Bad Day Gone Worse

We all have those days when we get to a point where we don't believe anything more bad could happen. A day where you would just prefer to get back into bed and pull the covers over your head. The last 24 hours have been that way for me. Here is a list of the things gone wrong.

- I saw a motorcycle accident happen on the highway

• last night my husband witnessed an armed robbery a few blocks from our house
• the dog peed on a sheepskin rug
• I woke up to find the cat had eaten my slippers (quiet literally)
• the cat puked on the carpet which I'm sure was due to eating the slippers
• the dog peed on the carpet
• the dog peed on the floor
• the dog peed again and this time I slipped and fell in it
• my husband texted me and a text from the phone company came up saying we didn't pay the bill so my phone service would be shut off
• as I was leaving in a taxi some workmen showed up unannounced to fix the oven that's been broken for 4 weeks
• workmen don't speak English/ I don't speak Spanish
  phone service was now shut off
• I went upstairs to use the land line but I can't figure out how to call out of the apartment on the land line
• went to Embassy – cell phone office was closed; husband had a heated talk with housing people about workers showing up unannounced
• had upset stomach during Spanish class so kept having to go to the bathroom – stress
• left Embassy in taxi – driver started yelling at me to pay him – I said I would when we got there – should have gotten out because he tried charging me 2 ½ times the amount it usually costs. I gave him the higher end of what I usually pay and got out
• missed son's soccer game
• went to market to get bread for dinner – it won't be finished baking until 9:00 tonight
• dog peed in house again

Ordering Pizza

I really thought I couldn't mess-up ordering pizza. It's one of those things that seems very simple. I don't need a fancy pizza with lots of toppings. The pizza place we like does not deliver so that throws the phone ordering out of the equation. Just walk to the restaurant, order pizza, wait and then carry it home to enjoy. I walked in and was happy that the server happened to speak limited English. I had been rehearsing what I would say on my walk over so I blurted out “Yo quiero dos pizzas. (pause) Una pizza pepperoni y una pizza jamon.” I want two pizzas. One pizza pepperoni and one pizza ham. Doesn't that seem rather straight forward and simple? But no, when my pizza arrived there was only one box. What happened to the “I want two pizzas” part? I looked inside the box to find one pizza ½ pepperoni and ½ ham and mushrooms. MUSHROOMS? I don't even know how to say “mushrooms” in Spanish because they are not a part of my diet. After much going back and forth with the waiter I thought he understood that the order was screwed up. He smiled and told me in 7 minutes he would have new pizzas for me. I guess I misinterpreted his long ramblings because 10 minutes later he returned carrying a pizza with ½ ham and ½ pepperoni and my old pizza. I was defeated. Pizza to my liking was not worth wasting any more time over. ¾ of the pizza in front of me was edible.

My motto here has become “Order it and eat it”. Eight out of ten times I will not get what I have concocted in my mind so I just have to choose to be content with what is before me. What little things are tripping you up in life that you need to choose to stop loosing energy over?

Yikes - A Baby!

Our dog has some serious fear issues. About 2 weeks after we got him I was returning from a walk. As we were coming up the front steps of our building he spotted a nanny pulling a folded stroller and walking with a 2 year old. Oh no, he hasn't seen one of these yet. Before I could prepare myself he jumped backwards about 6 feet down the steps. He sat there shaking and cowering because of a child half his size.

Last night I was walking with Carbon to meet my son. We turned a corner and there was a horse with a cart standing in the street. With no warning Carbon sat down and refused to move. I tried talking to him calmly and petting him, I tried dragging him by his leash in a bit of a hang-man's noose fashion. All to no avail. The dog would not budge. I was about ready to pick him up and carry him past the horse when I noticed another walk closer to the building. As soon as I turned to head that way Carbon took off. Barely holding onto the leash I managed to catch up with him. We made it past the horse with both our blood pressures raised.

There are days I wish I could cower in the corner like my dog. For the most part I boldly march into situations, but then every-once-in-a-while the smallest thing will send me to my corner. I give my dog a break because truly I just want someone to talk quietly to me and reassure me that it will all turn out ok.

The Eyes That Haunt Me

Here in Bogota I have encountered a few things that I haven't had to deal with before. They are things that I wrestle with in my soul all day long. It's a combination of living in a large city and living outside the USA.

Each day that I jog a pass a shriveled up old woman wrapped in a plain, rough blanket begging for money. Her hair is grey, her face is wrinkled. I love her eyes, she holds out her withered hand and when I drop money into it she smiles and her eyes sparkle. I long for that sparkle early in the morning. This morning I headed out for my run but I forgot my money. I don't give her much, about the equivalent of $0.30 each morning, but I know that money will buy her breakfast. It hit me as I approached her huddled form that I didn't have the money with me. She looked at me as I was getting near and smiled. I wanted to cry because as soon as I said “I'm sorry” I could see a well of sadness in her eyes. It has bothered me all day that I was so preoccupied with myself this morning that I forgot this little act of kindness.

About two weeks ago I was coming home from a friend's apartment. It was pouring rain so I was in a taxi. We pulled up to a red light and a form leaning against a building caught my eye. It was a man. He had no umbrella and no rain coat. I could see that he was leaning on crutches. He was huddled into the wall of a building trying to protect himself from the rain. I stared trying to figure out what was wrong with him. One arm appeared to be much longer than the other. It was hanging 12-18” longer than it should have. A car in front of us rolled down their window and called him over. As he turned toward the car I saw in horror that it wasn't his arm, but rather his leg that was the problem. The leg was gone below the knee. Long strips of raw flesh hung from his thigh. His knee was red exposed flesh and bone. As the taxi moved on my heart stopped. I have been haunted with the “What could I have done?” and “What should I have done?”. I can't imagine the pain he must have been in. What happened to him and who is helping him?

These are situations that I don't know the correct responses to. I can discuss and debate poverty with people all day long, but that doesn't satisfy the ache in my heart for these people.