Snakes, scorpions, and gutters, oh my!

Warning, this post contains scenes of violence.

Keep off the grass

I was first warned by a German I met at the Guest Centre. He had been in Ghana for two years, and was at the Guest Centre making arrangements for a friend who was coming to visit. "Stay out of the grass," he cautioned. "And if you must walk through the grass, move slowly so the poisonous snakes and scorpions can get out of the way." They would rather flee than be cornered, but if trapped will use their natural defenses. He had killed several scorpions near his bungalow.

This advice came after weeks of crossing a particular field at night at my usual quick pace. Now I feel compelled to go the long way around.

My grad student, Prosper, warned me. There aren't many around campus, but it is good to carry a remedy with you. For scorpion bites he advised carrying a small black stone (I got the feeling not just any black stone will do). If bit by a scorpion you put the stone on the bite and it draws out the poison. I note he said he doesn't carry a stone with him.

Most of the fields on campus are mowed and I think relatively safe, especially those fields that are filled with humans chanting and talking in tongues each evening. Though I avoid those fields for other reasons.

Not the scene of the crime

Well it was bound to happen, even though I have been watching against it (and I hope it's a once in a life-time event). Saturday night I fell into one of the gutters. (And I wasn't even drinking!) In my defense, it was a gutter not alongside a road, but traversing a field. I was walking Veena home and heading to the night market around 6:30. It was already dark, and even though I know the route, I forgot about it and just didn't see it. Fortunately, Veena did, as we agreed she would have broken something.

But I stepped right into it. Down my right leg went about two and a half feet. And then I fell forward. So, adding up the injuries: The ball of my right foot on the small toe side is sore and I can't put pressure on it. The right knee is scraped, bruised, and very sore; I banged the knee cap either on the opposite side of the gutter when I hit bottom or on the lip of the far side as I went down. When I fell forward I banged my left knee on the ground on the far side of the gutter. I also jarred and scraped both wrists (not badly, just tender). And bent my low back in a way it doesn't like (though Sunday it had recovered). Plus the gutter was filled with water; it was dark so I'm not sure how disgusting. But that sandal was filled with sand and my pant leg was wet to mid calf. When I got home it took a few minutes to hose off the sandal (ok, the shower is pretty low pressure) and longer to clean my foot.

For most of the week I have been hobbling around. The ball of my right foot is still tender, especially if I wear the sandal I was wearing at the time; I guess the pressure points line up. And the right knee is not happy. This is my 'trick' knee anyway, and it doesn't seem like the bump fixed the trick.

Anna-Marie insisted I take some pictures to share. So here is how I look five days after the fact; the nice purple colour has been replaced by green.

Right knee

Left ankle

Left knee

I have yet to hobble back to the scene of the crime with my camera, will post an image when I do. And while I have not encountered any snakes or scorpions, and I watchful for them as well as gutters hiding in the grass.

P.S. Just after posting this a student visited me at my office. He told me he had wanted to come earlier in the week, but on the weekend had fallen into one of the gutters. We compared wounds. He won, or lost. He has a big gash up his shin and must go to the hospital daily to have it cleaned out.