Crash and burn

For all of you who are familiar with the layout of western Europe, walking and riding bicycles is the main form of transportation. Thanks to the church, I have the option of doing both. We typically walk half the time, and ride our bikes half the time. After going to the movies with Levent and his friend Mauresia last night, we jumped on our bikes and started heading home. It was kind of a windy night, and pedaling was slow, but I was determined to make it all the way back. And I almost did!

Right after I crossed the main intersection near our home, a big gust of wind came and I lost control of my bike. I knew there was no hope of recovering, so I willingly allowed gravity to take control. And boy, did it! I landed face first on a brick road. I was more scared than hurt, cause I knew I had done some serious damage. Daleena flagged the next biker down, who helped me to my feet and walked with us till he knew I was okay. Taking after my dad, I made jokes the whole way home, having no idea what my face looked like. I just knew there was blood all over the place. While walking down the street, we passed a man who was out walking his dog. He stopped and asked if I had fallen, and told me I needed to go the hospital, that my nose looked like "ugghhhh"...or some noise similar to that. Then he asked if I was drunk. I assured him I had not had any alcohol at all. Apparently, sober people don't fall off their bikes very much here!

So we got back and I washed my face to see an extremely swolen lip, a cut up and swollen nose, and two loose teeth. Not good, I thought. We ended up calling Etienne, who came rather quickly and took me to the emergency room. Once there, the process went extremely fast. I was told they couldn't do anything for me, that I would have to wait until the swelling goes down until they could tell if my nose was broken or not. They also told me I needed to go see a dentist as soon as possible. Etienne stopped to get me some pain killers, took us back home, and gave me the number of several dentists I could call.

Today, my face is...well...kinda ugly! I can't eat solid foods, due to my loose teeth, and looking at me, you'd think I got hit by a train! But other than that, I'm not in much pain at all...I just feel awkward. We called the dentist, and I am going in first thing tomorrow morning. They told me I should have most of the swelling down by Friday. If I am not happy with the way my nose looks at that time, then I am to make an appointment with the nose, ear, and throat specialist to get it fixed.

All this to say...I'm fine! And I probably won't be posting any pictures of myself anytime soon. :) But it was bound to happen...I gotta learn how to ride a bike right sometime! Love you all and know that I'm still alive and kickin'!