My big fat ankle

Yes, I managed to sprain my ankle in China. It was a horrible experience and I am still suffering the consequences today. It all started with the combination of three curses put on my by three different Chinese tourist attractions because I pissed them off by taking illegal pictures of them.

Confucius – we visited his temple in Wuwei City and were allowed to take pictures in the temple grounds and most of the temples except one. This temple belonged to Confucius and was the most awesome temple of all. There he was, Confucius, in all his glory and we were not allowed to capture his mightiness. Well, of course I thought that was a bunch of bull so I snuck a few pictures. Consequence: cursed by Confucius.

Sleeping Buddha – we visited the Dafo Temple of Zhangye which houses the largest reclining Buddha in the world measuring 34.5m in length and 7.5m in shoulder width. I know, that for the common American you probably have no idea about how BIG that actually is, well it is BIG. In order to prove to my friends and family the magnitude of this sleeping Buddha, I again had to sneak some pictures for proof. This of course again was highly illegal; there was even an attendant watching for picture takers like myself, but Lucy (New Zealand gal) helped me to cover the camera and get some good shots. Consequence: curse #2 by Buddha.

Rewi Ally – at some point in Time a New Zealander named Rewi Ally came to China, joined the Communist party, was loved by all, and set-up a school in Shandan county (located in Gansu, near L.Jo). Well, we visited his museum and tomb because the Chinese love him. Well, Lucy being our token New Zealander, decided she wanted a picture near his tomb. I took a normal one for her, but seeing that she was wearing an awesome Grim Reaper gray coat I decided for her to pose in front of the tomb in another picture in which she resembled the Grim. It was all in fun and hilarious, but the consequence: curse #3.

After having built up three curses I knew it was a matter of time before something happened to me. In total Carlos fashion I began taking lots of jumping pictures with great success in various tourist attractions throughout Gansu. The curses finally had an effect during a jumping picture at the Great Wall of China in Gansu. I jumped and made an awesome pose, but landed on an uneven stone tile (Who knew that the Chinese tiles would morph after 5000 years or so!). I twisted my ankle so bad that is immediately swelled up to the size of a pumpkin and I could barely walk. So the delegates took action – Markus (Swiss man) used his Swiss army knife to cut the sleeves off his shirt to make a bandage for my leg. Helena (Swedish gal) tied the bandage to my foot. Lucy served as my personal assistant and carried my things. Tim (Aussie guy) helped Markus to carry me to the police golf cart that drove me back to the bus.

That evening I visited the Chinese emergency room, where I had an x-ray and discovered that my foot wasn’t broken and that I needed some ice. Then I was in crutches for three days after which we returned to Lanzhou. Now I am just limping around the city with a swollen foot, but each day it gets better. I even danced some Zumba in front of 200 hundred students in it. Nothing can stop me!