Big Bruisin, Jimbe & Ball Games

In today’s paper there’s a big story on the front page about 6 junior high school students in Kakogawa who were arrested on Saturday for getting in a fistfight. Two of them were fighting, and it sounds like the others were maybe just accomplices, but my coworkers were talking about it when I came in. Ironic timing...

I was sort of involved in a fistfight this weekend (or trying to prevent/stop one) myself.

I basically tried to stop two drunk men from fighting on Saturday night (drunk with rage, drunk with beer... I don't know, doesn't matter) and one of them BIT ME in the spot where I tried to hold them back. The bruise is a few inches long and there's a big white circle with teeth marks in the middle so it's a site for sore eyes, though.

My efforts to stop this fight obviously didn't work -- I'm just too small to hold off men -- and if someone bites, they are pretty determined to fight. So, of course, the fight happened I got caught in the middle, pushed down and now also have a few puffy scratches on my arms to boot. None if it hurts that much. Just looks really, really bad and is sore if I hit it or move too much, like running. But I was mostly worried about what my coworkers would think if I came in with bruises...

Anyways, when I arrived at Takanan today, my coworkers said their hellos and then immediately started to bombard me with concerned questions about the giant bruise on my arm. I was going to try to cover up the bruise and avoid issues and embarassment, but it's honestly just too hot for sleeves (I caved and took off my sweater when I started sweating) and the bandage I tried to put on it wouldn't stay. After explaining the story to one coworker (head of the English Department, actually), I ran off to the nurses office to get ice and a bandage to cover it up before the kids saw it, too.

When I got back to my desk from the nurses office, one of the teachers had told 2 more coworkers about the incident and my injuries (then asked her to keep it a secret, so think the chain stops there), so they wanted to see the bruise, too. Took off the bandage and showed them -- more gasps.

Given those reactions, I was worried that it would sound pretty scandalous (and maybe be bad professionally) that I was involved in a fight at all (especially where the police were called, like the headline today), but my colleagues thought the whole thing was funny and told me I was brave for trying to stop a fight ("like a white angel"), but that I should be careful in the future. Trust me... I don't need the advice. I will NEVER get involved in something like this again..

So in the end, I guess things went better than expected with my school, but I hope this bruise goes away soon. It seems to be getting darker :-(

The other thing I wanted to tell about is my brand-new, pretty JIMBE!! A jimbe is a traditional Japanese outfit, mostly for men, that sorts of looks like pajamas. They are really popular at festivals in the summertime in Japan because the cotton is light and they are really comfortable. One of the English teachers that missed my farewell luncheon last week gave me one as a going-away present today. It's black with pink polka dots and red and pink roses. I have always sort of wanted one, so I was really stoked... and can't believe the kindness! I guess this coworker's daughter has the same one, so he told me I should use it when I get to the states, as PJs if nothing else. And I definitely will!

Today we are having "ball games" (sort of a mini-Sports Day) in the morning so no actual classes. I totally forgot to bring gym clothes, so I can't participate much (and it's for the kids anyways), but I am off to watch the volleyball and kickball games in the yard... more soon.