So...

This isn't going to be a long entry, as it is still rather difficult to type now, but I figured that I should update after what happened.

A little over a week ago, a friend and I were attacked in a park in Ambato.

This isn't one of those "girl was walking through a deserted street at 3 am drunk and got assaulted" deals. We did nothing wrong. It was the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day, in a park filled with soccer players, families, and laughing children. My friend Julie (another PC volunteer) and I were walking back to her house on an "ecological trail" that follows the river. A young family, with a well-dressed dad, mom, and infant, had passed us several times that day, but we thought that they were just strolling aimlessly like we were. The moment we began to think it was strange and no one else was around, he whipped a knife out.

He grabbed Julie's arm. She screamed and dropped into a crouch because she was afraid that he was aiming his knife at her neck. I lunged at him and he turned on me; when I tried to knock the knife out of his hand he swiped at me and cut my thumb and index finger, then cut the strap of Julie's bag and ran with it.

Luckily, there was nothing of value in the bag except her house keys (she promptly changed the locks), and it gives me a grim satisfaction to know that he went through all of that for a broken bag, lipstick, unusable keys, and hand sanitizer.

I was bleeding to a degree that was frightening. I've never in my life seen so much blood. It pooled in my cupped hands and ended up on my face, all down my pants, and saturated my sneakers to a degree that even my socks were bloody. Some kind hearted lady helped us get to the hospital and gave me an old shirt to staunch the bleeding; it became soaked through with blood. I also bled all over the emergency room floor. I can't imagine the amount you must pour out if you get stabbed someplace serious.

The cut on my thumb is the worst, a deep diagonal gash that took eight stitched to close. The other isn't as bad, only four stitches and it barely hurt at all. The doctor claimed there was no nerve damage, but I still can't feel the tip of my thumb, so....

I go back to Quito tomorrow to get my stitches removed, and I also get to go the following week to talk to the new group of trainees. Poor Julie is jumping at her own shadow and hates the sight of families with children. I'm mainly pissed that I didn't think clearly while fighting (punching instead of kicking, so stupid of me!)

I've already written more than I thought I would, and it sucks to type without a thumb. It just sucks in general. Everything about this month so far, with its drama and huge annoying festivals and lack of work and water balloons (Carnaval) and drunks and too many parades and irritating bottle rocket/fireworks just sucks.

I can't wait for March.