With dreams of camels and sand dunes stuck in my head…

The day began, like any normal rugby day.  My bag was packed, waiting for me by the door.  I rolled out of bed at 5:30 and started my 40 minute walk to the stadium.  I arrive, climb on the bus, get comfortable, and continue my slumber. 

I hear vibrating and out of instinct I reach for my phone.  It’s my good friend Krista Schilling.  Just the night before I had been in her small French village, situated just outside of the thriving metropolis of Nantes which I have come to call my home.  I had gone to visit Krista partially to plan our next vacation together and partially to load up on groceries from her oh-so-cheap grocery store.  We had originally planned on going to Morocco for our upcoming vacation but, when airfares rose, we decided to visit Austria and Romania instead. After picking up, I hear that Krista has found cheap airfare to Morocco.  We decide to act fast and purchase the tickets.  Morocco it is.

After the 7 hour bus ride, we arrive at the final destination of Pujols. It's a quaint, typical French village.

Pujols-Le-Haut
Where it all went down.

 Pre-game traditions commence.  Changing, distribution of jerseys, pre-game talk, warm-up.  We put up a pretty good fight the first half.  But talk in the locker room is tense at half-time.  Spirits are down.  The second half begins.  I get the ball.  I get tackled and I hear a snap.

I've never broken anything before, but I'd always imagined it would happen like that.  I'm just really glad I didn't break it falling down the stairs or walking on flat pavement - which are both ways I would break my ankle.  Rugby is notorious for being a brutal sport.  It's better this way.  Less self-pity.

Rugby is full of pain.
Men, women, big, and small

Since I broke it in such a small village, the coach thought it would be a good idea for me to wait until we got back to Nantes to go to the hospital.  Once we arrived at 1:30 a.m., of course there were no radiologists at the hospital, so they drugged me up and told me to come back the next day.  Welcome to the French medical system.  I have a cast and crutches (the type of crutches that kids with polio normally use).  I have to give myself a shot daily.  I've tried to look it up online and I still have no idea what drug I am giving myself with a needle.

My team has been great.  All of the ladies are so supportive and ready to help and the coach is fantastic too. Teachers at school have been very understanding.  One fellow language assistant, Consuelo from Spain, even held my bag for me while we walked home yesterday.

The adventures just keep piling up!  I just hope my next adventure is a fun one. I'm not sure I like this one very much.