Welcome back to This is India! I always have funny/weird stories about India to share with friends or family when I talk to them. This is just meant to be an honest portrayal about my life in India through short anecdotes. I also share here what I’ve been up to online outside Hippie in Heels.

What I was up to other than here:

  • Well, first of all I want to share this story that Colleen Brynn wrote about Huckleberry Finn. She had asked me if she could write about her time her with him in Goa since I couldn’t really bring myself to write a post about him. So thanks Colleen for the article, Huck was so sweet and made an impression (equal parts crazy and loving) on every one he met!
  • The Indian site Padhaaro did a feature on my blog: All about the Hippie in Heels
  • I leave tomorrow for 25 days in Karnataka with goMowgli and I haven’t even packed! Ah! Perks of being on a tour bus, I can overpack a little bit knowing that I have some stability in my travels- I think I may even take a REAL-sized pillow.

Now your story,

Okay this story is a little gross but I feel like telling it anyways because well, travel CAN be gross, so here goes:

While in Thailand, my big toe got stepped on and the nail turned black and blue. Later it turned white. Then it kind of half fell off. When it grew back it was all kinds of wonky. I’d had a messed up toe nail before (an ingrown nail) when I was about 12. I’m also a nurse… so I knew that a podiatrist could simply cut the side of the nail that was dead and fix it up proper.

Let’s just try finding a podiatrist online in Goa. Yeah, not happening.

I went to the hospital (which I won’t name…) that specializes in helping people through acid trips in Vagator. Ben dropped me at the door and parked the scooter while I went in. I told the doctor I needed my nail cut. He’s like, “no, I will take the whole nail”. 

He was numbing it up while we discussed the fact I didn’t want my whole toe nail ripped off. There were three nurses around me. I’d met them before: food poisoning, rabies shots… we’ve been acquainted enough for a lifetime.

All the sudden, I feel a huge cut up one side of my nail.

“dude I can feel that too much!!!! stop!!!” I yelled. The nurses were clearly in there to hold me down because I was about this close to kicking Mr. MD in the face.

“It’s paining!” I yelled in Hinglish as he cut up the other side and in one swift motion RIPPED my nail off with pliers. This is the kind of shit they do in shady interrogations. I am not a terrorist!

This all happened within about 2.5 minutes. Ben walked in and was all “wtf” because I was bawling my eyes out. The MD held his belly and let out a laugh like only Santa Claus should and said, “ahh, make her stop crying. It’s not so bad.”

“Listen, is my nail going to grow back?” I asked desperately.

He replied with the MOST ambiguous head wobble I’ve ever seen and walked off with a smile.

This is India!

PS: Although I’m still tortured by the memory of having my toenail ripped off, it did grow back within a few months, thank god!

 

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