February 21st (continued)-February 22nd
If I ever complained about the Megabus ride to London, I deeply apologize. The ride there was like a luxurious, spacious private limo compared to the ride home. Thank god I had stocked up on junk food minutes before leaving the station, as they came in really handy at about 3am to calm me down when I was ready to freak out on everyone.
So you're probably wondering why the bus was so, for lack of better words, incredibly shitty. It actually started off fine. I read a book for a few hours, then reclined my chair back and attempted to get some sleep. Except every time I reclined my chair, it slowly crept up back to normal position. I honestly don't know what was going on with it. I swear, one minute it would be all the way back and then all of a sudden, without realizing I had moved in the slightest, I would be bolt upright again. I spent the good part of an hour fiddling with it, then gave up.
The next, more pressing issue: it was freezing cold. I had a winter coat and scarf, but that didn't even cut it. At one point, I took a look around me and nearly everyone had either a hood or a hat on, it was that bad. Finally, I slid all the way forward in my seat and sort of crouched down next to the heater at my feet (which you couldn't feel unless you were about two inches away from it). Needless to say, it wasn't the most comfortable position I could have been in, but you've got to make sacrifices in these situations.
Finally around 3am, I dug into the bag of chips I had bought back in the station. Yes, it's probably the loudest snack I could have chose, no I didn't care, and no, it didn't matter because no one could sleep anyway. We got back into Edinburgh at 6 in the morning and I barely even remember the mile and a half walk back to my flat. I went right to bed afterwards.
Also I became slightly nocturnal this weekend, I blame the Megabus, of course.
February 23rd
I didn't do much today, but I did have a moderate panic episode around 4pm that a dress I had really wanted from a thrift store would be gone, so I sprinted there (also worrying that they closed at 4:30pm). It was there.
February 24th
I met up with Kathryn and we watched the Six Nations Scotland vs. Ireland rugby game at a student sports bar. All odds were against Scotland. Though I'm by no means an expert, I could just tell they weren't nearly as good, and to make up for their lack of talent they were really, really aggressive which doesn't usually work out. Well, you know what? Those bad ass Scotland mother f*ckers (am I allowed to curse here?) won the game! My favorite part was when the camera panned to a Scotland player who had blood smeared all over his face (bloody nose? punch?), with this desperate, wild look in his eyes during the last play of the game, which if Scotland had messed up, would have lost the game. The pride that Scotland has in their country makes me so glad to be here, even if it is for only a semester. Also fun fact: Ireland had possession of the ball for something like 70% of the game. And Scotland still won. BAMF.
February 25th
I went for a run this morning, to Craigmillar Castle. It took a few tries to find it, first I ended up in the Craigmillar graveyard, not quite the experience I was looking for. I finally got there, and mind you it was a pretty small place in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, there was a gift shop, there's always a gift shop, where I found out it was 5 pounds (7 or 8 dollars) to get in! I halfheartedly tried the begging approach but the guy wasn't buying it...no pun intended. Instead, he directed me to a path worn in the grass right on the other side of the fence that ran parallel to the path leading up to the castle. I guess I'm not the only one too cheap to buy a ticket.
February 26th
I'll just cut right to the chase- on a run today, I violently twisted my ankle in a pothole. I knew something was wrong as soon as I did it, it wasn't my ankle that hurt it was my foot. I limped a mile or two home, and stopped at a grocery store to buy a bag of peas to ice it with. So I spent the rest of the day icing it and hoping that no damage was seriously done.
February 27th
I woke up this morning to my foot throbbing in pain (darn it), and I reluctantly called the health hotline in Scotland, and the guy I spoke with recommended I go to the nearest hospital (double darn it). So I taxied my way over there and got an x-ray of my foot. Turns out I fractured my fifth metatarsal! Apparently it's a really common injury in athletes, but that doesn't really make it any better. Anyway, I got set up with a codeine prescription and crutches, and made an appointment to come back next week to get it x-rayed again. Side note: everything was free. The x-ray, doctor visit, prescription, crutches...all of it! Hey America, ya hear that?
Later that day, I slowly and painfully navigated my way to a three hour lab (aka I hobbled to the bus stop).
February 28th
I'm learning to walk a little faster on my crutches, and I can place weight on my foot so I walk around without them sometimes too. Also, my upper body is getting a killer workout and my left leg will probably be jacked after this haha.
If you, or anyone you know, has ever fractured their foot (this sounds like one of those homemade insurance commercials), I'd appreciate advice/stories!
To make up for the depressing-ness of my foot, I was determined to cook an awesome dinner- I made chicken with sauteed onions and peppers. Damn it was good!
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