When dogs attack, Mistaken for a Mormon, Becoming Chilean, and Grammar Answers

So about 2 weeks ago I was bitten by a dog.

It happened in Las Condes, which is a well to do neighborhood of Santiago.  I finished a class and was on the phone calling a student and passing by a woman talking with a friend and her dog, and the dog started barking at me.  Then it bit me in the back of my leg.

I looked at my ripped pants that I had only worn twice and called out to the woman.  She didn't even notice what happened until she came over. She apologized, and when I asked what she was going to do about my pants she told me she'd pay a maximum of 20.000 pesos, which is about $40.  When I told her my pants cost more than that she started saying I was taking advantage of her.

After trying to reason with her for a few minutes I gave up, telling her I didn't agree but didn't have the time to settle it then.  I got her name, ID number, and phone numbers.  I also gave her my business card.  My student was waiting for me for my next class.

So my student for my next class picks me up on the way out of his office and we then drive to my place for the class, and when he saw my ripped pants he insisted that we go to the police right away.  After 4 hours of driving around between the police station, hospital, back to the police station, and home, I was exhausted and wanted the whole ordeal to be over with.

To make a long story short, I had black and blue marks on my leg where the dog bit me and that I now have to get a series of 5 rabies shots. (Luckily it didn't draw any blood.)   I was also mistaken for a Mormon at the hospital.  (I was wearing black dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a black tie that day.)

After getting home at 11 that night I went to sleep but was waken up by a phone call at 12:30.  After filing the police report the police forgot to give me back my ID card, so I had to go get it.  I waited until the next afternoon, and after talking to multiple people in the office and being told to sit and wait I finally got it after being persistent and asking again and again (which included a half hour wait).

So what's happening with it now?  The woman was truthful and gave her real name, ID number, and phone numbers.  I'm buying new pants in the next few days and am compiling documents showing the classes I've had to cancel to get the rabies shots (on specific days between 9 and 11 in the morning) as well as the class I lost the night of the incident.  I'm going to ask her to pay me the full amount of the pants as well as my lost classes.

Here´s what the rabies shot paperwork looks like:

No matter how many times I tried, I was unable to rotate the pictures above.  To save you from craning your necks sideways here´s what the gray box says:

No olvide que usted ha sido mordido por un animal sospechoso de rabia.  La rabia siempre es mortal.  Ud. está en peligro.

Translation?

Don´t forget that you´ve been bitted by an animal suspected of having rabies.  Rabies is always deadly.  You are in danger.

It's a frustrating situation, and I just want to get it settled.  I hope that she'll cooperate with me and take responsibility, but given her attitude I'm not hopeful that it will happen.

On a much happier note, I am now a permanent resident of Chile!

My letter that let me legally stay in the country for 6 months while the government processed my paperwork expired on Friday, so I went in on Tuesday to file for an extension.  While looking around I noticed a friend of mine was also there, and so after we got our numbers we got to chat and catch up.

After about an hour wait my number was called, and when I went to the desk the woman pulled out a small but official-looking document.  She gave me a half sheet to sign acknowledging I was getting the paperwork from her, and she gave me another half sheet with instructions on what to do next.

Here's what it looks like:

Looking at it, my residency was processed and approved on April 13th.  I got this on May 22nd, and I still never got the official letter in the mail that it was processed.  (Chile is notorious for taking a long time to mail out the letters to people).

I was a bit surprised that I didn't need my passport or get any type of stamp in it, but apparently my new ID card will indicate that I'm a permanent resident.  Permanent residency will allow me to get a credit card, a more comprehensive bank account, vote in elections, and pretty much do anything that Chileans can do.

I'm just a few steps away from completing the process.  I registered with the International Police and they took my photo and gave me a new registration card, and after that I went to the Civil Registry to apply for my new ID card.  Once there I found out I needed photocopies of particular documents which I didn't have at the time, and I didn't have enough time to get the copies and return to complete the process, so I decided to finish that part another day.

And I have taken another step towards becoming "Chilean".  I ate not only my first but my first AND second  completo on Friday.  For those of you who aren't aware of what they are, here's a visual aid:



What is that, you query?

Well, it's tomatoes, onions, mustard, mayonnaise, and a hot dog bun.  Oh, and under all of that is a hot dog.

I have seen plenty of completos in my time here, but I've never had the desire to eat one.  So how did I manage to eat TWO of these in one day?

I have a Friday class at lunch with a great student, and he always orders us each a sandwich from Dominó, a  famous sandwich chain in Santiago.  Instead of the usual sandwich this Friday, however, I was greeted with 2 styrofoam completo-shaped containers.

I´ll be the first to admit that I´m not the poster child for eating healthy.  I enjoy pizza, cakes, cookies, and things like that.  Seeing people eat completos at 10 in the morning (with a Coke to drink) however, makes me intestines start to cry just at the sight of what they´re doing.

So I dug in and ate them.  Some mayo and tomatoes fell off when I ate my second one.  I didn´t really enjoy it, and my intestines protested for the next 24 hours.  I don´t think I´ll ever willingly eat a completo again, but some people have told me that eating one is a key ingredient to becoming Chilean.

Last but not least, what are the answers to the grammar puzzle from my last post?

When using adverbs in English, there is not only one correct word order.  I´ve sorted them into groups with the adverbs in boldface:

Group 1  Subject Adverb Verb

Daniel sometimes takes the bus to work.

Some people always need to drink coffee in the morning.

She almost had a car accident.

Group 2 Subject Verb to be  Adverb

I am rarely sick.

They were both late to the party.

She is usually on time.

Group 3 Subject Verb 1 Adverb Verb 2 (perfect tenses, auxiliary verbs, future, and passive)

My brothers have never been to Chile.

You should always eat breakfast.

Exception 1: Sometimes can be at the beginning of the sentence.

Sometimes Daniel takes the bus to work.

Exception 2:  Probably

Subject Verb Probably

Homer is probably at Moe´s tavern.

Subject Probably Verb in Negative

Homer probably isn´t at work.

Well, that´s all for now.  It´s 10 AM and I figure I should go to Dominó to see some people feasting on completos.

Office Celebration, a Trip to the Emergency Room, and a Birthday Dinner

Well, turning 30 has certainly been an adventure so far.

On Tuesday my bosses had cake and champagne to celebrate my and 2 coworker's birthdays.  They're both really thoughtful people, and it was a really nice way to come together and celebrate.

Then for my 30th birthday I had a surprise trip to the emergency room.  I was out walking near Plaza Italia, and I was walking down a step.  The ground that I stepped onto wasn't even, and I twisted my ankle.  There was a railing along the entrance to the metro right there, and so I leaned up against it.  A guy was riding his bike and saw what happened, and he stopped to help me.  He walked me over to a police van and helped me get in.  The policeman was helping a woman and a child at the time, so I sat and waited for about 5 minutes.  Then a few other policemen came and I explained the situation.  They helped me into a police car.  At this point I had to take off my shoe and sock because my ankle was swelling up to the size of an apple.

So my understanding of it was that they were going to take me to a clinica (which is what we consider the equivalent of a hospital in the States), but I was wondering why a camera man was in the car with us.  It turns out that they had to go to a car accident that was nearby first.

A driver decided that they were going to change lanes in front of a bus, and the bus dinged the car.  I sat and waited in the police car as patiently as possible.  I asked a few times how much longer it would take and I was told "un rato mas"  (a little longer).  So in the meantime I realized I had the number to call Cruz Blanca (my insurance company) to see what to do for treatment. 

The call went something like this:  (It was in Spanish but I'm telling it in English):

Automated Voice: Welcome to Cruz Blanca!  If you're a member press 1.  If you're not a member press 2.
I press 1.
Next Automated Voice: Please type in your RUT  (Chilean ID number)
I put in my RUT.
Third Automated Voice: If you have a secret code please press 1.  If you don't please press 2.
I press 1.
Fourth Automated Voice:  Please input your 4 digit code.
I put in what I thought was my 4 digit code.
Sixth Automated Voice:  I'm sorry, but there is no secret code registered to this user. 
Seventh Automated Voice: For questions about your health plan, press 1.  For medical attention, press 2.
I press 2.
Actual Person: Welcome to Crzu Blanca!  How can I help you?
Me: Hi, I was out walking and had an accident.  I'm with the police now but need to get medical attention.
Actual Person: OK.  What neighborhood would you like the hospital to be in?
Me: Um, well.... I live in Nunoa.
Actual Person: OK, so we have Clinica X that you can go to, but first you have to buy the bono (like a copay) for 24.000 pesos.
Me:  Well, I don't have the money on me and it's an emergency.  Is there a hospital near me in Providencia.
Acutal Person: Yes, there's Clinica Y.  The address is.... and the cost is 11.000 pesos.
Me: OK.  Thank you.

I told the police officer and camera man (who was back in the car now) the name of the hospital and the address, and they told me we'd leave in a few minutes.  In the meantime I called my friend Chris to see if he'd be able to visit me there.  He told me that he'd be able to make it.

So the police got me to the clinica, and then they checked me in.  They brought me via wheelchair to the waiting room, and I had to give them my information.  I asked them to hurry up because the pain was getting worse, and so they did.

After talking with the doctor, some X rays, and getting an IV for the pain, the doctor concluded it wasn't a fracture.  This was really good news, becuase he told me I wouldn't be able to fly with a fracture.  He gave me a prescription for medication as well as some advice on how to take care of myself for the next 2 weeks.  Shortly after he finished Chris and his Chilean girlfriend Grace arrived.  They kept me company while the IV finished, and we caught up for the first time since September or October.  I didn't even think about it when I first called Chris, but Grace is a doctor and so she was able to talk to the doctor and give me advice on the situation too.

So meet my best friend for the next 10 to 14 days:

It's a soft boot, but the bottom of it is solid plastic, and it's a boot that was made for walking.  It holds my foot in a locked position, and when I've walked in it I haven't had any pain so far.

Chris and Grace helped me get checked out and get the meds that I need, and then they took me out to dinner.  I went back to the Italian restaurant that I went to a few weekends ago.  The food was delicious, and they surprised me by turning off the lights and having everyone in the restaurant sing Happy Birthday to me while the violinist and accordian player played. 

Obviously an accident and going to the hospital isn't a good thing, but it was a really nice feeling knowing that I have great friends that I can depend on in an emergency (and I know I have many more besides Chris and Grace for those of you reading!)  They really saved the day and made my brithday one that I certainly will never forget.

What's the downside to the boot?  Well the obvious is dealing with the pain and limited mobility.  I'm hoping that I can get a seat on the place with extra leg space due to the boot, so we'll see.  Then there's the more practical things that you don't think about.  One is driving, which I won't be able to do for the first week that I'm home (it's my right foot that is injured).  Another is sleeping, which I wasn't able to do successfully with the boot on.  After trying to find comfortable positions for a few hours I resorted to taking it off for when I sleep but being very careful.  The good thing is that I have most of my packing, errands, and cleaning done before I fly home on Monday.  I also have enough food in so that I don't have to make a trip to the food store before my flight.

The last (and probably most practical problem) is the following:  I don't know if I can wear long pants while I'm wearing my boot at the same time.  It's summer here and I've been wearing shorts, but I'm going back to winter (or what is supposed to be winter) weather.  I'll have to try putting on a pair of jeans while having on my boot as an experiment later today.

Well, tonight I'm looking forward to a joint birthday celebration with Katie (her birthday is on Sunday) and seeing some friends I haven't seen in a while.