Disaster strikes

On Friday, March 11^th at 2:45PM a terrible earthquake (almost 9 on the rictor scale) struck the ocean just off the coast of Japan near the Sendai, Miyagi region. Everyone was caught terribly unaware, as is the case with earthquakes, and as the details have rolled in over the past few days some terrible facts have become clear.

Being in Kyushu turned out to have saved me and those around me. We didn’t feel a thing; but it struck the mainland with a force strong enough to leave the earth quaking as far as Tokyo for over a minute, with aftershocks and a series of smaller earthquakes lasting for days. I have been avoiding the news for fear of the facts - which I realized last night has only been sheltering me from the tragedy. I read the newspaper this morning. It says there are over 5,000 identified deaths and over 50,000 people in severe need of aid, be it for injuries, food, or shelter. These people have spent the past few days being battered by the moving earth below them, the hail raining down on them, and the tsunamis sweeping in from the coast. All contact with the area via internet, cell phone, or television is restricted or down and no one can really say for sure how bad the damage is yet. Some 150 JETs have also gone off the grid and cannot be contacted. I could have been one of them. Any of us could.

Life just keeps moving on here but I can’t seem to move my brain along like those around me seem to be so successful at doing. Many of the people around me have never even thought of going to Sendai and don’t know anyone in the area even remotely affected. I want nothing more than to get in touch with my host family who I visited over Christmas and make sure they are OK. I spoke with my host dad who lives in Fukushima on Friday about a half hour after the earthquake. He said the rest of my host family is fine. I haven’t been in touch with him since then and Fukushima blew up in a series of nuclear failures this weekend. I’m scared.

I want to go up north and help them but I don’t know where to start. I can hammer nails and serve food and even do mediocre translation, but I need to get there first. I am supposed to go to Kyoto this weekend with A, but the trip seems null in the face of this situation. I don’t feel good spending the almost 5 hundred dollars the weekend is going to cost me when I know there are people without food and water sitting just a few hundred kilometers north of me. What should I do? Cancel the trip with A and just spend the weekend lounging around in Kitsuki, still being unable to help, or should we give some money back to the Japanese economy and the business owners of Kyoto by visiting the area and giving them our business?

It sounds trivial and in the face of an earth shifted 4 degrees on its axis and Japan, which has moved 8 feet out in the ocean, it is. I just don’t know how to wrap my head around this whole situation and where to put my feet. People keep talking of worse things to come like to possibility of more earthquakes and of course, the absurd 12/2012 theory is resurfacing. This is a lot more chaos than anyone was prepared for. Good news - my host family and most of my friends from my time in Sendai seem to be no worse for the wear. Love.

Despite everything, life moves on and I still had an assignment due today for my Japanese language course. I strayed a little off topic to discuss my own attachment to the Miyagi/Sendai region and I thought I should share it here.

The topic was why are you interested in Japan, what have you accomplished that you planned to accomplish since coming here, and what would you like to do in the time you have remaining?

Japanese:

高校生の時、日本でホームステイをするチャンスがありました。外国に行ったことがないのに、緊張より興奮していました。日本語を話さないし、文化やら習慣やらを知らなかったので、日本ですぐに困ってしまうと思いました。しかし、そのことで、英語を話せないホストファミリーと私がかえって仲良かったとおもいます。そのホームステイの経験は素敵な思い出ばかりです。アメリカに帰って、科学を勉強するかたわら、日本語を勉強しました。なぜならば、一方では、私の家族は四世代以上英語しか話せないので、私が外国語を話せる最初の人になりたかったのと、他方では、ホストファミリーと以前より親密な関係が築けたらよいと思います。

ホストファミリーのおかげで、日本により興味を持つことができました。でも、仙台地域に住んでいるホストファミリーに連絡がとれないために、以前日本で過ごしたことが現実のことだったのか、夢だったのではないかという気がします。大地震があったので、ホストファミリーと友だちに何かあったのではないかと心配です。私が知っている限りでは、無数の人々が安否不明で、私はその人々の家族に代わって心配しています。残った時間で、東北でので大地震のためのボランティア活動に参加させていただきたいと思います。

English:

When I was a high school student I was given the chance to do a homestay in Japan. Although I had never left the country I was more excited than nervous. Not speaking Japanese and knowing nothing of culture or customs in Japan, I thought I would be immediately lost in Japan. However, I found that I had an easy, close relationship with my host family who didn`t even speak English. This homestay experience is filled with nothing but fond memories. When I returned to America, in addition to my studies in science, I studied the Japanese language. I think it was the combination of wanting to be the first in my family in over four generations to speak a foreign language and wanting to have a more intimate relationship with my host family that cause me to want to study Japanese.

It is because of my host family that I have come to have an interest in Japan. But, because my host family, who lives in the Sendai area, cannot be in contact with me now, those days spent in Japan during high school feel like a dream. I am worried about what has happened to my host family and friends affected by this earthquake. As far as I know, there are countless people unaccounted for and on behalf of their families, I worry. In my remaining time I would like to be allowed to travel to Tohoku and aid in the relief effort.

Better late than never 3

And another example of how terrible I am at blogging. Late but hopefully worthwhile - Enjoy!

Hadaka matsuri (The Naked Man festival)

11/19

It’s November. It’s cold and it rains a lot. How about going into a river with no pants on, completely drunk and carrying a Shinto shrine? Well, the men of Bungotakada find this to be such fun that they made a festival out of it!

Shooting for the giant stick of hay...

I’ll have to borrow B’s phrasing on this one - ‘the men of Bungotakada just really enjoy taking their pants off.’ I believe we deduced that the purpose of this festival was to celebrate the gods and pray... and drink? Regardless, purpose or none, it was a very entertaining festival. It was a Friday so I headed up there right after work and B and I looked for a comfortable place to chill while we waited for the festival to begin and looked out for the others who would be meeting us. The festival was planned to start at 6 as I recall but they started the activities shortly after 5:30 and none of our friends had arrived yet. We watched while they shot flaming arrows from giant bows in ancient Japanese archer fashion into the waiting giant straw pole sitting in the middle of the river. Once the straw caught fire the drummers started. They were, by far, my favorite part of the festival since they just looked so in love with their drums! I could just feel their energy in the way they danced around and in their music. It was moving.

They got it in!

Well, until the butt naked men appeared anyway. In their defense, they were wearing shirts, just no pants. Dressed in literally loincloth thongs, they trudged through the water, butts flapping freely carrying what looked to be a very heavy shrine; made entirely of gold; in very cold water. I could only imagine the agony their man-bits were in. Regardless, they passed through the river coming first from one shore up to the stage then moving back across the river to exit up a large boating ramp. They also stopped repeatedly along the way to say some chants and splash water on each other and themselves - because I guess they weren’t quite cold enough.

Whole view

Once they got up the ramp, we watched while the wet crew switched out for a dry and more fully clothed entourage. B and I of course had run over to meet them since many were her co-workers and she wanted to see how embarrassed they got when they saw her taking pictures with the lot of them. Some of them ran away at the sight of her, bright red with alcohol and embarrassment, but the lot of them turned toward us and posed, peace signs flying high above their bare backsides. We followed the parade route as it twisted through narrow streets on its way to be joined with the larger shrine in the middle of town. The new carriers were not any less drunk, however, and they did stop every 5 minutes or so at any of the numerous liquor stores en route to indulge in a few more drinks; out of giant bowls. Because of the severe drunkenness there was some trouble carrying the shrine correctly and I couldn’t count on two hands the number of times I thought it was going to go flying through a neighboring building only to see one of the more experienced carriers right himself and the others just in time to save the shrine.

And here they come

I wasn't cold enough yet!

Posing with the foreigners

Enjoying a night cap

When we met up with the main shrine they carried on a series of rituals I didn’t understand while the foreigners in our group dashed off to enjoy some festival food from the vendors. Besides not being able to find a place to sit, or use the restroom, it was overall an... interesting... experience froth with nudity and alcoholism. Sounds more like an orgy than a ritual when you say it like that but such is life. Haha.  I definitely recommend local festivals to any and all people who get the opportunity to experience them since they really are a sight to behold, at least in the sense of nude, middle-aged male booty. B made a video you can also enjoy, please go yukkuri douzo!

Update!

Well, it was meant to be an update but as it's already a few days old... well, close enough!

3/4 My guest and recent illness. Update on life in Japan.

This is meant as an update for all of you who read my blog/worry about me since I am sometimes quite incapable of communicating with the outside world. But through no fault of my own, at least lately because I have had a houseguest for an extended period of time and having people around really changes my schedule. I don’t mind though, A is nice company.

Regardless! Life has been moving along quickly here. It is already spring and I can hear the birds chirping while the trees begin to bloom and colors are visible once again both on people’s faces and in their wardrobes. It’s a nice change. I would say the weather has improved but this week after about 10 days of wonderful weather (including sunshine which reminded me I have to start using sunscreen again) it has turned cold again and one last wash of winter snow and chill is hitting. No worries though because I see a drastic improvement in the coming weeks. We are even having the first touches of plum blossoms, which are the precursors to cherry blossoms (sakura) in case you didn’t know (I didn’t!).

Pre-graduation excitement. Bye guys!!

The winter hit me hard but not in the ways I expected it would. I was always cold, yes, but I guess I thought it would be like being cold back home, wherein I would be really, unbearably cold for a time then come home or go to work and warm up, stay warm all day, then be cold when I go outside or the like. In this sense I felt like I was in a third world country. They told me Japan was cold and it is - but it isn’t that the temperature is very low (it got to about -13C at the coldest in the mornings) it’s that you are just simply never warm. Getting out of bed became the hardest part of the day for all the wrong reasons and getting a full night’s sleep became a dream in and of itself. There were certainly times when I didn’t see me feet outside of the bathtub for days at a time. I just couldn’t bear to have them outside of socks for even a moment for fear of not feeling them ever again. It sounds extreme but I dare you to come over here and sit in my apartment - you may not feel quite so self-assured. You can always ask A who made it over here just in time for the coldest part of the year and didn’t even get the relief of a semi-warm teacher’s room to return to for a little reprieve.

It says "Thank you for everything"

Outside of the cold weather though, there wasn’t much else. I was cold all the time so I was sad and unmotivated. I had a lot of time but I couldn’t do anything with it because I rarely had the will to leave the comfort of the heated table let alone do something like run or study. But don’t let me harp too much on it because my winter belly and vitamin D deficiency can quickly be remedied as the sun begins to shine outside.

Somber and sad graduation :-(

School is good. Graduation was today and there are only two weeks left in the semester for the rest of the students so I will soon find myself with more time than usual on my hands. Hopefully, I will take advantage of the extra time and get a good way into studying! I love my students but I find myself wishing I had ways of getting closer to them. They write M, my predecessor, letters sometimes via Ms. T and I find myself gazing at them in a mixture of envy and sadness. I just hope when I am gone I will continue to be remembered - at least by a few students. That being said, some of the 3^rd years really went out there to make sure I knew they were leaving. My favorite few said their farewells and one even professed his love so maybe I will get some letters yet! Lol. I find it more likely that I will be forgotten in the excitement of adjustment and growth but life is like that sometimes - and who better to teach me this than the Japanese, who are masters at letting things go. Appreciate it while it’s in your life and let it go when it’s time to move on. I might be getting the hang of it yet.

Mom and grandma are planning a visit in October-ish and I am very excited. I decided now I am likely not going to go abroad for golden week because I simply don’t want to spend the money and I am feeling a little burned out. Between all of the travelling I am planning still with A and the variety of events that are occurring in Kitsuki and Yamaga over the vacation (including the chance to wear a kimono in an Edo style parade!) I kind of feel like I might have a better experience sticking around. Besides, I am no stickler for my vacation time so I might use some of it up in the summer and make a trip when travel won’t be so expensive.

Otherwise, though, I have studying to do and snow to sweep off my car (there was a freak snow storm this morning) so I am off! Love!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Trip - Hiroshima

2/11-2/13

My first Valentine’s day trip and despite being slightly unprepared, it all ended in the positive. We decided to leave Friday morning for Hiroshima since Friday was a holiday and we didn’t want to pay to stay three nights in Hiroshima (hotels are expensive!). So Thursday night we made fudge with K and Friday morning we decided to go for a run before leaving for the city. A nice brisk 10K in the morning would normally be a great way to begin a holiday but since I am out of shape as all hell and A has just begun running, it proved more of a challenge than I had planned. Regardless, we were off to Hiroshima by noon and arrived in the city sometime around 3.

Hiroshima castle

We started our trip with a visit to Hiroshima castle, after enjoying some okonomiyaki (fried Japanese egg pancake), which despite the guidebook calling it a ‘big waste of time’ was quite informative and beautiful. A even got to dress up like a samurai including heavy, iron plated helmet and all! I was very impressed with the katana exhibit that was featured on the fourth floor and had no idea Japanese samurai swords were so thick. The movies always make them out to be super light and strong but in reality, while probably stronger than I previously thought, they are also thicker. Some of them actually were about as thick as my pinky finger! Regardless, we were able to see some beautiful and informative exhibits and enjoy some traditional culture.

Went to the hotel shortly after visiting the castle to relax and finally put our bags down. We explored a bit of the downtown shopping district looking for a clothing store A was determined to find and on the way found a Mexican restaurant. I was so happy and we of course had to eat there. The family who runs the business turns out to have lived in New Mexico a decade or so and although their English was touch and go, the food was great.

Downtown

The next morning we woke up to snow but decided to continue on to Miyajima regardless. Having nothing but our tennis shoes and down jackets we bought an umbrella on the way and caught the train then ferried out to the island. If you haven’t made it out to Miyajima yet, I highly recommend it. This was my second time but my first in the cold. Hell, it’s my first time in the cold ever - but that’s a story for another day. I was determined to climb the mountain though, since last time I only climbed down it and I remember it being beautiful. Well, I guess with my limited mountain experience combined with my lack of snow experience I can’t be blamed too much for the decision but we did in fact climb the mountain. There were times on the 2 hour climb when we had to trudge through literally waist deep snow to find the stairs carved into the side of cliffs and the like but we made it without killing ourselves or each other. And we saw some amazing views along the way. I would say we could have done the trip in half the time if we hadn’t been stopping every hundred feet for pictures. It is also worthy to note that we were pretty much the only people climbing the mountain that day. Besides the man who passed ahead of us, and the couple behind us (all very far from our actual location) ours were the only footsteps to taint the snow.

Snowy mountain tops

When we got to the top, however, it was all worth it. The view was spectacular! Hiroshima itself is a group of islands lumped into the mouth of a bay/river and you got a 360 view of the entire formation being as Mt. Misen is the highest mountain around and we were at the very top. If only the weather had been better!!

Clam festival!

We didn’t have much time to observe as our view was quickly obstructed by a rescue helicopter because an old woman had fallen and injured herself on the icy climb up to the viewing deck. Taking everyone else’s lead we were instructed to continue straight down to the lift for the ride down the mountain because the sun was moving down low and the snow had melted into ice all along the path turning our winter wonderland into an icy fortress. Sliding more so than walking, we trekked down the path made into an ice rink by all the people who had used it earlier, until we made it to the lift.  The time was 5:02PM. We had heard a series of announcements as our group of 5 made our way down the cliff face but between the echo and the helicopter we couldn’t understand the message. The old man who met us at the entrance re-itterated what he had been saying - that the last lift would run at 5. Lucky for me and A, the three Japanese people who had followed behind us convinced the sour old man to take us down the mountain - the winds had picked up severely and we were terribly afraid of the slippery path and the darkening sky. He obliged and we made it down the mountain and back to town safe, albeit weary, to catch the setting sun on the island. We boarded the ferry as darkness set in and with a few shaky photos from the boat, said our farewells to Miyajima. A truly magical, or more possibly lucky, experience - at least in the sense that we didn’t meet any number of possible terrible accidents.

Busy despite the snow

Isn't it beautiful?!

Itsukushima shrine

Snow everywhere!

Sunset

Buddhist shrine

The bay

Some stairs we had to walk up

Mountaintop view

After eating some dinner we picked up on the way home we passed the night without incident and woke the next morning to clear skies and beautiful weather. We subsequently wasted all of it in the various atomic bomb museums and historical sites in the city then returned home. A nice weekend overall, if a little taxing and I certainly learned a lot - like don’t climb mountains without boots and certainly not in the snow! But, don’t take it from me, I still say you should try everything once and have no regrets! Well, hopefully I will pump out a few more entries soon and LOVE!