Broken

As I’m sure many of you have heard by now, I have broken my left foot. The story behind the whole thing is pretty anti-climatic and uneventful because I wasn’t falling out of a bunk bed or hopping around trying to put pants on. I also wasn’t drinking, camping, and racing down to the Columbia River to go skinny dipping... With that said, I had motivated myself to sign up for another half marathon and work myself back into shape with spring and summer fast approaching. Something about the idea of running a half marathon on the beach in the South of Spain seemed very appealing. Unfortunately maybe I was over zealous and my foot couldn't handle the pressure or maybe it was those darn authentic Spanish cobble stone streets that are in my town. Either way, I’m done running for a while.
I don’t remember a specific step I took that was wrong and I didn’t roll my ankle, but 6 miles into a run I all of a sudden had a pain so badly in my foot that I literally couldn’t take another step. I hobbled home and did the usual ice and elevation ritual I have done so many times before with sprained ankles.
I went to work the next day and barely made it through the day because every step I was taking sent shooting pains throughout my foot and up to my calf. I knew something was wrong with my foot and it was unnerving not knowing exactly what happened. After limping around for 2 days and realizing that Ice and Elevation wasn’t going to cut it I went to the doctor. At this point my foot was pretty swollen and my toes looked like sausages. The doctor felt around my foot and focused on the areas I showed her were the most painful. She concluded that she though it was bruised and with some rest and relaxation it should heal right up.
After three days of no walking, the R&R just wasn’t cutting it. I was in even more pain if that was possible. I was also missing out on teaching and giving my private tutoring lessons because I needed to stay off the foot. I decided to go back to the doctor and this time Guadalupe came with me so make sure the doctor and I were understanding each other. This doctor felt around my foot and concluded that I had arthritis.... She prescribed a creme? I’m thinking “What the hell? This is not arthritis.”
The next day after my arthritis creme gives me absolutely no relief I call Guadalupe and tell her I want an x-ray. During all of these doctor visits I am trying to figure out my insurance that I have here. I knew I paid for it, I just didn’t know how it worked because Spain has universal healthcare, but I was never given an insurance card.
So we go back to the doctor for the third time. I finally get my x-ray and sure enough my foot is broken. Good lord that took forever! Now, Guadalupe drove me into the city because there is no hospital in my small town. I get another x-ray because obviously at this point one is not enough. They set my foot and put a cast on it all the way up to my knee...now this seems a little excessive. I find out I have broken my Fifth Metatarsal. This is the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe. Such a small bone but apparently really important. I have a Jones Fracture, which after doing some research this is what I have learned: The Jones Fracture occurs in a small area of the bone that receives less blood and is therefore more difficult to heal. They are caused by overuse, repetitive stress, or trauma and are less common and difficult to treat. Oh Great! Not only did I break a bone but I broke a difficult one to get better.

The non-surgical treatment is Immobilization, where the foot is kept in a cast and absolutely no pressure or support is put on the foot or the cast. The doctor really stressed the importance of this matter to Guadalupe and myself. I went home and began my first week of immobilization. To give you an idea of how immobile I am suppose to be I get an injection in my stomach everyday for my circulation. I guess it thins my blood and prevents blood clotting.
As soon as I return home from the hospital I am still in a lot of pain. Now i’ve never been in a cast before so I didn’t know if this was normal or not. I asked some friends online and they told me that I should not be in so much pain. After 2 days of sleepless nights I finally decided I can’t take it anymore. Guadalupe takes me back to the hospital. Turns out the cast wasn’t put on properly so they took that one off and put a new one on that feels much better. After all this drama and the stress of making sure my foot heals properly, Guadalupe insists that I come and stay with her and her family during my recovery.
So now I am staying with Guadalupe and her family has been so good to me. I am propped up on their couch and served delicious spanish meals that would otherwise be PB&J or soup if I was staying in my own apartment.
Now on week two of immobilization I am getting better at maneuvering around on the crutches (from the bathroom to the couch) and I have going back to work next week to look forward to. I get the cast off in another week and a half and from there the doctors will decide how the healing is going and if I will need another cast of if I can begin rehabilitating my foot.
Trying to look at this positively I am learning a lot of new and different Spanish vocabulary that I otherwise would not have needed to learn. I have some free time on my hands to catch up on updates and talk to people online. I’ve also now experienced talking to doctors and needing medical assistance in both Costa Rica and Spain (I doubt many people can say that..). I have also been getting adorable “Get Well Soon” cards from my students at school. The English is all wrong and now I have a new lesson to think about on how to correct their phrases, but its the thought that counts!

Carnival

Carnival in Spain is highly talked about and one of the first recommendations I got from people in my community. Everyone here says you must experience Carnival in Spain and if you can, go to Cadiz. Well, fortunately for me I am living only 2 hours from Cadiz and if you remember it is the first place I visited after arriving in Spain. For the weekend I grabbed my friends, left my valuables behind, and headed to Cadiz for what quite possibly may have been the most rowdy experience of my life. Now that is saying a lot, because I did spend four years in San Francisco attending some of the most entertaining Love, Peace, and Gay Pride Parades.

Carnival in Cadiz is said to be the third largest Carnival celebration in the world (after Rio de Janeiro and Trinidad). Both European jet-setters and locals know and crave the intense energy that invades the city during the ten days leading up to Shrove Tuesday. It seems that everyone within a thousand-mile radius shows up to partake in the fun.

Many visitors like my friends and I, choose to sleep on park benches or stay up all night instead of booking hotel rooms.

From experiencing Cadiz before, it is a quiet and serene city on the Andalusian coast, except when it plays host to Spain's ultimate party. The fun began in the 17th century when the city of Cadiz tried to keep up with the decadent carnival celebrations in Venice and Genoa. Carnival was forbidden when Franco was in power and now it is back, stronger and bigger then ever.

As it often happens in Spain, preparations for Carnival seem a bit last-minute and haphazard, but everything comes together beautifully in the end. Garlands are hung across the tiny, twisting alleys, and street vendors set up their displays of toys and fruit just an hour or two before the party begins. Stages are set up in every plaza for musical acts, comedians and children's performances. And there are also rock concerts featuring some of Spain's most popular groups in the Plaza de Catedral.

Carnival may be the ultimate party all night but for those seeking more conventional pleasure, and for the families, the Carnival roster includes numerous parades, dancing children, exuberant costumes and beauty pageants during the day.

I had an amazing time dressing up with my friends, we flashed backed to 80’s Prom and found fabulous dresses. It was also a blast to see all the other creative and unique costumes that the Spanish come up with. I think a good comparison of the amount of people and the costumes is Halloween in the Castro District of San Francisco. The difference is there is a lot more entertainment and the people don’t get as drunk and out of control as they do on Halloween.

Amsterdam

The Sin City capital of the world

Flying into Amsterdam and looking out the airplane window I thought the neighborhoods from the air differed quite a bit from U.S. They are perfectly spaced out and even. But I still couldn’t quite put together what was SO different. Then I realized that everything was on water! You could see the strips of water running through like ribbons. I had forgotten that Amsterdam is below sea level.

Amsterdam is set up as canals, The houses line the streets and the street drops off into the canals, then it is repeated on the other side. These canals are situated around the entire city.
In my opinion Amsterdam in the winter time is a very dreary and colorless city. I saw many pictures on postcards however of Amsterdam in the spring and summer and everything was covered in flowers, especially tulips. I got to see and experience many of the tourist attractions that the city had to offer but i think in order to really see the beauty of the city I need to come back during the summer.

While in Amsterdam my friends and I took a canal boat tour through the entire city. It was also the mode of transportation we used to get to the different attractions. The way the houses are built right next to each other and on top of each other reminded me of San Francisco but the style and details were very unique.

From the canal boat tour we visited Anne Frank’s house. This experience was a little surreal. It was incredibly interesting to visit and walk through the annex in which her and her family lived in hiding for 2 years. Each room was very informative and displayed excerpts from her diary putting the situations and experiences into her own words. There were also video interviews being showed of childhood friends of Anne’s and one of the women that helped keep the family in hiding. Compared to the other activities in Amsterdam visiting the house was very sobering.

The next day we continued our canal boat transportation and visited the Van Gogh museum. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. Being able to see some of his most magnificent work up close was very inspiring. My favorite was the famous Sunflower painting. The Starry Night painting unfortunately was not on display in this museum.

We visited a flower market which are scarce in the winter but abundant in the spring and summer. I imagine the markets to be absolutely incredible when all the flowers are in full bloom, especially the tulips.

In the evening we went to the Red Light District. The Amsterdam Red Light District covers a large area of the oldest part of the city. The buildings are tall, thin and crowd together, overlooking the tree lined canals. The Amsterdam Red Light District is a beautiful area and the later it gets, the busier it gets. And the darker it gets, the more obvious the glow of the fluorescent red lights above the many windows in the area becomes. Dating back to the 14th Century when sailors arrived in need of some female company, the district is full of sex shops, brothels, gay bars, cinemas, hotels and different kinds of museums. While my friends and I were walking through the district and witnessing men enter rooms with women, I couldn’t believe I was in this infamous part of the city.

A bouncer to the bar Bananenbar let me take a peak into this place because I was standing there taking a picture of the sign. At first I was like “Why are you talking to me?” But then I realized he was just being friendly and was harmless. I peaked through the curtain covering the door and this is what I saw: Scarcely dressed girls acting as barmaids and sitting on a specially designed bar where they perform erotic tricks with .... bananas.

The girls pour the drinks and turn a variety of sexy tricks on request. The bouncer told me that visitors can tell what their special wishes are... The entrance is 40 euros for an hour and includes all your drinks, hence why I was only taking a peak through the door. After I felt that I had seen enough I thanked the bouncer for his ‘hospitality’ and then asked if there were any restaurants nearby that he recommended for dinner. My friends and I ended up at a quaint Thai restaurant under his advice.

I was told that although there is a lot of adult entertainment, it is much more then just a tourist attraction. This district of 300-year-old gabled buildings and expensive real estate houses doctors, lawyers and plenty of families. It is a tolerant community where freedom is highly valued.

Speaking of freedom... Not only is prostitution legal in Amsterdam but so is the buying, selling, and smoking of weed. Just walking down the streets of Amsterdam I could constantly smell marijuana. I was a little amazed I didn’t think it would be quite so public. I was talking to my friend Katelyn, probably rather loudly because I have a hard time whispering, and I was expressing how potent the smell was. A random Hollander on the street must have heard me because he grabbed my shoulder and got really close to my face. He said “Yes, it’s the smell of freedom!” Well I figured I’m only in Amsterdam once in my life why not indulge a little... All I have to say is if anyone visits Amsterdam, I recommend the Space cake.
This concludes my Amsterdam visit.