Life on crutches

As you could guess, I haven't been out doing a whole bunch of exciting things like I'd like to lately, compliments of the ankle.  So probably this post won't be very exciting, mostly just a reflection of how much more difficult things are when you only have one fully functional leg!

But yeah, been spending a fair bit of time at home lately.  Have tried to make a bit of an effort to go out and do things, though not sure how much I've actually done since I last wrote a post.  But, small achievements right?  I've been down to other flats in the same block - mostly to steal food :) Beth and Camilla made some delicious Australian desserts last night - which reminded me I really need to learn how to make lamingtons! And with the help of Ian and Beth, who also live here at Belmont, I finally did my washing last night!

Which it turns out I was very glad of today, because if I'd put it off I would have had no long pants to wear, and with the strong, rainy wind I had to walk to class in I think I could have about frozen right there on the pavement.  I think I got my first taste of what winter weather will be like here in Dundee.  Looked up the forecast to see how strong the wind was, and in kilometres it was almost 50!  Which when you're in it and on crutches, really does feel quite strong.  Definitely have a few things I need to do to prepare for winter here:
- Get a winter coat.  Which doesn't sound so hard, but I have a feeling the shopping centre will be a bit of an ordeal for me when I finally get there.  Combine that with the fact that I'm really indecisive...
- Also on the topic of clothes, get a good pair of shoes!  Another thing I need, but will probably have to wait on until the swelling in my foot is completely gone so I can properly try them on.
- Most importantly I think -  get over the Australian in me that just wants to hide inside whenever its rainy and overcast.  Something its fairly easy to get away with in Canberra, but probably not so much in Dundee.
Also if I'm going to be on crutches for much longer I'm going to have to invest in some more tights and/or long pants on this epic shopping trip of mine, so I can go a bit longer between washes!

Anyway... Sunday was probably my busiest day of the week, and also the most enjoyable :)  Went to church in the morning - via taxi...  Considering how early it was I wasn't quite up to 'walking' twice the distance of my furthest walk thus far!  It was kinda awkward navigating a crowded building on crutches, but after church the minister invited me over for lunch with some other students.  That was awesome, cos I got to both meet a few more new people, and also have an amazing proper English roast dinner.  Probably my favourite feature of that dinner being that there were 3 kinds of potatoes, and also I got to try Yorkshire pudding which it turned out was delicious :)  But my biggest accomplishment (aka the furthest I have walked!) over the weekend was going to the trivia night organised for exchange students on Sunday night.  I went with a girl called Jo, who lives in the same block of flats as me and is lovely :)  Despite completely failing at the trivia part - our American trivia knowledge in particular sucked! - it was a good night, followed by a nice dinner, and then a trip to Tesco for some Ben and Jerry's for dessert.  I think I've finally gotten a little quicker on my crutches, after all that practice!  We also got a taste for trivia, so are planning to go next Sunday night to trivia at the Union.

Matriculation for the sports clubs is this week as well - a little conflicted about that, cos of the whole not being sure when I'll be able to run again thing.  It's too expensive to sign up and then not play at all, especially cos I'm not sure if all the clubs do one semester rates.  So will have to think about it - have til Friday to decide.  Probably if I'm going to sign up at all, I need to pick just one.  Decisions decisions! Lol.

Anyway, I shall end on the subject that is apparently most common in my blogs - food!  I am on a search for a pub that serves stew, and hopefully good stew.  As it gets colder I'm starting to really want it!  I'm also booked in for a visit to Broughty Ferry to apparently have delicious Scottish steak pie.  But at the moment, the need to go grocery shopping is looming in the near future, I'm just not quite sure how I'm going to do it.  Even if I take a taxi, I wouldn't be able to carry it back up to my room.  So that's an obstacle I'll have to figure out.  But today I was really craving a coffee, after seeing a bunch of people in class with coffees.  Unfortunately Belmont Flats isn't Unilodge, so there aren't cafes right at the bottom of the stairs where I could get one.  But since I have no class tomorrow, I've decided to have a library day to get some work done, and I'm pretty sure theres a cafe next door where I'll be able to get one :)

But now I need to go get some inspiration for a short story in German.  And also some sleep.  Here's hoping the next time I write a post, I'll be able to walk, even if it's retardedly!