i have never been particularly coordinated. that basic hand-eye-body-whatever- coordination that just about everyone has? me, not so much. i've never been good at any of those sports requiring kicking, catching, throwing, hitting, or making goals. i once decided i would be good at the tripple jump, but managed to kick my own leg while wearing spikes. i believe i was trying to take off my warm-up pants, got stuck, and fell down.
in particular, i tend to have problems with stairs. going up, coming down. i dont discriminate. one of my better falls was down stairs on a boat where the person standing on the stairs below me ended up in my lap. and perhaps more impressively, i've fallen UP stairs: coming out of lecture halls, leaving stadiums, if it has steps i'm all over it. on one ocassion, i fell up the cement stairs past drake stadium at UCLA, 'accidentally' grabbing the ass of the person walking in front of me in an attempt not to scrape my entire body along the cement. unfortunately the victim of my grabbing failed to see the humor in the situation.
i was hoping i could leave this particular personal attribute behind when i left the EEUU. that, tal vez, the laws of coordination would not apply in costa rica. or at least not to me. afterall, costa rica is the 'land of sublte seduction.' i dont need coordination to be seduced. the seducer needs some amount of coordination, but not necessarily the seducee.
it should come as no surprise that i am, in fact, just as uncoordinated in costa rica as i was in the EEUU. and am acquiring a reputation with the stairs. 3 weeks ago i had my most memorable stair incident to date. especially when put into context of that day and the siguiente events.
my day started well: a 45 minute hike to a swamp. i thought i had finished with the swamps but this swamp was sneakily classified as 'stream associated'. while we were mucking through the swampy bit we stumbled across a terciopelo. mau, who was walking in front of me missed it entirely. when i saw it i was about a meter away and mau's footsteps came within a meter of it. after much slipping, and sinking i slid down a steep muddy slope boardering the swamp, landing on a spiny palm root. and getting a 2 inch spine in my butt. i pulled it out, but the tip was still stuck. the spiny palms here are teaming with bacteria, and scratches tend to get infected if they arent cleaned out well. so, when i returned to the lab 8 hours later i had to get one of the researchers to dig the remaining spine tip out of my ass. with tweasers. charming. this is my new test of true friendship. as if i hadnt already had enough excitement that day, i decided to take a trip down the wooden stairs of my cabina. falling down half the flight and banging the shit out of my back on the way down.
since rest and recuperation are words that dont exist in my vocabulary, (censusing the day after my fall, going to the field 3 days later, dancing and party that night, too many beers, and then biking to the river that weekend) my body decided to take matters into its own hands. choosing the best of possible times: my back momentarily went out while i was pantless, trying to change into my pajamas. i eventually negotiated my back into letting me put pants on so i could hobble around to get ice. the next day i got a free ride into puerto viejo with Jose Walter to the public clinic. jose was there in case i had communication issues. beacuse he speaks almost no english. riiiight. we went to urgencias where we told the doctor i fell down some stairs. i felt like i was out of an afterschool special about abusive relationships. jose acompanied me into the room:
jose: se cayo en las escaleras.
yo: si si, me cayi.
it was an eye opening expericence. i was the only white person at the free public clinic. when we arrived at 7:30 am, there were already 30 or more people waiting at urgenica. there was no waiting area, people were milling around outside, trying to find shade under the overhang of the roof. by 8 am it was already unpleasantly hot and humid. people come with any minor to major ailment. the clinic was single story with a single hallway, which was mostly open to the outside. chipping paint. a few bare bulbs along the ceiling. a few fans. i believe there was only one doctor on call. however, public health care in costa rica is FREE. the quality may be a little lacking in some places, but is better than nothing.
it still remains to be seen if i've actually hurt myself. after seeing a second doctor who comes on station to treat researchers and workers, i found out i can get an x-ray the 4th of july. which i should have gotten when i went to the clinica 2 weeks ago. yet this doctor failed to actually look at my back. hmm. so private medical care, here i come. maybe. i have yet to commit. mainly because i hate doctors. f**ing quacks.
howlers crossing the suspension bridge to la selva
howlers crossing the suspension bridge to la selva
in front of the la selva bus stop, killing time after the PA trip
green leafiness at is best, and just for mo!
(too much green leafiness)
