Unforgettable Thursday

This past Thursday was a day of ultimate highs and devastating lows. The day started off with a rush to figure out chapel. Prekindy and Grades 1 -3 teachers were in charge of chapel. We came up with some fantastic skits that I was involved in. It was so nice to be involved in drama for a short time. I like directing and being in charge of drama, but there's just something about being the star.

When it came time to perform, I even had that nervous knot in my stomach like I did in high school. The kids were all eager to see their Dancing Drama/English teacher on stage. It was a blast! The kids were laughing, the teachers were laughing and trying to be serious. It was great to get some stage time again, but I'm back to finding contentment in the the classroom.

After school, I had my Bahasa Indonesia lesson with my friend, Fanny. I learned some new verbs and a handful of nouns. I can now make simple complete sentences in Bahasa. I am so proud of myself. I need to keep practicing, but I feel like I am making lots of progress. She is such a great teacher, and I enjoy learning this language with her. The phonetics are similar to Spanish - which sometimes gets me confused because I start to incorporate random Spanish words into my vocabulary without thinking. However, Bahasa Indonesia is so much easier to learn than any language I've studied. There are no verb tenses and very little grammar rules. Gotta say I love that.

After school, I dropped off my things at home and headed to the grocery store. I got groceries and a new notebook for my Bahasa before jumping on my bike and heading home. It was then that the fateful accident occurred. I'm sure most of you readers have heard about it by now (one way or another).

I was coming up to the round-about by the mosque to check the traffic situation (going about 45 km/hr) and a car stopped ahead of me. I slammed into the car, hitting my head on the windshield and my chest on my handlebars before flying about 3 meters off my bike and onto the pavement. The front of my bike was crushed like an accordion (but still standing upwards surprisingly) while I lay like a crippled turtle on the road.

The first thought that came to my mind is - "I'm not dead! Thank, God I wore a helmet." After that, everything flashed by in fast forward. About 30 Indonesian men flocked around me, including police officers and men coming out from the mosque. I felt like an act from a freak circus. The man that I hit came out of his car, he was from England and could not speak a lick of Bahasa - so I guess that was to my benefit. He helped me up and drove me home. He was so courteous and compassionate, making sure that I could move okay and breathe okay. I offered to pay for his little dent in his truck, but he said I had enough damage to my bike and my body to worry about.

He brought me to my house and some other guy drove my bike home. Thank goodness it was still drivable. I went over to my neighbors and she arranged for me to go to the local doctor at the apotik.

After a short wait in the apotik, Dr. Daniel saw me. He took a quick look at my knee and said that I had torn muscle tissue and soft tissue in my knee, causing the protective fluid to leak and become bloody. He asked me to take of my pants so he could have a closer look. I said "Heck no, I am not wearing any underwear so I am not taking off my pants." He didn't think that was funny or that I was serious - however, I was dead serious. He ended up just pushing my pantleg up and taking blood samples from my knee. He put me on crutches and in a brace for a week before doing x-rays and contemplating surgery. After looking at my knee, he took a look at my ribcage and told me I had a fractured rib - which would make using crutches (for my knee) a bit more strenuous.

I got home to see a few people before calling my mom and dad and Grandma and Grandpa Mulder. They were all surprisingly calm, as was I (which was a real shocker). From there I moped around before going to bed and getting the world's worst night sleep.

It was one of those days that all the best things and all the worst things happen all at once. But as I think about what happened with that accident. I can't help but think how blessed I am. It could have been a whole lot worse, but God had bigger and better plans for me. I don't know what they are right now, but I'm sure they will unfold with time. Until then, I'll rest up and hopefully heal (without surgery would be nice). Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!