Back in Japan

On the 18th, Tom and I decided to take a little break and spend a week in Seoul.  There were a multitude of factors that brought us to purchase tickets including concerns from family, a deteriorating Fukushima power plant, and a great opportunity to travel to South Korea.  It turned out to be a wonderful trip, including cathartic time with family members (we stayed with Tom's cousin and his family).

Tom and I with our wonderful hosts in Seoul

We're midway through the week back in Japan, still keeping a close eye on the nuclear plant down south. Even though we keep a close eye on the radiation levels, my concerns for personal safety are decreasing at a rapid rate.  I'll occasionally check U.S. news sources to see what they've been saying, and every time becomes a frustrating experience.  If I turn on the news in Japan, a majority of stories are dedicated to those who were hardest hit, the people of Miyagi prefecture and surrounding areas.  Rarely do I see CNN covering a story on the people of the disaster.  What about the death toll that has skyrocketed to over 10,000? What about those still missing?  How are those remaining surviving?  What conditions are they living in?

The 24-hour news networks in the States need to discuss more than alarmist, generalized stories on radiation.  

How about the conditions in the rest of Japan?  Hokkaido, to my knowledge, is doing fine. Other than supermarkets being short on canned items because they've been shipped to shelters in Honshu, I haven't seen or felt any affects post-earthquake.  Fox, MSNBC, and CNN can make all of Japan out to be a disaster zone, while in fact, people have been back to work for weeks.  That's not to say that Japan is fine.  Thousands of people need help, and will be getting help.  As I mentioned, canned goods and some fresh food from supermarkets in Hokkaido have been shipped to affected areas.   Same with the Tokyo area.  Many people are helping in their own way, by persevering.  Japan has been hit by disasters, man-made and natural, so many times in the past century that if they were unable to pick themselves up and return to work, the country would not exist today.

As for donations, aid organizations are going crazy over Japan.  Japan is a developed country and has the resources to help its people, unlike Haiti, who experienced a horrible earthquake only three years ago.  Education prior to donating is key here.  There's a variety of websites out there dedicated to making a wise decision when deciding where to put your money.  I've listed a few below that concern Japan:

Aid Watchers
Reuters
Stratosphere International

For now, Tom and I will keep updated with radiation levels, but our thoughts will stay with those in and around Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.  We hope Japan can do what it does best: focus on the community, pick itself up, and persevere.

The earthquake

It still amazes me how quick things can change.  One second I'm at my desk checking my email, and the next I'm running outside with my co-workers, watching as buildings around us shake and sway.  I remember feeling the onset of the quake, what I thought was going to be like others I've felt: minor and short.  I saw my computer monitor start to move.  We stopped working.  I looked to a co-worker and said "Jishin?"  She nodded and repeated "jishin" as it began to grow a little stronger.  Andrea grabbed her desk like she was ready to run out of the building, and soon the office started to make noise.  We ran out the door into the open courtyard that connects the university offices.

As the earthquake gained in strength, everyone turned their head in the same direction, to the largest building directly opposite the courtyard.  It began to sway and shake, making the most horrid of noises, rocking back and forth on its foundation.  I turned around, looking at all of the neighboring buildings, wondering if where we were was actually a safe place to be.  Some people had crouched down to support themselves, screaming at the violent shaking. I don't even remember feeling the earth; I was mesmerized by the haunting movement of the buildings. 

Within twenty seconds, it was all over.  Everyone immediately reached for their phones, pulling up news sources and calling family and friends.  We were told to stay outside, to wait until we had more information.  We knew there could be an aftershock that had the possibility of rivaling the power of the original quake, so Andrea and I stared blankly at each other and our surroundings for a while.  We could still feel the earth move underneath us.  Being the only two foreigners, a few people approached us asking if it was our first 'big one' and that it was the largest they've felt in years.  I don't think anyone would have guessed at that moment Japan had just experienced one of the biggest earthquakes in its recorded history and that a tsunami was on its way towards the shores of Japan, one so destructive that it would take thousands of lives and leave thousands more without homes.

Crack in the foundation at Bunkyo Gakuin University

I soon began to feel the need to get in contact with Tom.  I had no idea where the epicenter was, how big the earthquake was, and if it had reached Hokkaido.  After about thirty minutes of waiting, I asked a co-worker if I could run back inside to grab my cell phone.  People were going in and out, grabbing their coats and other personal items.  I was given the OK as our office is easily reached from the outside.  As soon as I reached for my phone on my desk, I heard the shelves in the office make noise and felt the ground beneath me shift.  I ran outside as the M 7+ aftershock rocked Tokyo.  I soon found out that trying to contact Tom via cell phone was futile as cell phone services were down. 

News anchors experiencing aftershocks

 The Bunkyo staff was moved to different location outdoors, and there we waited for another twenty minutes.  We watched lamps in the cafeteria swing as aftershocks rolled through.  I remember feeling like I was trying to keep my balance on a bus.  We caught pieces of information from office workers on mega phones: the subway lines are closed, it's still not safe to go indoors.  I tried multiple times to reach Tom, but had no luck.  Eventually we were able to turn on the TV to find out what was going on beyond the walls of Bunkyo Gakuin University.  We soon learned that we were so very, very lucky.  What we saw was devastating.  We watched from an aerial view the tsunami sweeping over Sendai, cars trying to escape, houses being washed away. By now, most of those who have access to TV and the internet have now seen footage of this tsunami.  My boss watched on in awe as her home prefecture was mutilated by the earthquake and tsunami.  Others tried to email their friends and family in the Sendai area.  I was able to get through to Tom to find out he was fine.  Soon news networks around the world were covering the earthquake in Japan.

Where the water used to be at a convenience store

Three days later, we are still feeling aftershocks (Japan has felt over 300 aftershocks in total since Friday).  They are enough alone to make me want to throw down two grand for a ticket home.  One minute you focus your attention on something other than the quake, and then with a jolt, you're reminded that you've successfully located yourself on the volatile Ring of Fire.  Japan has also implemented rolling blackouts, the first in history, to help ease the strain on power plants.  My day is spent on the computer, trying to keep myself updated. I have an irrational fear that I won't get some piece of imperative information and put myself in danger.  The stores are being drained of food, as shipments haven't come in since Friday. To say I'm stressing myself out would be an understatement.

After talking with friends in Japan, people are surprised at how fast the Japanese have transitioned back to daily life.  So far it's been difficult for me to transition from survival mode back to living-my-life mode.  It seems like my co-workers have been more successful at this transition.  I have no "lesson learned" final statement after this whole ordeal.  Life throws you curve balls, and I have no idea how to deal with this one quite yet other than just learning how to move on.

Packing Light

My time in Tokyo is coming to a close.  Within the next two weeks, I’ll be moving to Hokkaido for a few months with Tom, temporarily amending our seemingly endless long-distance relationship.  These two months of what we like to call “normal” time together cannot come soon enough.  

Before I can let my mind settle on daydreams about Hokkaido, I have to first finish a few errands.  On my ever-growing to-do list is to practice packing my belongings into the two pieces of luggage that carried my material possessions to Japan.  Granted, I can fit in one of those pieces if I’m feeling agile, but it’s still a relatively small amount of space to carry a year’s worth of necessities, memories, and souvenirs.  I’m always keeping myself in-check, and often not having enough luggage space gives me enough motivation to not buy a new souvenir and save my money.  I’ve begun to think of this initially nagging thought as more of a blessing, as I realize how burdensome material possessions can be.  

Grant, my cousin, ventured to see if I could smuggle him to Japan

I’ve traveled before, and I’ve kicked myself for not bringing home more souvenirs.  After two weeks in Spain, I have only a key chain to prove I spent two tiring weeks speaking poor Spanish.  A week in Ireland left me with a small drunken trinket that says “I got pissed in Ireland.”  I imagine myself in a future apartment or home, delicately placing a set of prized Japanese pottery back in their rightful place in the china cabinet, but yet I can’t get myself to buy that set of Japanese pottery for the fear of it breaking in-transit (a lack of cash may also play a part in this issue).  

Considering my circumstances, I have spent a lot of time realizing that what I’ll bring home will be far more valuable than a Japanese kimono or sake.  I have gigs of pictures, a plethora of memories, and a basic understanding of Japanese culture to share with Tom.  It may seem obvious and a tad cliché, but it’s surprising how consuming the process of buying souvenirs can be.   

As I prepare for the move up north, I’ll be sure to keep my expenditures down and my baggage weight down these next few weeks, remembering that even more important than avoiding overweight baggage fees is to understand that the souvenirs that will last the longest won’t need to be physically packed away.