Ouch.

So most of you know about my whole scoliosis/spinal fusion situation...

^ Hey those are my insides! ^

And sometimes because of my abnormal spine (and the fact that I don't do the proper physical therapy exercises) I get some serious back knots and subsequent back pain. So after sleeping on this rock they call a mattress for a month I got some nasty pain collecting in my upper back. I went to the student health center on campus to see if they could give me any muscle relaxers or pain killers. The doctors hardly speak any English so I had to ask some poor sick Turkish girl who was in the waiting room to help translate for me. They gave me some mysterious pills and sent me on my way. After waiting for the pills to kick in and realizing that they weren't going to help my roommate convinced me to go back to the health center and try to get some pain cream or such. She escorted me to help translate. Upon arriving and explaining the whole situation again, the doctors offered to give me a muscle relaxer/pain killer shot. I was super pumped about this because my back pain was reaching the point of no return, I could hardly breathe. So the doctor says "expose your back" (or that's what i thought he said)... So i lift up my shirt to expose the point of pain and lay down on the table readying myself for the injection. But then my roommate goes, "no not your back, your butt." So I hop up really confused and try to collect myself. I've never gotten a shot in my rump before. But desperate times call for desperate measures. So I muster up the courage, lay down on the table once more and pull down my pants. I was visibly distraught because I hate needles so my roommate came to my rescue and held my hand while they stuck me straight in the ass cheek. A true roommate bonding experience. The shot worked and soon my butt was hurting more than my back. I'd call it a success. Observation that I take away from the whole experience? They are very forthcoming with their medicines here. More paperwork is completed when checking out at a retail shop then when getting an injection at the health center. It's a strange world I'm living in.