Uma Otra Lembrança (médica) do Brasil...

Perhaps this is just a SIGN that I shouldn´t go into anything health-related, since obviously I´ve been having such good luck, medically, on this trip. OR, perhaps this is more of a sign that I should go into medicine, to help others so they don´t `suffer´ from the same mistakes as I? haha!

So, I guess that dancing all night until sunrise wasn´t really such a good idea, or perhaps it was, because... A few hours after I woke up on Saturday, I began to notice some bruising on my foot and pinky toe area, even though no one really stepped on me, the previous day. My foot felt fine (just a little pain when walking up and down stairs), but I finally decided that, since my foot was bruised, that I´d just go to the doctor to see what on EARTH was wrong with me!

Off I went to the medical clinic with my HM (host mom, btw. I feel like Rachel Ray with her overuse of, yet re-defining of `E.V.O.O.´, haha!), which was pretty close by. This was my first time ever to go to anything emergency-health-related, and.. hey! My first time was in Brazil, cool! (Well, not really, haha!).

So, after waiting for about 20 minutes, my HM and I went to see the doctor, who not only helped a previous study-abroad `daughter´ of my HM (when the daughter apparently BROKE her toe), but also when my HM broke HER toe, too?! I guess my HM has a lot of experience with broken.. feet?! Anyways, the doctor examined my foot, and said that he couldn´t really determine what was wrong with it by sight/touch, so he sent me to get an X-ray.

Onward to the X-ray room to get a couple shots of my foot taken... and when we got the X-ray back (about 10 minutes), we discovered a couple interesting things:

1. My pinky toe is indeed, slightly fractured.

2. Apparently because of either my genes or because I didn´t spend enough time in my mother´s womb (ahha, premie, oh yeah!), one of the bones in my big toe apparently never completely formed? Rather, the pieces are there, but 2 pieces aren´t completely conjoined?? Apparently I will have feet problems in the future because of this. Wow. Good to know, sim? Haha!

So, anyways. I then got my foot bandaged, and was told to just keep it easy on my foot (no dancing, darn!), but still walk on it. hurrah!

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I´ve been wanting to go to this church in Salvador, Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Nosso_Senhor_do_Bonfim,_Salvador), since it´s a pretty important landmark of Salvador. This is the church that is pretty important for the Afro-Catholic syncretism-religion, and every year, there is a Festival of Bonfim, where tons of ladies (in traditional Afro-Brazilian dresses) wash the steps of the church, amongst other things to celebrate Oxalá, the most important deity of the Orixás. This is also the place where the colorful ribbons with `Lembrança do Senhor do Bonfim´ originate, and you´re supposed to tie it around the fence poles around the church, or else tie it around your wrist in a knot 3 times or so (for 3 wishes). These ribbons have become a pretty... what´s the word (I´m losing my English!!) ... stereotypical (?) or, well-known image of Salvador, so these ribbons, as well as other souvenuirs with depictions of or usage of these ribbons, are sold everywhere in Salvador. Anyway, this was one of the places I HAD to go to before I left Salvador.

PLUS. I had an even better reason to go, BECAUSE... the Igreja has a room where people buy/leave wax or wooden depictions of body parts, in order for the gods to heal their bodies - in exchange for their devotion. As you can see, the ceiling in this little room was covered with kind-of-eerie body parts (legs, hands, babies, heads..). The walls were covered with photos of people who had come to the Igreja with various (and sometimes really serious) health problems, and later were cured!

Anyways. I don´t know what to believe, but! At least I can say that I´ve visited this beautiful church, and that I´m doing my best to heal my foot!

Cheers!