Rabies Watch

May 20, 2006

So, last night I was bitten by a large dog in a Peruvian mountain village. On the leg. Hard. Never before have I been bitten by a dog, let alone a dog roaming the streets in the highlands of South America, a continent known for its rabid animals as well as its ceviche (a nice fish dish, by the way).

I was playing soccer with a bunch of little village kids (I was way better than them, but to be fair most of them were only about 5 and didn't have shoes), when this German Shepard- like dog comes out of nowhere and bites me on the leg, causing a nasty bruise, teethmarks, and blood beneath the skin, though not free- flowing. Anyway, I still saw this as cause for concern, so asked to be taken to "la clinica" in town, despite the fact that my guide assured me that the dog probably wasn't rabid. Um, "probably not rabid" wasn't enough for me. I was told that most likely I won't get rabies, but if I do within three days I'll be foaming at the mouth. This is not a joke. Anyway, just to be safe I have to get anti-rabies vaccines for 7 days in a row, meaning that at each new town I have to visit the hospital. Oh, and the shots are awful. They leave my arms aching and heavy. I'm thinking that I'll alternate between arms each day, as not to completely incapacitate myself on one side. That might hurt my trekking abilities.

What else. Lyle, the grandfather with cotton in his ears, is on my last nerve. He keeps making these huge speeches on the bus about how he wants to eat light lunches, and he thinks we shouldn't go anywhere where they serve a lot. Um, I am an eater. I want to eat large portions. We have all tried to explain to him that he can simply order something small, or not finish his food, but this logic seems to be lost on him. Or maybe he can't hear us on account of the cotton in his ears.

I have to say, my group is a mystery to me in general. This random guy, John, told a woman that he didn't want to buy this shirt she was selling because it was blue and blue doesn't suit him, and everyone started hysterically laughing, saying what a character John is. Huh? Why was that funny? So strange.

I'm a week into the trip and I'm starting to accumulate trinkets, which I need to curb. When I finished a month in Thailand it looked like I had been raised in the hill tribes what with all the goods I came home with. Some of you might get trinkets if you're lucky.

Ok, I am going to stop writing now because it has taken me hours to check my email at this cafe, they must have dial-up. Plus, for at least 2 hours they have been playing a song called "My Sexy Little Lover" again and again. Actually, they paused for about 5 minutes to play a song with the chorus "We're living in a heartbreak hotel" but then they went back to old reliable. Hope all is well in the Western, rabies- free world..

These are the village kids, enjoying our soccer match, moments before the attack. Fun!