Caught my first snake in Japan!

Today, I have been dripping blood from my sinus and reeling from fatigue and headpain after being sick for a week solid, but all was made right in the world when that moment of bliss descended up on my weary soul. My heart could scarcely contain the joy when my students ran to me saying "Sweechi, Sweechi, come, hebi, hebi!"

It was beautiful. I had seen one before when I had just finished climbing a mountain, a beautiful leafy green and pale flaxen ratsnake. I really should have looked at its head first, to check if it was poisonous, but I guess my instinct was good enough... which was a good thing because when I picked it up by the tail it managed to succeed where at least a half-dozen other snakes had failed, and reached back up to my hand and bit me. It actually didn`t hurt at all, because his teeth were so razor sharp that they slipped into my skin without any feeling. Once he was hanging by (wait... let me count) 9 teeth from he top of his mouth, I felt the wierd tugging sensation of little things under my skin, but even then it was barely recognizable as pain. Those things are SHARP! Whew.

I then placed (dropped) him on the ground and used a broom handle to pin his neck to the ground. Once I got a hold of him below the head, he curled up around my arm and placed his body over his head. He chilled out, and I took him for a tour of Minami Junior High School asking, "Sumimasen, kono hebi wa anatano des ka?" "Excuse me, is this your snake?" I finally found the owner (one brave soul who rose to the occasion and answered my joke with real English, "Oh, its mine!") When I tried to return said hebi to his rightful owner, the young man graciously bequeathed it to me and said, "Oh, no, you must have. You must... have." Of course, I most ardently acquired ownership and maintained the manhandling of the beast, but havning no propper domicile for a reptile, and having been recently forbidden from the ownership of animals in my apartment, I most dolorously divided ways from my new-found, ill-met, but prematurely parted scaly friend.

So anyway, this is a picture from the Web of one of his cousins. Nobody had a camera handy, and he had been a good sport and not pooped ALL over me (just a tad), so I let him off on good behavior. I couldn`t blame him for the bite.

Now if I can just get my hands on some decongestants and get away with my second snake bit not going septic, I`ll be healthy as a horse.