Wrecked

Like a train wreck. Imagine 12 two-foot tall Japanese toddlers as the train racing full speed into a brick wall. This morning that brick wall was, unfortunately, three other teachers and myself. Ouch. Lately our Thursday mix of kids has just been a riot... in the negative, New Orleans sense of the word. As in not pretty at all and only funny because if you don't laugh you'd cry. Two moments linger as I sit safely locked in my apartment waiting for my pizza ("they can't get me in here! Ha! Ha! Ha! twitch, twitch...).

The first took place between one of our newer students, "M"-chan and I. During free play time (better known as "free for all" or "mass chaos") this morning she and I were playing with the plastic food. M-chan picked up a long stick of french bread (you know, the ones that are long enough to be short baseball bats?) and without pausing, used it to smack me square in the forehead. I looked up at her (I was sitting, she was looming above me in her 2-year old authority pose) and feigned injured shock. She looked at me and chirped "Naite ne!", the polite command for "cry". I looked puzzled (since the kids aren't supposed to know we speak Japanese) and she quickly and clearly translated for her so obviously slow and stupid foreign teacher, "CRY!". What could I do? I cried. Without missing a beat, she happily bowed at her waist and cheerfully added a "gomen-nasai!" ("I'm sorry"). After I finished laughing, we practiced the English.

Moment number two was thankfully Erik's (not that I didn't have others). At some point after lunchtime, Erik was feeling a bit whipped by the hitting, struggling, and throwing objects and started to say to me that today was feeling awfully violent. As he was speaking and I was trying to listen to him, I could simultaneously see "T"-kun (pictured above) rushing up behind him weilding an orange, plastic bowling pin as (what else?) a baseball bat. I managed to eek out a "Behind you!" right before T-kun took a swipe at the back of Erik's knee (his height). Timing is everything....

I'll spare you the story behind the kick to the chest, pulled earring, pinched nipple, and strained butt muscle I am suffering from today. To look at the positive, I quote my not so new anymore colleague Erik, "At least it isn't boring.... owie".