Monday, July 19, 2010

Sunday, July 18: Trouble with stairs and a family visit


I woke up this morning in so much pain. My room is on the second floor and there’s a small step up to the bathroom here. I could barely lift my leg to climb the stair and walking down the stairs was excruciating. My two big toenails have yellow stuff coming out of them, which doesn’t sit well in my mind, so I called our coordinator Josie who is making an appointment at the Common Hope Medical Clinic on Monday so I can have them looked at.

Last night, I spent some time with Devva, a professor from Berkley who was robbed in the market earlier Saturday. She showed me her purse which had a small cut in the side which the thief made while she was shopping and then just reached in and stole her wallet and camera. The markets are crowded here, and she thought someone was a little too close behind her, but she didn’t realize her stuff was gone until the thief was long gone. It’s a frightening reminder to all of us that as safe as Antigua seems, we need to be vigilant about keeping an eye on our surroundings. Erika and I spent the evening with Devva as she called all her credit card companies to cancel them, and we brought her dinner from Pollo Campero. She’s such a sweet woman, it’s so sad to see her go through such a terrible ordeal.

As for today, my grandpa’s cousin Noelia came to visit me with her brother and his wife. They treated me and my friend Jackie to lunch at Las Palmas restaurant, and then took us to a huge coffee farm, Finca Filidelfia, for mochaccinos and a short walk. Noelia had planned to come a day earlier but I scheduled my hike before I knew she was coming, so I had told her I had some school commitments. Because of this, Jackie and I were in a lot of pain from our hike yesterday, but we were reluctant to share our tale. Nonetheless, every step of our walk was full of effort and we kept smiling at each other to keep our secret.

After our tour of Antigua, I came home and Skype’d Brian, showing him my new toenails, a told him about my journey for the day. I miss him so much, particularly now when I’m so achy from the trek. I can use a good adjustment. I have however, figured out the if I walk sideways up the stairs to my room, it doesn’t hurt as bad since I’m using different muscles. I may look a little weird, but it works for now.