Car + Leslie = Trouble

As those sages of wisdom in the band Queen say, "Another one bites the dust!" Two cars down, bring on the next one.

As many of you know, since you either visited me in the hospital or I emailed you, I was involved in a car accident on Friday the 23. It was an unfortunate accident that left me car-less and incredibly bruised and sore.

The story, which has been told more times than I can count, goes like this:
On Friday afternoon I was headed into Matsue (the big city about 30 minutes away) for a meeting about the upcoming English camp that I am on the committee for. About five minutes away from my school someone pulled out in front of me on Rt 24. I had to make a split second decision to either swerve or hit the car in front of me, so I decided to swerve. I didn't think about it but just reacted. Then the next 10 seconds were the scariest of my life. I was only going about 50 kilometers (about 35mph) but since he pulled out right in front of me I had no time to stop. So I swerved to avoid him (thank the Lord there was no on coming traffic), then I over corrected, and finally lost control, crashing into a guard rail. At first the wind was knocked out of me because of the impact, so after everything stopped I just sat there writhing in pain. Two men in a truck stopped to help me. They turned off the car, asked if I was alright, and pulled me away from the driver's side because there was glass everywhere. I had destroyed the entire driver's side. The car was totaled. As most of you know, there is not much to a Kei-car. I had no airbags or other safety features, basically I was driving a tin box on wheels. Also, I didn't leave a scratch on the guard rail! The guard rail is made out of steel and my car was made out of wood and paper I think, (don't worry, traditional Japanese wood and paper, so that makes it ok!). I wasn't really upset till I thought the guy who pulled out in front of me had left. Turns out he hadn't! So I called my supervisor and Todd, they both came out to the scene to wait with me while the ambulance came. Todd rode the bike from our house to the accident as fast as he could,(sweet boy!) and my high school students made fun of him as he rode past (little devils!). So the man who caused the accident came to the hospital with his insurance representative. They have to work out who has to pay what percentage of the accident. I know it sounds strange but if you are in your car and the engine is on, then you are somewhat responsible for the accident. So my supervisor said I will probably have to pay 20% or 30%, which means I won't pay anything and I will only receive about 70%-80% from the guy who caused the accident. And in true Japan fashion the guy returned later to give me a gift and to apologize. The guy was quite young I think, maybe 19 or 20 years old. He said that he just didn't look when he pulled out, confirming it was his fault. So when he came to the hospital he brought his mother, perhaps she drove! Anyway, they gave me a gift and when they went to leave they bowed deeply to show their respect but the boy didn't bow deep enough for his mother's taste and she pushed him down to bow deeper. It was hilarious! I couldn't bow because I was in bed and injured but it wouldn't have mattered to me one way or another. But it was an interesting piece of culture to witness. As for the those injuries I have terrible whip lash, some nasty bruising along my right side, chest pains (probably from the seat belt), and a very sore right leg. I didn't fracture or tear anything which is good but they made me stay in the hospital for three days for observation. That was worse than the accident. It was boring and the food was not great! In Japan they have socialized health care so it shouldn't cost much for the stay, x-rays, or medication (yeah socialized medicine!!) I healed a lot being made to stay in bed. Also the best part was that everyone came and visited me! I got lots of tasty food from a whole pineapple to folder about the meeting I missed from Will.

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who came and visited me. It meant a lot to me that you took the time to come and see me. I appreciate it so much. While I did look like I was faking it, since I was not visibly injured, it was nice to talk about what happened with all of you because it was quite traumatic. I am not good at showing any kind of seriousness in those situations. I just want to joke about it or write it off. But just know that it meant so much to me to see all of your love and concern!!!!!

Thank You to:
Maddy, Heidi, Rob, Gabi, Jo, Emily, Cat, Will, Nicola, Ksenia, Jen, John, Janelle Y., Lena, Janelle J., Hugh, Naoko and her family (my supervisor), Sara (by whom I was harassed via email while she couldn't be there in person) and last but certainly not least Todd! I don't know how I would manage without his strength and hilarity! I am a very very lucky girl to be so loved by so many people.