third time....some harm!

Sooo...we have had a break from Ecuador. Why? All the best stories come from Ecuador. So here it goes!

Since I was five years old, I had thought about getting a nose ring. They were so elegant and subtle. When i was 5 i asked my parents if i could get a nose ring, and they obviously said no. For things like this, my dad would always say something like “wait 5 years, and you will realize that you don’t even want it anymore.” I never really thought about it again until i was 23 when i woke up one day and my friend, Fin, asked “What are you gonna get up to today?”
“Hmm...i think i’ll get my nose pierced.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”

We left it at that and went on with our day. I told my argintinean friends that i was going to get my nose pierced, but that we should wait until some other friends got into town later that day so that we could all go together. “Está bueno, está bueno.”

I then texted Chantel and Martha, when you get here im gonna go get my nose pierced..the argintinean chicas will join us. I even went to the effort of telling my parents I would get my nose pierced, knowing very well they would not approve. I figured it was best to hear their disapproval over the fone rather than in person where they could stare directly at my nose and say safekh with middle eastern disapproval.

After having told my parents, getting them mildly riled up with their what the heck can we do-attitude (that all parents who have unsuccessfully tried to prevent their children from going to Ecuador always have) I had decided that i didn’t really want the nose ring. When Martha and Chantel arrived we didn’t go to the piercing parlour. We continued with our daily plans and even met up with our Argie buddies later that day. While all five of us were hanging out on a street corner, a very VERY pierced man walked up to us. “Peer-seen? Tah-tooz? Peer-seen? Tah-tooz?” Martha, Chantel, and I nodded our heads in a polite no-thank-you fashion which prompted him to move on, but the two Argentineans both pointed to me and repeated “Ella! ELLA”

I forget to tell the Argentineans that I had reconsidered the nose ring.

Next thing I knew this pierced and tattooed man was literally holding my hand (much like my older brother still does when we cross the street...a combination of you are safe and hurry the &**@ up) and dragging me to a store around the corner. I was immediately picking out a ring with four of my friends and was plopped into a chair looking at my naked nose. I sat in the chair, asking myself how I would recount this story to my parents.

“I got pierced by a carni off the side of the street. In Ecuador. For three dollars.” Hmmm...nope, better rethink that line.
“I got pierced in Ecuador. It was only 3 dollars. It was a deal! I HAD to!” ....nope, also bad.
“I saw them sterilize the ring before they jammed it with little mercy into my nose.” ....probably not much better.
“People barely notice it. It is so natural on me.” ...getting warmer.
“What piercing?” PERFECT!

So there you have it. They drew a blue mark on my nose where they would pierce me, then sterilized the ring with a cotton swab and some alcohol, and poke. Ouch. My left eye began to water and my left cheek was drowning in a manner of seconds. It was like my parents told me that my dog just died. But they told me while I had lost hearing in my right ear, and my body responded correspondingly. It was bizarre, but it hurt. It was quick, and happened while all of my friends were staring at tattoo designs. I looked into the mirror. "Guys, ITS HUGE!" It looked giant. It looked like it was taking over my nose.
"Maryam, it is tiny." (In hindsight, i do remember picking out the smallest little jewel possible--but it was such a shock. The mark they drew on my nose was even larger than the piercing itself)

We left. Now I had to endure an afternoon of shopping with Martha and Chantel. And my left side was still dealing with the trauma of its dead puppy. After about half an hour, the tears had dried and I was wiping my left eye. I lightly tapped the nose ring and “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Martha ran out of the change room half dressed and Chantel dropped the skirt she was looking at and joined me on the ground to look for my nose ring which had so easily flown out of its newly perforated nose. “Dónde está? Dónde está?”

I quickly found the ring, grabbed Chantel, and yelled “Martha, we will be back.” Chantel and I ran back to the parlour and I explained what happened.

The piercer muttered under his breath, thinking i was just a silly gringa who couldn’t understand him, “she shouldn’t have pulled it out.”
“I DIDNT” i yelled when i really wanted to say, “if you hadn’t done such a shitty job, this wouldn’t have happened.”
"Well, it is probably already grown over, let me see. Oh, it actually hasn't. Here we go..."
OUUUCH"!!!)("·JLKEJASLUD(DUas

I was literally off the seat from pain as the piercer grabbed my face and furiously jammed the ring back in my nose. I actually think it HAD grown over. Chantel grabbed my hand to steady me and we slowly walked back to the store to meet Martha. If all the stories of pain and shock weren't enough, Martha ALSO decided to get a piercing. We went to another piercing parlour to look at differnt studs for Martha's new cartiledge piercing. A young girl was already there, alone, and sitting at a chair. She had just had three ear piercings, and was getting 3 more. The poor idiot...there are only so many perforations a human body can take in one day. The last three were in the cartiledge. I offered her my hand to squeeze because of the pain and she took it willingly. The needle started going through her ear and in the middle of the piercing I started yelling "hay sangre, hay sangre!!!" There is blood! There is blood. I immediately let go. Everyone began looking at the girl's ear wondering where i was seeing the blood. Her eyes bugged out. She didnt feel any blood.

In a small mirror I had noticed blood pooling around the blue sparkle on my nose, and began looking around the tiny parlour for a tissue. "I need something to clean it." The piercer started yelling at who i guess was her assistant: "help her clean it. help her clean it."

After she had fully pierced the other girl, she came over to me, properly cleaned the blood off my nose and inspected it. "Oh, it is sitting on the surface. your nose wasnt fully pierced. Thats why it is bleeding."

WHAT? Did i just waste 3$ and a shit load of pain and nothing!?

sooooo.....................even though i had decided at one point in the day that i really didnt need a piece of metal on my face, i figured that if i had gone part way...i might as well go the whole nine yards.

so in about an hour and half i had gotten pierced 3 times. I was so pale after the third piercing, they didnt even let me leave the parlor for another 30 minutes after they were closed. They ran and got me water and candies to get my blood sugar up.

Now i had to rethink of creative ways to tell my parents what happened:

"mom and dad, i was dumb enough to get a cheap peircing in ecuador which, because it was so cheap, had to be redone twice in the same day." nope...i never admit how stupid i am to my parents. that would mean that their years of convincing me would have worked...i wont give in!

"mom and dad. i had my nose pierced three times...but dont worry...there is only one hole." :) Hmm....this one has a good ring (mind the pun) to it. They may react better to this one because of the element of humour...?

screw that....

"what peircing?"