OT: Hello from Buenos Aires, interesting adventure Options

[TonyAKAVW]

It was a dark and stormy night and we were headed back to our apartment that we are renting in downtown. Suddenly a light changes and our Fiat is rapidly introduced to a Renault. Luckily the cars werent going very fast, maybe 20 to 30 miles per hour, but it was more than enough to cave in the passenger side door of the car where I was sitting.

So the French car pushed in the door of the Italian car about 8 to 12 inches which pushed me over a corresponding distance and I received a nice shower of safety glass, which even after a 30 minut shower is still present though in miniscule amounts.

Of course I must have flown a bit because somehow the inside of my right knee banged something and is now nice and puffy.

So Im sitting here in this pretty huge roundabout in this tiny car and my wife who was driving is attempting to talk to the iodiot who hit us. The (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/stromberg.gif) was yellinga t my wife and when my wife asked him to call for an ambulance, he claimed his phone was out of credits. Then a moment later hes talking to his friends. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mad.gif)

So I sat there for several minutes before the police came and several more minutes before the ambulance came. I had no idea what if anything was wrong but I wanted to get checked out.

A bunch of people who may have been police, paramedics, etc. managed to get a collar on my and put me on to a strecher. At this point the talking began. I really donyt know much spanish and it was at this moment where I wished I had payed more attention in high school.

My wife was occupied with the police, as well as my parents who were in the back seat of the car. So here I am sitting in the back of this ambulance trying to figure out what they are asking me and saying 'tengo dolor aca' and pointing.

An interesting fact about the Argentine health care system which may be true of other countries, is that hospitals tend to be organized by nationality. For instance, there is a healthcare system from the Germans, the Italians, British, etc. And these are great to varying degrees with German and Italian apparently having the best hospitals.

And then theres the place where you go if you have no insurance, which was the case with me, mostly because I forgot that my health insurance covers me for emergencies anywhere, not just the US.

The public hosptials in Buenos Aires leave something to be desired, even this one which is in a nice neighborhood. For instance, my mom wanted ice to help her bruise and the nurse said 'we have no ice' which may have meant 'no ice for you' or 'actually we have no ice.'

So next she wants to wash her hands and of course the sink in my room was missing soap. Again 'we have no soap'. Then my dad looks down the hallway, and there standing in front of the portable Xray machine is what else but a black cat. UN GATO! A friggen cat was running around this hospital. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/owned.gif)

In the end the doctors did a good job. They gave me several Xrays, an sonogram, and a blood test. I was there for 6 hours while my wife was being detained by Buenos Aires's finest. We are going back to the station now to take care of some paperwork...

In any event Im fine and just bruised and beaten up. We were lucky it wasnt a bus and lucky that the light had JUST changed.

More details including photos later. This computer doesnt have a USB port so no downloading pics yet. Soon though...

-Tony