5 posts tagged “misfortune”
Last Sunday, I was hurrying down the hill from the Galata Tower to Karaköy so that I could catch a boat to Asia and meet my friend for breakfast. The sky was overcast, and my mind was full of thoughts about white cheese, olive oil with thyme and red pepper, Anatolian honey, and fresh vegetables. I had on a trusty old pair of Onıtsuka Tigers, which I had hastily slipped on before bolting down my building's spiral staircase and out into the lazy, hazy morning.
The hill is steep, but I have taken it one hundred times before. Midway down the slope, my worn sneakers snagged on an upturned brick in the road (this is Istanbul, small streets are paved in unruly bricks), and in an instant my ankle turned as I rose slightly in the air. A split second later, my body weight came back down in the side of my foot and I heard a loud sound approximately halfway between a snap and crack, kind of like biting through a hard candy.
I said, "ouch."
Hoping for the best, I tried to continue my trek down to the ferries below. I soon realized I should at least examine the foot to see if it were swelling. I limped to the nearest stairs, which led uphill to a side street and sat down. There, while inhaling the smell of urine from the night before, I carefully removed my shoe and sock. Everything looked normal even if the side of my foot was tender. So, I resolved to continue. No sooner had a replace the shoe and taken a step did I understand that something had, in fact, been really damaged.
A taxi ride and several hundred lira later, I was informed that my outermost metatarsal had been fractured. If you look at the x-ray above, I have highlighted the fracture in red (the left side of the picture).
Now, I have crutches, and a block of plaster that could know someone out. It isn't as much fun navigating the city of winding streets and rooftop cafes while using my arms to hoist myself forward with every other step. Who would have thought? Still, I am able to get around my immediate neighborhood, though with a little difficulty.
It seems that I will have to strengthen my patience (and some underused muscles in my upper body) for another six weeks before I can finally see how pale I would become if I lived in a cave. These six weeks will encompass a trip to Italy. I am going to have to recalibrate my expectations for the journey somewhat. I had planned on camping on mount Etna and hiking to a lava field. There was talk of an all-night bar tour in Milan. I was personally looking forward to visiting four distinct gelaterias in Rome. Now, my plans are looking more like: hanging out in my friend's apartment in Sicily, hanging out in my friend's apartment in Milan, and hanging out in my friend's apartment in Rome. Well, at least I will get to see my friends. I'll take a deck of cards.
So, the reason why all weekend went by sans commentary is that have been trying to catch my breath. Literally, not figuratively.
No, I didn't join a Turkish reality teevee show. Nor was I in the wilderness with a group of post-Soviet Pioneers.
Rather, I have been in bed medicating my asthma trying to have a lot of tea so that this coming week might *fingers crossed* be a healthy one. I wanted to post, but Saturday I didn't even open my computer, and Sunday I just read funny things online that required only clicking, not typing or thinking. So, hang in there soldiers. I am going to write more after class today.
Oh, and I can breath now, more or less. I'm still going to be lazy/wimpy and take the trolley instead of walking to school.
So, I have been fighting to stay healthy since I got to Turkey just under eleven days ago. At first, it was an ear infection that refused to go away with one round of antibiotics. Now, while halfway through the second treatment, I get a mean case of asthma that makes me just want to lie in bed and cough. This morning when I finally admitted to myself that it wasn’t going away on its own, I went to my stash of medicine only to find that my primary inhaler has somehow been misplaced/lost in one of the various places I’ve unpacked my bags. So I took the trolley down İstiklal Cd. to class instead of walking, and during the first break I headed to the pharmacy across the street. When they told me the price for the albuterol (said inhaler) I was sure I misheard them. I asked them to repeat the price three times. It was 6 ylt (about $5.50), and this was for the name brand medication. I was so incredulous, the pharmacists thought I was crazy until I explained to them that in the US I would need a doctor’s prescription and the drug would cost over $50.
This nice experience, coupled with the ease that I had getting more antibiotics for my ear (and the craziness of this), has made my boner for Turkish pharmacies swell to epic proportions.
Although my phone works fine here, the Turkish Telecom bureaucracy doesn’t.
Foreigners are required by the state to register our phones if we want to use them with a local SIM card. If we use an unregistered phone for more than a couple of days the SIM card in it will be blocked. Before arriving I made sure that my phone was compatible with the Turkish cell phone system, and my first day here I tried to start the registration process. I was told by the ever-unhelpful staff of Turkcell main office for Taksim that the registration system was down, and I should come back the following day. After returning to the office for five days and receiving the same answer, I found a main office in Şişli where a kind woman gave me the low down.
It turns out that the government registration system for foreign phones hasn’t worked since December and Turkcell (along the other providers Avea and Vodafone) just have to wait and hope that the system will one day work again. Where does this leave me? Well, I can either live without a cell phone until the government gets its act together or buy an expensive phone here (that doesn’t require registration because it is sold in Turkey).
I’m eating a grumble-cake every time I want to talk or text.
Sadly, my camera doesn't seem to be working. Bear with me. I am currently scouring Istanbul for a new battery. Not always easy when we are talking about a 6 year old digital camera.
If anyone is feeling generous and really wants to see pictures, feel free to buy me a new cannon elph. I saw one on sale recently for just $150.
Cross your fingers that I will have luck, and you will get to see come of my life in the days to come.
