An Alarming Day!

Hello - it's been a while since I've blogged and wanted to fill you all in on a few new developments. Last Thursday was a big day. I was the first teacher to arrive at school and let myself in and prepared to punch in the alarm code. I've done this before without problems but last Thursday was a different story! The key pad is a little worn out (especially for some of the numbers in the code) and I couldn't tell if the first number I punched in was recognized so I pressed it again and continued with the rest of the code. I wasn't successfull and was soon greeted by the alarm going off - sirens and beeping! AHHH - I thought to myself what do I do? I tried to call the school secretary but there was no answer and the phone at school began to ring. Trying to listen to the voice speaking in Portuguese on the other end (over the alarm going off) I launched into why the alarm was going off and that I was a teacher. I could tell the person didn't know English and they told me to wait a moment. I felt helpless. Seconds later Pedro stepped through the door and I felt a huge relief that he could take over and explain what had happened. The alarm stopped going off and the day continued. I haven't had to deal with turning off the alarm since (I've been to chicken to arrive early!).

The day started with excitement and also ended the same way. Each year the high school and junior high students play the teachers in soccer, basketball and some other sports. The students vs. teachers soccer game is on December 15th. I agreed to play in the game and thought it would be a good idea to practice up a bit by joining my students and the high school in their PE class. The high school teacher often joins the PE class each week and the PE teacher encourages it. I thought it would be a good chance to get to know my kids better so last Thursday I brought my PE clothes and headed over to the soccer field about a 5 min. walk away. Not 10 minutes into our game I was kicked by one of the students when we were both going after the ball. My leg instantly started swelling and I sat out for the rest of PE class. I was able to walk back to school but felt some discomfort. I used ice and kept my foot elevated as much as possible. Over the weekend my leg/ankle didn't improve.

Long story short, yesterday I decided to go get some x-rays after getting some advice from friends. I had my first Urgent Care clinic experience! A friend was able to take me there and help. Thankfully we did not have to wait very long to be seen by a doctor. I wish I had a video camera to record people's reactions to my foot - it's not pretty! He sent me off for x-rays. That was another experience! He insisted that I not put any pressure on my foot and brought a wheelchair for me to ride it (another first!). Good news is that there are no broken bones or fractures but there was a lot of "trauma" - that's what the dr. kept repeating. He wanted to imobilize my foot and told me to stay off it for 10 days. He said it needs TIME and REST. I now have a permanent ace wrap on it and am to use crutches for the next 10 days!

I was supposed to go to Ireland with my roommate during our Thanksgiving break but decided that it wasn't very practical for me to try to do that on crutches so I'll be staying in Cascais for Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to the peace and quiet and time away from school. I'll certainly miss the adventure of exploring Ireland but know there must be a reason for me to have this extra time. Hoping that's the last of my adventures for a while!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! :o)