Thursday, July 29, 2010

Eclipse


¨Eclipse¨...totally, completely awesome! Katie is in love, everyone. I posted a picture of my husband. Ok, enough insanity.

Today was kind of a hard day. I went back to the site of my accident. Until today, I had not been back since my accident 4 months ago. It took a lot to force myself to go. I went because I wanted to prove to myself that I can do anything and all that hoopla and also to see my former host family. My host dad stayed with me after I had fallen that day and he deserved to know that I am okay.

It was great seeing my host family again but it took a lot of hyperventilating to get up that hill. At one point, I just froze because I was so scared. (Not that bad ass after all.) :( Oh well, I did revisit that infamous patio again, saw the dent that I made on the roof, and gave an I'm-so-sorry-that-I-fell-into-your-property-after-being-attacked-by-a-group-of-dogs gift to the family. (Because, you know, good manners and etiquette should be followed in all situations.)

After the visit, I just felt so exhausted and emotionally drained. So as an expensive pick-me-up gift to myself (regular theater outings really aren´t within the Peace Corps budget), I decided to go see my movie. I feel so much better and lest you forget, I´m in love. :) :) :)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Perdida en la traducion


I was talking to one of the hostal staff today while he was watching a war movie, so I asked him if he had ever seen ¨Saving Private Ryan.¨ And because he couldn´t understand the title in English, I tried to translate it for him in Spanish...literally. And it came out, ¨Hey, have you seen the movie, ´Saving Ryan´s Private?´¨ Oye.

He gave me a really weird look and when I realized what I had said, I spent the next five minutes convincing him that I was not referring to porn, but rather ¨private¨ can also mean a soldier of certain ranking blah blah blah. Fortunately, we were able to figure out the movie title together. (For your reference so that you don´t make the same mistake, it translates to ¨Saving Soldier Ryan.¨) But, really, why do I even try to speak Spanish?

Friday, July 23, 2010

Mi corazon esta sonriendo

I have a prolapsed heart valve, which is the reason for my mild heart murmur. It is nothing really. It just means that while everyone´s heart valve is shaped slightly like a frown, mine is shaped like a smile. :) (Or, wait, maybe it´s the other way around. Maybe mine is the one frowning...?? Anyways, I would like to think that my heart is smiling at the world.)

I was very relieved at the good diagnosis. On my way to the doctor´s office, I saw a body of a man who had just been hit by a car and I was afraid that it was a bad omen. Peru leads as one of the countries with the most pedestrian deaths so although I had seen something like that a couple of times before, it´s still disturbing to me.

And, after three months, I finally told my remaining family members about my accident. My dad took it surprisingly well, but my aunt not so much. She´s sad about what I´ve endured, even though I reassured her that I´m fine. She really wants to send me something. I know that it would make her feel better, but I have been racking my brain for days and I can´t think of a single thing. I think this is a sign of how spoiled I am and how generous everybody´s been.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Medico

Since we´ve been here a year now, it is time for us to complete our full physical exams. I´m waiting for my other tests to come back, but so far, here´s I fare:

* 1 cavity (Ugh, so frustrating, since I brush everyday when I have water!)
* lost 5 pounds (Third world country diet works, I´m telling you all, no need to spend money at the gym or those low calorie gourmet meals.)
* 1 benign mole (Whew! That one worried me a bit, because of how strong the sun is up in the sierra.)
* Mild heart murmur (This is weird to me. Heart problems are reserved for old people...Not young, cute, and energetic me! :( I´m getting it checked out with a cardiologist probably sometime this week, but I´m pretty sure that it´s nothing.)

Our Peace Corps medical plan is generous to say the least: all of our medical exams: free, prescriptions: free, medical labs/tests: free, surgery (only non-cosmetic though...damn): free. I think the only people who can top that might be the Obama´s.

Anyways, I´ve been swimming a few times as a mean to improve my arm coordination and, lately, my food addiction has been to ¨sangrecito,¨ ie, chicken blood that has been made to clumps of ¨meat.¨ I know it sounds gross (and if you think about it, it is!), but it makes me feel one step closer to Team Edward. Yep, it seriously does. :)

Monday, July 19, 2010

Senor Mano

Photos, finally! Here's a post about Mr. Hand and his progress. The first clip is when Mr. Hand was finally freed of the cast after 3 months. The second one was taken recently after I had had 10 sessions of physical therapy.




Here's one of my scar. The lady here is torturing me while doing physical therapy.

Fiesta Patria

We are beginning to celebrate Fiesta Patria here in Peru, a day that celebrates Peru's independence from Spain on July 28. Yesterday we had a parade. (Think Macy's but on a smaller scale.) We actually have a grocery store named "Wong" in Lima. As such, my favorite part of the parade were the Chinese dances.






I didn't stay for very long though. The crowd was crushing, and at one point, I was actually scared that I was going to be crushed to death! And, for once, I'm not even being dramatic!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Here's some photos from Buenos Aires. I loved the city so much that I almost did not come back. But, fortunately, I could never afford to live there. People dress so nicely that I did not fit in with my jenky Peace Corps clothes. Case in point, unlike Peru, no one tried to rob me while I was there! In fact, I actually think they held their purses closer to themselves when I walked by! Oh well. After a year of living in Peru, I actually feel more comfortable in poorer places anyway. Being in fancy places makes me feel uncomfortable and like I don't belong.

For one of our outings, we went to a Christian based theme park. It was odd, filled with a bunch of life sized plastic figurines, people dressed up in clothes of that time, and Big Jesuses, including one that rose from the sky while "Hallelujah" blared from the speakers. Odd.
Re-enactment of the last supper. Their plastic heads actually turn side-to-side and up-and-down.


Hallelujah!


Jesus grande!





And then, without meaning to, I went on a Jared diet. I ate Subway so much that even the employees there knew me. In my defense, I think I was just homesick and missed what I don't have in Peru. But, boy, were the sandwiches delicious!


The bed and breakfast that I stayed at was amazing filled with yummy breakfasts every morning and free tango lessons every night. I also took in other dances as well, like watching flamenco shows.


I went on Evita's balcony. Here's what Madonna saw while she belted out her song. (Don't worry, I didn't sing though.)









And then I shopped at Wal-Mart, something that I've also been deprived of. It was like America again that I stayed there for, like, 2 hours. And because I am a starving Peace Corps volunteer, I tried all their free samples twice. He he. I ate ham, crackers, cheese, and drank hot chocolate. You are my utopia, Wal-Mart, and the hour that it took me to get there was worth it.


I also crossed the border to Uruguay (another passport stamp) and spent a day strolling around a colonial town.


The Chinese food in BA, because you know that I had to try other Argentinian cuisines, beside Subways. No worries, I ate gelato and steak for all those other times. Please, no comments about my weight.


Lastly, Mr. Hand and I made the 20 hour bus ride to see Iguazu Falls...Amazing!





Amazing trip overall! If anybody's thinking of going in the near future, my color-coded itinerary is available...filled with things to do, bed-and-breakfasts, and, of course, food!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Dos semanas mas

Two more weeks in Lima for physical therapy. I had my doctor´s appointment today to evaluate my progress. And although I am doing well after 10 days of therapy, I am still not well enough to go back up to site, yet. It´s stressful because I want to start working again. But since there isn´t anything I can do about that, I am just trying to enjoy all the yummy delicious soft serve ice-cream that Lima has to offer. Also, having given up the Arnold weight lifting, Mr. Hand is not quite so swollen anymore.

The doctor did say that the usage of my arm might be more limiting. I still can´t turn my arm upward. The doctor said that, with the two bars in my arm, I might never regain full turning motion. Whatever. It makes it hard to hold out your hand to receive coins but I can live with that.

So, instead, with my newfound time in Lima, I´ve been taking advantage of all the free activities that this city has to offer. I´ve been to all the cultural centers, taking in their free indie films and exhibits. I also went to a dermatologist today to get a mole checked out. It´s always nerve wrecking for me to go to the doctor´s for that kind of stuff, but fortunately, everything is a'okay! Because we are at our 1 year mark for being in Peru, I am also going to get all my other medical exams done while I´m in Lima. Wish me suerte!

PS ¨Eclipse¨ is finally in Peru! I would like to share with everyone that that Rob Pattinson really makes my heart swoon. Oh...in love. :)

Monday, July 12, 2010

No soy una ¨Bad Ass¨

My Peace Corps doctor sent me back to my surgeon today. (I´m so special...I have three doctor: my general Peace Corps doctor, my arm surgeon who repaired my bones, and my physical therapist doctor). It turns out I ain´t as Bad Ass as I thought. Mr. Hand remains swollen so my Peace Corps doctor had it checked out. It turns out that I might be doing too much.

Case in point, I walked into the doctor´s office with Mr. Hand carrying a bag filled with a Spanish dictionary, another book, and groceries. I was then berated by my doctor who told me that I wasn´t supposed to lift anything still. Just when I was about to do the ¨Why didn´t anybody tell me this¨ speech, I suddenly recalled a conversation not too long ago where he did tell me ¨not to lift anything.¨ Oops, my bad.

I guess the swelling might have something to do with the fact that Mr. Hand has been carrying 3 liter water bottles around and I tried to bench press a couple of days ago. You´re probably thinking what the heck was I doing bench pressing and where, but let me tell you, my physical therapy office has all sorts of neat exercise equipment/gadgets. I couldn´t help but see if I was able to bench press the bar. (I couldn´t and, how could I when even before the accident, I wasn´t able to do it.) But it did hurt like a mother trying.

So now I´m back to taking it easy again. The doctor said that my bones have still not fully recovered and that it could very well break again if I´m not careful (another fact that was new to me). It´s really good that he told me that. Since I have a tendency to fall, I already had a ¨Safety Action Plan¨ in mind. Should I fall, I was ready to catch myself with Mr. Hand since it is now secured with two metal bars. However, since this is no longer a viable plan and I don´t want to injure my other remaining hand, my new plan involves me twisting my body to one side and putting both arms up in the air before hitting the ground. Smart, huh! That way, no limbs get hurt.

On the plus side, the doctor did evaluate my progress and said that Mr. Hand is doing extremely well considering that the cast came off exactly one week ago. (Happy anniversary, Mr. Hand!) For example, I found out today that Mr. Hand can now shave my left armpit with no problems at all...Oh, happy day! :)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Yo nade

I swam today. Yes, I´m very proud of Mr. Hand for stepping it up and taking advantage of the lap pools that Lima has to offer. :) My arm is doing better overall. Today I was able to touch my thumb to the center of my pinky (something that I was struggling with yesterday) and I can kind-of rotate my wrist now. I feel like I do my arm exercises all the time...anything to make physical therapy easier. I bend my limbs and fingers every which way and I´ve also bought one of those squeezy balls.

Even with what I´ve accomplished though, my physical therapy sessions are technically halfway up, I have only five more sessions to go. It worries me that my arm is still really hard, that I can only bend my thumb, wrist, and elbow part of the way, that my skin is constantly sensitive and in pain, and that I am still really hairy. I´m scared that I won´t be able to go back up to site next week. I´m scared of what the doctor might say--that I would be better off returning to the US to get my physical therapy done for two months as he had originally suggested. (To stay in the Peace Corps, two months in the US is simply not an option. I would have to go home then permanently.) I´m scared of therapy tomorrow, too, it is so painful and torturous still. I think, overall, I´m just a big scaredy cat this week.

I want to complete my Peace Corps service, but I think that three months in a cast was just too long and the damage is extensive. So I´m trying not to think about it too much, but just go with the flow and stay really positive. In the meantime, I´m treating my stay in Lima like vacation. I went to the mall today (which doesn´t exist in my site, of course), ate a waffle wrapped hot dog (delicious!), and have been keeping up on my E-News (um, Lindsay Lohan, what were you thinking?!).

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Que tortura!

I´m trying to be a good patient, really I am, but physical therapy is a nightmare! The extent of the damage that I did is coming out. Normally, people are in a cast for a month after their surgeries. But because I was in it for three, my arm is in really bad shape. I broke into a cold sweat today, screamed like a pregnant woman, and asked my therapist to stop three times from the pain...and it´s only been the third day! It definitely pushes my pain threshold beyond my limits (and that is really saying something after having fallen through a roof).

But on the plus side, as weird as it sounds, it has been an amazing experience to learn how to re-use a limb again. The human body is amazing in recognizing what it should be doing and I´ve been impressed by its progress. Today for the first time, I was able to turn a door knob and touch my thumb to my fore, middle, and ring finger (pinky still lacks). I do my exercises everyday and everywhere...at the store, walking on the street, on the bus, etc.

I know that people may not understand everything I´ve been through; it´s a lot and it´s hard to grasp the experience. But just the support, good wishes, and potential packages of the people are enough. It motivates me to go to physical therapy (even though I really, really don´t want to) simply because people believe that I can recover. So I´m trying not to disappoint. So even when there are less than graceful moments where I beg my therapist to just let me die (dramatic, right?), I try to always think of the positive. I can´t wait to come back to the US next year and show everyone my ¨new¨ arm (and my bad ass scars). :)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

terapia fisica

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I am back from Buenos Aires...It was great! And as soon as I get back to my site, I'll post pictures. I am typing in capital letters again...which means that the cast came off (two days ago) and that I had my second physical therapy session today.

I was a failure yesterday in my first session. I cried partly because of the pain and partly because of self-pity. (And you know it's not pretty when I cry...I ugly cry complete with the loud, shallow breaths and frown.) After my cast came off, I got to see my arm again for the first time in 3 months. It had grown dark, skinny, hairy, and all the skin had started peeling...very were-wolfish. Instead of feeling elated that the cast was gone, I just felt sad that I had hurt myself so badly and exposed myself to danger. I have 3 scars now on that arm--two long ones from the surgery from where they put the bars in another circular one from where the bone had come out after my fall.

But today I decided to cop a new, can-do attitude. I'm making a conscious effort to use my right hand for everything (hence, capital letters again!) and I was even going to tell my physical therapist to use more force when pushing against my limbs. (Ok, that was just silly thinking, because what she did do already hurt so much that I was biting my other arm the whole time to keep from screaming.) I'm still working on extending my arm all the way, regaining use of my wrist and thumb, and turning my palms upward.

I have pictures and I'll post them when I get back up to site two weeks from now. Physical therapy will be a long process and I'll probably continue to do my exercises for months to come.