Just when things were going pretty smoothly — class work was manageable, I had a great schedule of sports lined up, my weekend was planned with a trip to Dresden — I just had to go and throw a wrench in the plans. In fact, this whole week was a series of wrenches in the plans.

Let me back up to the start of this past week o’ surprises, which really played out like a surprise sandwich…bad surprise + good surprise + bad surprise + a topping on the sandwich. Maybe in this metaphor, that topping can be one of those fancy toothpicks in a clubhouse sandwich that holds it all together.

Anyway, to summarize:

Bad Surprise: Initially, I though that the most exciting part of the week was Tuesday morning, when workmen showed up unannounced for some construction on my floor. At 8:00 am. With power tools.

Good Surprise: Construction done that afternoon, the rest of Tuesday was pretty mundane…until that evening, when friends organized a surprise belated birthday party for me, complete with pastries, chocolate and hummus. You’re all the best, thaaaank you!

Bad Surprise: The week wasn’t done yet, and Thursday evening brought the most exciting development yet when I wiped out on my bike. Learned the hard way that turning on gravel is generally a Bad Idea. I ended up skidding across several feet of pavement, mostly on my face. Stood up…dusted myself off…was bleeding a bit…ok, maybe a lot.

My #1 enemy, looking very innocent.

I tried to treat the injuries at home with the help of Nurses Talia & Natalie (and many cookies), but had a bad enough case of road-rash-to-the-face that I finally gave in to a hospital trip the next morning.

Worst (Yet) Surprise: I’ve always heard that the American hospital system is dreadful, but this experience took the cake. 7 hours in the ED, most of it spent waiting in a hallway while my face swelled and my knees throbbed. Many wounded Germans wheeled by me. Received opposite instructions from the doctors, who resorted to typing instructions into Google Translate on my phone. Eventually limped home on public transit looking like a hybrid mummy/burn victim/chipmunk.

On the bright side, I now have plenty of time at home now to catch up with errands I’ve been putting off. I’m going to be 300% ahead of school work for the next few weeks.

In lieu of any lovely photos of romantic adventures in far distant Europe, please enjoy a picture of me immediately after the first round of bandaging. This was prior to my face swelling to Marlon Brando proportions the next day.

Huge thanks to all the people who have been wonderful during the trials and tribulations of the past 72-hours…my parents for keeping their cool, friends afar for sending well wishes, and friends here in Cottbus for helping clean out the wounds, undertaking long trips to the local apotheke, and making surprise deliveries of supplies and treats.

You are all the BEST. Seriously.

As they say…”don’t it alway seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.”
Or as I now say, “don’t it alway seem to go that you don’t know how nice it is to have skin til it’s gone.”

In summary: Be careful biking. Look out for gravel. And always wear a helmet.