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If Canadians re-elect Stephen Harper and his Conservatives I will lose all faith in my fellow countrymen. Last I heard they were heading for a majority. God help us all.
Read this and stay informed.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Journey Home
I have some free time at Narita airport while I wait for my plane so I figured I would update my blog.
As I'm sure all of you have heard I decided to fly home because of the current situation here. As surprising as it may seem, it wasn't an easy decision to make. I have been keeping a close eye on the news for any information concerning the Fukushima power plant and have been reading a lot of conflicting reports. I have also read quite a few articles by nuclear experts on why there really is no cause for concern. As much as I told myself that I should listen to the experts and that there really is nothing to fear I kept hearing a little voice saying, "yeah, but what if?" The plant was built with the "worst case scenario" in mind and, ultimately, it was worse than they could imagine. So I find myself questioning the current worst case scenario they are attempting to comfort me with. In the end, I decided that I should err on the side of caution and come home.
I asked my supervisor if it would be possible to head home for a few weeks while we wait for all of this to blow over. I was thrilled and touched by how quickly my school moved to make sure that I could be on a plane as soon as possible. If it weren't for my supervisor I would not have been able to secure a seat on a flight until Sunday and I have no idea how I would have gotten to the airport. She arranged for a cab to pick me up at my apartment at 7:20am to take me to the bus stop downtown where I could board a bus that would take me directly to the airport.
Leaving Japan has proven to be more difficult than I would have though. While I secure my own safety I leave behind many friends and coworkers who will remain in my thoughts in the days ahead. I feel a sense of guilt as I leave all of these wonderful people to fend for themselves. I know there is nothing I could do if the unthinkable were to happen, I just wish that there was somewhere they could go too. Please keep them in your prayers.
As I'm sure all of you have heard I decided to fly home because of the current situation here. As surprising as it may seem, it wasn't an easy decision to make. I have been keeping a close eye on the news for any information concerning the Fukushima power plant and have been reading a lot of conflicting reports. I have also read quite a few articles by nuclear experts on why there really is no cause for concern. As much as I told myself that I should listen to the experts and that there really is nothing to fear I kept hearing a little voice saying, "yeah, but what if?" The plant was built with the "worst case scenario" in mind and, ultimately, it was worse than they could imagine. So I find myself questioning the current worst case scenario they are attempting to comfort me with. In the end, I decided that I should err on the side of caution and come home.
I asked my supervisor if it would be possible to head home for a few weeks while we wait for all of this to blow over. I was thrilled and touched by how quickly my school moved to make sure that I could be on a plane as soon as possible. If it weren't for my supervisor I would not have been able to secure a seat on a flight until Sunday and I have no idea how I would have gotten to the airport. She arranged for a cab to pick me up at my apartment at 7:20am to take me to the bus stop downtown where I could board a bus that would take me directly to the airport.
Leaving Japan has proven to be more difficult than I would have though. While I secure my own safety I leave behind many friends and coworkers who will remain in my thoughts in the days ahead. I feel a sense of guilt as I leave all of these wonderful people to fend for themselves. I know there is nothing I could do if the unthinkable were to happen, I just wish that there was somewhere they could go too. Please keep them in your prayers.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Day 3 After the Earthquake
I am writing this blog entry in the hopes of keeping you all informed while I try to distract myself.
There were no classes today because my school had scheduled meetings to talk about the entrance exams for incoming students. So while I didn’t have to teach, I did have to come in. Around 9am we were hit with another large aftershock which measured M6.2 and I was instructed not to leave the staff room in case there were other, bigger, aftershocks to come.
We have a TV set up in the staff room that is following all the latest news. I can’t understand what is being said but I can see all the scary pictures and ask about what is happening if I feel like freaking myself out. The Number One power plant in Fukuoka seems to have had a second explosion and is informing people that there is nothing to worry about. I just hope that my impending super power is cool and not lame like Aquaman’s.
The prefecture is currently deciding whether or not to have students attend school tomorrow as all JR trains have been cancelled and we are bracing for another quake of M7.0, or higher, to strike in the next few days.
The grocery stores here are all sold out of ready-to-eat foods like bread, bentos and ramen and even though everyone has frayed nerves and is worried about loved ones there has been no looting or mass hysteria in the streets. That goes for the worst hit areas as well. Everyone is pitching in and helping those around them. I can only hope that Canada would react in such a calm and courteous manner if we were faced with a similar disaster. The world could learn a lot by watching how Japan pulls together during its hour of need.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Nuclear Concerns
From what I can tell there is no cause for concern regarding my safety and the possibility of a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. The current evacuation order is for those lying in a 20 kilometer radius and officials said that if there was a full-scale meltdown it shouldn't extend past that perimeter. Maebashi is 162km away.
Tohoku Earthquake
No doubt everyone has heard about the earthquake that hit Japan yesterday. When it first hit none of us had any idea how devastating it would end up being. Luckily my area escaped without any obvious damage although we did experience quite the jolt.
I was not in school at the time because all of the senior high school JETs were at a meeting with the prefectural government. We had just started our "10 minute break" when it started. In the beginning we all thought it was rather exciting and no one was overly worried. Gunma is known as one of the safest prefectures in Japan because it is located inland, is surrounded by mountains and rarely experiences earthquakes. Our excitement began to turn into concern as the quake grew in strength and lasted somewhere between 2.5 and 3 minutes. It felt like an eternity as the occasional bassy groan could be heard. There were 25 foreigners and 1 Japanese man in the meeting room and I tip my hat to him for managing to stay calm as all of our eyes turned his way for guidance and to gauge how concerned we should be. We resumed our meeting as we were rocked by near-continuous aftershocks for the rest of the afternoon. It was a rather surreal experience.
At the end of the meeting we were told that all train service had been suspended until further notice and that we might be stranded in downtown Maebashi until the following day. A group of friends and I decided to go and grab dinner at the nearby mall while we figured out what was happening and what our game plan should be. After walking for 25 minutes we found that the mall had closed as a precautionary measure so we continued on to one of my favourite Indian restaurants. When we were shown to our table the waitress told us to duck under the table if/when we had another aftershock.
It was while we were waiting for our food that we realised just how devastating and wide-spread the effects of the earthquake were. Many of us worried as we tried to contact friends in the worst hit areas and our distress was compounded by the fact that our cells were proving useless as the system was overloaded with people trying to get in touch with loved ones.
I ended up spending the evening with 3 other stranded JETs at Sean and Alice's and we set up our own little refugee camp in their living room. None of us got much sleep as we were rocked with aftershocks throughout the night. Two of them registered over 7.0 on the Richter scale. It felt as though I was woken up every 5 minutes as aftershock after aftershock shook us. The hours of shaking actually started to turn my stomach and made it even harder to get any sleep.
I managed to make it home around 8:30am and was relieved to find that the only thing that was broken was a picture frame.
I was not in school at the time because all of the senior high school JETs were at a meeting with the prefectural government. We had just started our "10 minute break" when it started. In the beginning we all thought it was rather exciting and no one was overly worried. Gunma is known as one of the safest prefectures in Japan because it is located inland, is surrounded by mountains and rarely experiences earthquakes. Our excitement began to turn into concern as the quake grew in strength and lasted somewhere between 2.5 and 3 minutes. It felt like an eternity as the occasional bassy groan could be heard. There were 25 foreigners and 1 Japanese man in the meeting room and I tip my hat to him for managing to stay calm as all of our eyes turned his way for guidance and to gauge how concerned we should be. We resumed our meeting as we were rocked by near-continuous aftershocks for the rest of the afternoon. It was a rather surreal experience.
At the end of the meeting we were told that all train service had been suspended until further notice and that we might be stranded in downtown Maebashi until the following day. A group of friends and I decided to go and grab dinner at the nearby mall while we figured out what was happening and what our game plan should be. After walking for 25 minutes we found that the mall had closed as a precautionary measure so we continued on to one of my favourite Indian restaurants. When we were shown to our table the waitress told us to duck under the table if/when we had another aftershock.
 |
| News anchors weren't taking any chances but if you weren't at the big desk you were SOL |
It was while we were waiting for our food that we realised just how devastating and wide-spread the effects of the earthquake were. Many of us worried as we tried to contact friends in the worst hit areas and our distress was compounded by the fact that our cells were proving useless as the system was overloaded with people trying to get in touch with loved ones.
 |
| Lee, Jen, Sean, Alice and Grant |
I ended up spending the evening with 3 other stranded JETs at Sean and Alice's and we set up our own little refugee camp in their living room. None of us got much sleep as we were rocked with aftershocks throughout the night. Two of them registered over 7.0 on the Richter scale. It felt as though I was woken up every 5 minutes as aftershock after aftershock shook us. The hours of shaking actually started to turn my stomach and made it even harder to get any sleep.
I managed to make it home around 8:30am and was relieved to find that the only thing that was broken was a picture frame.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Monkeys & Lanterns
Yesterday a couple of friends and I drove to Nagano to visit the onsen that is famous for being frequented by snow monkeys. It was one of the things that I have been wanting to do since I first came to Japan and seeing as how the weather could start to warm up at any time I needed to get myself over there before it was too late.
I headed out the door at 7:30am to meet up with people at Sean and Alice's apartment and picked up breakfast at a convenience store along the way. Thank god for canned coffee. It's not great but it will get you going on a cold morning.
We piled into Graham's car and readied ourselves for the 3 hour drive. About halfway into the drive we found ourselves stuck behind a couple of snowplows that were clearing about a cm of snow from the shoulder of the highway >.< Luckily, after half an hour of excruciating slowness, the plows peeled away when we crossed the border between Gunma and Nagano.
Once we parked we had to walk up the side of the mountain for 30 minutes. It was absolutely gorgeous and really serene because we were the only people walking (all the other tourists opted to take the bus). The only down side to walking was that my pants got caked with mud around the bottom. :(
Once we got up to the onsen monkeys started popping up all over the place. It was amazing to be surrounded by monkeys and I got some really great shots. There must have been over 100 monkeys there! It is definitely one of the highlights of my time here.
On our way back down the mountain we were passed by a few mini buses taking people down. The road was supposed to be closed to traffic for the winter but I guess the tour buses were exempted. Well, one of them lost control as he was coming down a particularly snowy and twisty section of road and crashed into a guard rail about 10 feet behind us. We decided it was safest to hid behind a tree until it became apparent that he was good and stuck and had to wait for rescue. We didn't want him to free himself only to lose control again and crash into us! The rest of the walk was incident free although we did keep looking over our shoulders!
After our adventures we headed into Nagano City to check out the Lantern Festival at the major temple. The streets leading up to the temple itself had lanterns that had been decorated by local children (and I suspect a few local artisans). It made for a really nice stroll but it was difficult to get any good shots of because there were so many people and I didn't have a tripod for night shots.
It was a great day and it will be one of my fondest memories of Japan thanks to the awesome people I got to spend the day with.
I headed out the door at 7:30am to meet up with people at Sean and Alice's apartment and picked up breakfast at a convenience store along the way. Thank god for canned coffee. It's not great but it will get you going on a cold morning.
 |
| What are you plowing?! |
Once we parked we had to walk up the side of the mountain for 30 minutes. It was absolutely gorgeous and really serene because we were the only people walking (all the other tourists opted to take the bus). The only down side to walking was that my pants got caked with mud around the bottom. :(
Once we got up to the onsen monkeys started popping up all over the place. It was amazing to be surrounded by monkeys and I got some really great shots. There must have been over 100 monkeys there! It is definitely one of the highlights of my time here.
On our way back down the mountain we were passed by a few mini buses taking people down. The road was supposed to be closed to traffic for the winter but I guess the tour buses were exempted. Well, one of them lost control as he was coming down a particularly snowy and twisty section of road and crashed into a guard rail about 10 feet behind us. We decided it was safest to hid behind a tree until it became apparent that he was good and stuck and had to wait for rescue. We didn't want him to free himself only to lose control again and crash into us! The rest of the walk was incident free although we did keep looking over our shoulders!
After our adventures we headed into Nagano City to check out the Lantern Festival at the major temple. The streets leading up to the temple itself had lanterns that had been decorated by local children (and I suspect a few local artisans). It made for a really nice stroll but it was difficult to get any good shots of because there were so many people and I didn't have a tripod for night shots.
It was a great day and it will be one of my fondest memories of Japan thanks to the awesome people I got to spend the day with.
Monday, January 31, 2011
I've Got a Case of the Mondays
This morning I woke up an hour before my alarm and couldn't go back to sleep because it was way to cold in my apartment. I braved sticking an arm out of my pile of blankets to grab my alarm clock so I could get a look at the temperature and I died a little inside when I read that it was 2.6 degrees.
After wallowing in self-pity for a few minutes I dragged myself out of bed with the promise of a nice hot shower to perk me up and make me human again. I rip off my clothes and jump into the shower room and hop from one foot to the other to avoid standing in icy puddles longer than I have to and crank open the hot water tap. Nothing. I turn it off and then back on again hoping that this will somehow fix my problem. No such luck.
I scamper out of the shower and run around my apartment trying every hot tap I have. At this point I am faced with the undeniable fact that my hot water pipe is frozen. The cold water works just fine of course which just makes me feel like the universe is rubbing salt in my wounds.
This is not how I wanted to start my week.
After wallowing in self-pity for a few minutes I dragged myself out of bed with the promise of a nice hot shower to perk me up and make me human again. I rip off my clothes and jump into the shower room and hop from one foot to the other to avoid standing in icy puddles longer than I have to and crank open the hot water tap. Nothing. I turn it off and then back on again hoping that this will somehow fix my problem. No such luck.
I scamper out of the shower and run around my apartment trying every hot tap I have. At this point I am faced with the undeniable fact that my hot water pipe is frozen. The cold water works just fine of course which just makes me feel like the universe is rubbing salt in my wounds.
This is not how I wanted to start my week.
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