And then Lucy Breaks Her Toe...

Yes, that's the big news of the past few weeks.
After two days of settling in, during which we still failed to receive a shower (nearly two weeks since our last one!), we decided to go to a nearby community house for a sauna. Along with Greg, one of our fellow volunteers, we headed down the road, expecting a pleasant Friday night and some well-deserved cleanliness.

When we arrived, there was no fire in the sauna yet, so we lit one, then went outside to hang out while the room heated up. We chanced to find a kid-version soccer ball sitting in the grass, so we started kicking around to pass the time. The three small children that were staying at the house came over to check us out, and soon we had a lively game of barefoot pickup going. Being twice their size, we had to keep it toned down, but everyone was clearly having lots of fun.
Unfortunately this enjoyable evening came to an abrupt end. As Lucy and Adie ran by each other, Lucy's toes got caught on Adie's heel, and Lucy's pinky toe lost the tug-of-war. With a snap, our feet parted, leaving Lucy's little toe jutting out perpendicular to the others. (We have photo documentation, email if you're interested.)

We had to forget about the sauna and shower sadly, preparing instead to take an excursion to the hospital. At ten pm on a Friday night, the only one open was in Gävle, forty-five minutes away. Thankfully Greg was willing to drive, as Adie is no help in that department! We got directions from the kind folks at the house (how strange to get injured in an unfamiliar country at a stranger's house!), returned home for our documents, then hit the road just as the sun was setting.

Once at the hospital, we took our ticket in the queue, then settled in to wait for a doctor. Of course a World Cup game happened to be playing on the television, so we got to relive the accident by watching some professional football. After more than an hour, Lucy was taken for registration, then sent to wait in a hospital room.
All in all, it took three hours until we finally saw a doctor! But apparently this is fast for the Gävle hospital. At 2 AM, he came to check out the toe, injected some local anesthetic, then popped it back into place. A nurse put on a velcro strap to attach it to the next toe, then shooed us out of the room. No paperwork or anything. If you have to get hurt, best to do it in Scandinavia where there's free healthcare! We woke Greg from his uncomfortable spot in the waiting room and returned home, catching a beautiful sunrise in this direction.