Toes

It always surprises me how time flies when you have things to do. June began with my long anticipated vacation to Riga which was exactly what I needed in order to remind myself what I have been missing out on. My friend and I stayed in a hostel in Old Town Riga where we met a ton of cool people, partied, ate amazing food, and did a number of touristy activities which I didn’t dread as much as I had imagined. Each day was more fun than the last, and once we came back to Azerbaijan we both went through a 2 week long nostalgia for Latvia. Immediately after our vacation we headed to our Close of Service Conference (COS), where our group reunited one last time before heading our separate ways on September
13th. We had sessions ranging from health to career advice, and even though helpful, what I got out of it was a good dose of stress, since I am still confused about my future. Why can’t my perfect job just hit me in the face so I won’t have to get wrinkles over it? If anyone has any future opportunities for me that involve skiing, traveling and not sitting behind a desk now is the time to speak up!! After COS, I came back to Barda for the environmental camp my site mate, Mare, and I had planned. We did environmental activities, every morning with a group of kids and we ended up enjoying it so much that we are going to gather with them two times a week, every week, until I’m done.

So logistically this is what my life had consisted of. Now I want to share a story about my foot…In late May after running daily on a crappy sprinter’s track I injured my left foot. The pain was gradual and I ignored it for about a week until one day I took my shoe off and I could barely step on it. The Peace Corps doctor sent me to the local hospital to get an X-Ray since I could get that over with right away and possibly skip the trip to Baku. I went to the scary hospital and did the deed, following which I had to talk to the orthopedist and get the diagnosis for my condition. After examining my foot, which was already de-swelled, and looking at the X-ray upside down, he told me that I have a serious condition called aseptic necrosis, which a lot of young women get due to the fact they wear high heels a lot. He told me I’ll be fine after serious physiotherapy and about 10 prescriptions. Our PC doctor freaked out and immediately summoned me to Baku for a second opinion. Meanwhile I researched this condition that I apparently had just to find out that it usually occurs in older people at the hip bone or the knee, rarely at the ankle and possibly never in the foot…Hmmm. Additionally I haven’t worn high heels in over 2 years which was the doctor’s main argument for me having this softening of the bone he diagnosed. So I went to Baku and Irina, my doctor straight out laughed at the diagnosis after looking at my seemingly perfect X-Ray. At the end it turned out I had just pulled a ligament and as long as I took it easy for a while it would heal. Should I believe that? I don’t know... What freaks me out is that this Barda doctor gives these sorts of diagnosis on a regular basis, sending people to surgery, and prescribing them unnecessary drugs. Once again this incident made me feel so damn lucky that I wasn’t born here.

And here is a snippet of important information:
I have decided to travel for a week after I’m done so my official return has been postponed till September 21st. The plane tickets are bought so its all set. Mark your calendars!