Stoned

Last night at 9:30 pm I walked a friend home half way from a piano recital. 4 kids screamed at us as they passed (trying to scare us) and we ignored them. A little shaken, we waited to split up hoping they'd go away. They milled around a while and didn't do any harm, so we split up and walked our seperate ways. I was the lucky one who got to walk past the 8 or so boys and one military worker. First one shouted 'gel', which is the command form of 'come.' I ignored that. Then the first rock hit me in the lower back. The second was about the size of a fist and hit me on my right thigh. I flung around and grabbed the closest kid to me, threw him up against the wall (I don't think they were expecting a white girl in high-heels to fight back) and choked him with my left hand and yelled "who did that?" a few times. After roughing up the kid for a few seconds, I turned to the military boy who didn't feel the need to take part in the altercation, and asked him if he was working. He said he didn't understand Russian. I asked him why he didn't do anything and then took out a pen and asked for his name and surname (one of our most powerful weapons--the pen.) He started backing away. I wasn't going to get any farther with that route, so I turned and walked away. I have a welt from the rock about the size of a fist and it hurts to sit down. I'm going to call peace corps and report it, but how many reports of stone throwing do they get? I've heard from volunteers in rougher areas that they'd never bother calling in over a rock. It happens too often. I also plan on taking a picture of my bruise as a fond memory. Thanks, Balkanabat.