OUCH, that hurts!

Sunday, July 25th 2010:

Okay, just a warning that the photo in this blog will not be pretty. After a group meeting late Friday night for our Research Methodology project, I was locked out of my room and went in search of water at the campus canteen. Didn't get too far though, because just in front of the hostel building after mine (Ashoka) I slipped and fell on the brick walkway. This is what happens during the monsoon season in India. It was just a matter of time, I guess, given that it had rained for days and all the walking surfaces are hard and slippery. There are marble floors and marble staircases indoors, and brick and stone outdoors. So, I fell with one leg under me and one forward (no, I've never been a cheerleader) and got pretty scraped and bruised.

However, I did manage to protect my laptop computer which I'd been carrying in my bag.
So I returned to my room completely covered in slimy mud. COVERED. I rinsed my clothes and threw them into our "wash-bucket", took a shower, did the laundry by hand with my nifty Tide soap bar, and then tended to my wounds. The next day I went to class as usual (yes, there is class on the weekend) but my foot really was bothering me. It was swollen across the top (not my ankle) and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Plus here at MICA it's really hard to keep yourself dry and clean (did I mention the monsoon rain?!). Not good for an open wound. I kept putting Neosporin on it, took some Ibuprofen, and dealt with it as best I could.

Now to today. I LOST IT. I think I finally reached the point in this trip where I just became overwhelmed. I woke up late and had to talk to my family on Skype in like 5 minutes AS I was getting dressed and ready for class. I took more ibuprofen, but it just didn't make a dent in the pain. Our group project is due by tonight, and we'd barely made a dent in the workload (didn't even get to complete a draft due to a four-hour dinner event the night before). I hadn't gotten enough sleep. Also, as soon as I got up from bed and started walking around again, my foot started bleeding and swelling again. Plus, I think it's about the time of month for me to have PMS. So, I was not a happy camper by the time I reached class at 7:55am. Once the lecture started, and my foot was now swollen and thoroughly wet from walking through the rain again, I just couldn't hold back the tears. I left the class for a little while to try and compose myself, but it just wasn't going to happen.

This was the embarassing part. They stopped class to get me some ice and a first-aid kit. I wanted to be there, and everyone was very helpful (though I didn't want the attention), but even then I couldn't stop the flow of tears. So much for being the mature one. Anyway, when it was pretty clear that I wasn't going to pull myself together the professor (very kindly) gave me permission to leave. I came back to the hostel and took a nap for the remaining hour of class, and got my foot dry and elevated again. After that news, Dr. Alvey called from Mumbai and directed me to go to a hospital in Ahmedabad right away to have my foot tended to. So, I had to leave my group in the lurch without the draft done (still) and spend a few hours round-trip to Ahmedabad. I don't give myself much slack, but everyone has those days sometime, right?! At least the clinic was very nice and they treated me very quickly. Some sick MICA students needed care too, so they came along as well. They cleaned the wound, dressed it (which is already falling off),and gave me prescriptions for antibiotic and pain medicine.

Now I have to get my luggage plus 12 other grad students (and their luggage too) safely through the Ahmedabad airport and to Mumbai tomorrow at 4:45am. Thankfully, the paper is now DONE and my packing almost is too! I'm just waiting on the rest of my group to okay it  (the paper) before it gets emailed to the teacher. I'm looking forward to getting on the plane tomorrow and getting to Mumbai. We'll have three corporate visits there, plus some sight-seeing, and then we head to Goa for a couple days off before returning home. Sadly, I think I'm going to have to change my pedicure appointment at the Goa spa to a manicure instead. But oh well. Only 10 days to go! I'm excited to get home.