Well, seeing as how tomorrow marks the 1 month anniversary of arriving in Bolivia, I figured I should probably write another blog entry...
About 3 weeks ago I suddenly realized that everything I´d been told about toilets flushing the opposite way on the other side of the equator was undeniably true! It was a revolutionary moment... or not so much, but it was exciting to see first hand. My point with this comment? I don´t really have one... except that there are often times when I forget I´m in a different country and then something like toilets flushing backwards (or someone speaking to me in Spanish) jolts me back to the realization that I really have left North America. It´s kind of cool. I wonder if this is a good thing. Have I become so comfortable with Santa Cruz that it has started to become home? normal? Or, am I living in denial of the fact that I´m in Bolivia and need constant reminders to tell me I´m here? Hm... I don´t know. I know that I´m enjoying being here and that I´m enjoying making new friends and learning a new language and buying things for less money, and seeing God take care of me through a bunch of different circumstances. I think that´s good enough. If it´s not, I´m sure I´ll find that out soon enough.
If you haven´t heard the news yet, there´s quite the conflict going on in Bolivia right now. I won´t try to explain it very well because I don´t understand it very well. It´s got something to do with autonomy and taxes and a few other things. I can´t really say what started it (because I´m not quite sure), but the results are at least 10 deaths so far and a bunch of raiding and riots and violent demonstrations and the closure of markets early as well as the transit system. All these conflicts make the city a bit more dangerous, but it is still safe enough for me to walk around in the day. At night I´m at home and I try to get home before dark... which isn´t that hard to do. So, life goes on as usual, more or less. And, I don´t mean to paint a scary picture of Santa Cruz right now, it isn´t really that scary. It´s a great city and I´m still loving it.
Well, I´m going off to the Hipermaxi (department store?) with my host mom soon, so there´s one more important story I need to share...
About 2 weeks ago I was watching TV with my sister, when a mob of mosquitoes attacked my right foot. Well, not a mob, but I ended up with six large, incredibly itchy bites on my foot. That night I itched them really hard a few times to calm the itching and then I fell asleep. The next morning my foot had begun to swell. Uh oh... I was a little scared. The next day it was worse, so I showed my host dad and he didn´t seem concerned, so I felt better. I went to MCC and showed some people there and they seemed a lot more concerned. I was told to leave it for now, but if it got worse to see a doctor. I finally ended up talking with a lady who works at MCC who use to be a nurse. She thought that perhaps my itching had caused the bites to open up under the skin and I was bleeding under my skin. Hm... interesting. My foot didn´t hurt at all, it just felt rather large and stupid and was annoying to walk on since it felt inflated. I was told to elevate it when I was sitting or sleeping, so I did and it started to get better... slowly. I started feeling a lot better. Once the swelling was gone, it started hurting a bit... but it was concluded to be from the bruising. At this time, my foot is as good as new! Yay! and... that´s the story. I want to add a picture of my foot for you... we´ll see if it works.
About 3 weeks ago I suddenly realized that everything I´d been told about toilets flushing the opposite way on the other side of the equator was undeniably true! It was a revolutionary moment... or not so much, but it was exciting to see first hand. My point with this comment? I don´t really have one... except that there are often times when I forget I´m in a different country and then something like toilets flushing backwards (or someone speaking to me in Spanish) jolts me back to the realization that I really have left North America. It´s kind of cool. I wonder if this is a good thing. Have I become so comfortable with Santa Cruz that it has started to become home? normal? Or, am I living in denial of the fact that I´m in Bolivia and need constant reminders to tell me I´m here? Hm... I don´t know. I know that I´m enjoying being here and that I´m enjoying making new friends and learning a new language and buying things for less money, and seeing God take care of me through a bunch of different circumstances. I think that´s good enough. If it´s not, I´m sure I´ll find that out soon enough.
If you haven´t heard the news yet, there´s quite the conflict going on in Bolivia right now. I won´t try to explain it very well because I don´t understand it very well. It´s got something to do with autonomy and taxes and a few other things. I can´t really say what started it (because I´m not quite sure), but the results are at least 10 deaths so far and a bunch of raiding and riots and violent demonstrations and the closure of markets early as well as the transit system. All these conflicts make the city a bit more dangerous, but it is still safe enough for me to walk around in the day. At night I´m at home and I try to get home before dark... which isn´t that hard to do. So, life goes on as usual, more or less. And, I don´t mean to paint a scary picture of Santa Cruz right now, it isn´t really that scary. It´s a great city and I´m still loving it.
Well, I´m going off to the Hipermaxi (department store?) with my host mom soon, so there´s one more important story I need to share...
About 2 weeks ago I was watching TV with my sister, when a mob of mosquitoes attacked my right foot. Well, not a mob, but I ended up with six large, incredibly itchy bites on my foot. That night I itched them really hard a few times to calm the itching and then I fell asleep. The next morning my foot had begun to swell. Uh oh... I was a little scared. The next day it was worse, so I showed my host dad and he didn´t seem concerned, so I felt better. I went to MCC and showed some people there and they seemed a lot more concerned. I was told to leave it for now, but if it got worse to see a doctor. I finally ended up talking with a lady who works at MCC who use to be a nurse. She thought that perhaps my itching had caused the bites to open up under the skin and I was bleeding under my skin. Hm... interesting. My foot didn´t hurt at all, it just felt rather large and stupid and was annoying to walk on since it felt inflated. I was told to elevate it when I was sitting or sleeping, so I did and it started to get better... slowly. I started feeling a lot better. Once the swelling was gone, it started hurting a bit... but it was concluded to be from the bruising. At this time, my foot is as good as new! Yay! and... that´s the story. I want to add a picture of my foot for you... we´ll see if it works.
1 comment:
Wow - impressive - nasty! Glad your foot is better now! Use that "After Bite" stuff I bought for you!!
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