Ashley Hopwood
c/o PSU
1b Piazza Colegio Romano
00186, Roma, Italia
I mentioned the pain in my foot in my blog a couple days ago. Well, I never went on a run (thank goodness for Aunty Nikki and her wise words), but I was walking home from the studio on an especially cold night and the pain that had been subsiding increased to a serious intensity. All of a sudden is was too painful to walk.
I skipped our class' three hour walk the next morning and carted myself to the hospital. They took x-rays, said it wasn't broken and told me to come back in the afternoon to see a foot specialist. I spent the middle of the day in the studio and then went back to the hospital in the afternoon.
The doctor I saw was really sweet. He poked and prodded my foot and then in broken English told me that I have an "inflammatory disease". I'm not sure if disease is the correct word but basically, I have an infliction that causes any part of my body that I overuse to swell up and inflame. It tightens my tendons and muscles and makes it really painful to walk.
The only way to make it go away is to stop walking for a while. This is pretty much impossible in Rome and without a car so now I'm on crutches. It's two crutches until I can walk without too much pain, and then one for the rest of my time here. I have to switch legs that I favor so that the pain stays away from both feet.
Yesterday was a day of serious frustration and, unfortunately, all my emotions come out through tears so people that I was really sad. It's frustration I tell you!
Anyway, I grew a thick skin overnight and am able to handle the "gimp" comments much better. I'm going to the cheapy store down the road tonight so I can decorate my crutches and make them look as sexy as I do, hobbling around on cobblestones. Haha. Honestly though, all I have to do is think of the courage that Shelby (a friend from the Tri Club) has in her constant pain and I can feel my shoulders straighten and resolve strengthen.
While I'm writing, I should explain something. My dad mentioned the other day that I never talk about my interaction with Romans and my attitude towards Roman life. The truth is, I am constantly surrounded from my friends from my school's program and get very little interaction with Romans. The only Italian I get to speak is in airports, train stations, and panini shops. However, the taste I do get of Italian life is wonderful. I love their life style (siestas and food), their zest for life, their chaotic cityscape, the abundance of churches and random places of safety and quiet, and their really old architecture. Despite the fact that they don't like Americans in general, they appreciate my friends and my attempts to speak italian and to learn the lingo. I absolutely love Rome and wish I could be here for longer and that my family and friends from home could be with me
...maybe I would buy a scooter though.
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