more about other people’s complaints about their host families, which makes me feel better about not being all lovey-dovey with mine. At least my ankle has made my 13-year-old host sister pay more attention to me, but only because she thinks its really disgusting. She comes in my room to look at it and says “que feo” which means basically “ew, how ugly.”
A woman who seems to be a maid is here now. At first I thought she was a friend since she came over to help set up for the party, but then she didn’t stay so I figured she wasn’t. She looks more indigenous than the family and friends. My sheets are changed and I think she’s going to wash my laundry.
Something weird that happened today and is not related to my ankle is that while I was waiting to get picked up with a few other students, an Afroecuadorian from Esmeraldas started talking to us. We asked how she was and she answered, “Estoy muriendo” (“I’m dying”). I think she has some kind of infection, but she was moving around easily. She came to the school to ask the Father for money but he said he didn’t have any.
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