Friday we hung out in the comercio part of town and waited for Hugo to get off work. Did some souvenir shopping. We watched the sunset (my absolute favorite time of day…especially when fasting, hehe), grabbed a bite to eat, hung out on the beach, i.e. I turned into a 5 year old and played in the sand, and then headed back to Gilmara’s.
Of course, with my luck…or just being me, while on the beach, we came upon an ouriço do mar (sea urchin). It’s a creature that looks like a rock covered in spikes. First of all, there are no ouriços in Salvador, or so allege the natives, i.e. HUGO. And second, the ONE that HAPPENED to be there, on a clearly lit beach, was DEAD…and I managed to step on it. Way to go Leah!! the little creature managed to get one deeply lodged in my foot.
I limped home and then me, gilmara, and her mom performed a 2 hour mini-surgery. Except it was futile because the freakin thorn or spike or whatever you call the sharp thingie that got into my foot…it crumbles! So, we had to first try to open some of the skin to be able to reach it and then when we tried to pluck it out with tweezers, the tip would break off. And so it went until we reached the bottom, or we just gave up and convinced ourselves that we got it out. My foot was in pain, but I don’t know if it was because the thing was still in there or because we messed with my skin so much. In any case, I later learned that the spike kind of surfaces and falls out with time. So all the skin poking was for nothing. Oh well, you live and you learn, right?
Speaking of learning, I’ve gotta learn to have balance in all aspects of my life, including (especially) when it comes to watching where I’m going. I concentrate on the ground and I get attacked by a sun umbrella. I concentrate on what’s in front of me, and I get attacked by a dead sea urchin! And that doesn’t count all the times I’ve almost walked into traffic and gotten hit by tree branches that "come out of nowhere". What’s the deal?!? Well, I’ve come to accept that this stuff is just part of what makes me Leah. When I talk about the time l got toothpaste in my eye, or broke the seat on the bus, saw a jellyfish and stepped on a thorny sea creature (when neither of them allegedly exist in Salvador), or when it was pouring here in Sampa and then a deep puddle managed to take one of my flip-flops a block down the street and I of course went running after it in the middle of traffic (I love my havaianas!)…My friends have just come to the point of smiling and saying "oh Leah, you’re just special."
1 comment:
Leah, U are definitely my Kin. Who else can attract stinging things like bees, OR JELLY FISH, and find sharp things on the ground that don't belong there, like, pins, splinters, sharp glass, OR SEA URCHINS (EVEN IF THEY ARE DEAD) by stepping on them....
This story is great. You have a good sense of humor and can easily laugh at yourself. In my book, that takes self confidence and character. In my humble opinion, you have plenty of both
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