Question: “So, how’d you break your arm?”
Answers: “Hang gliding in Manhattan.” “Running of the bulls in Pamplona.” “Arm wrestling the New York Jets defensive line.” “I’m Tom Cruise’s stunt double in the new Mission Impossible.”
Those are lies. Actually, I just slipped and fell down some stairs, but all of those answers just sounded better, especially since I was in a new country every day and the “stairs” story just got boring after a while. So how do you spend a month visiting students all over the world with a broken arm in a giant metal sling?
1. I learned to eat soup with my other hand. I’m right handed and you would be amazed how hard it is to balance a heaping spoonful of lava-hot soup with your non-dominant hand. In Colombia, we were treated to Ajiaco- a national (and personal) favorite with huge chunks of chicken, potato and corn. Challenge accepted.
2. I tied my shoes before putting them on. It was hard enough learning to tie my shoes when I was in Elementary school. Re-learning how to tie them using one hand was an interesting experience. Luckily, they don’t make you take your shoes off going through airport security in most places anymore.
3. I tried to sit on the right side of airplanes. There is nothing worse in the world than getting hit in the broken arm with a beverage cart. A flight attendant accidently hit my arm while I was sleeping on one flight. Forgetting I was on a plane, I screamed in pain and woke up. Thinking I was yelling at her, she ran over and said, “Coffee or tea, sir?” I apologized.
4. And finally, I took taxis everywhere. Throughout most of the rest of the world, cars come with a standard, manual transmission. The idea of driving stick with a broken arm on the opposite side of the road on narrow, mountainous streets was not a good one. As an added bonus, you can sleep in the car and, again, not have to worry about getting hit with a runaway beverage cart.
All in all, I visited 3 continents over 4 weeks stopping in 15 countries by way of 26 different flights. I met hundreds of students, who had great questions about Hofstra- and of course how I broke my arm. Traveling around Africa, I answered “I’m a lion tamer.” One student asked me, “Are you sure you didn’t just fall down the stairs?”
