Golden Week

This week is supposed to be Golden Week. So far it has been anything but golden for me.

It all started with Harper being given his elusive majority government. I won't go into political rantings here but suffice it to say that I was less than thrilled.

Then late last night I discovered that my plans to go to Tokyo today had fallen through and I would not be going anywhere fun and exciting. I had managed to come to terms with this and decided that I might as well get out of the apartment and go for a bike ride since it was such a nice day outside. I biked along the river and into downtown Maebashi to check out a store I had been meaning to explore. I found a really nice pair of earrings to take home with me and as I was biking home I was thinking about how the day turned out to be rather nice after all.

Then I got hit by a car.

I'm ok but I was rather shaken up by the experience. My bike is a little worse for wear but still functional and a brand new shirt I was wearing for the first time today got torn. While I was failing to hold back tears as I biked back home along the river a gust of wind blew my newly purchased earrings out of my basket, down the path and into the river never to be seen again. As I futilely searched for my bag all I managed to find was this dead lizard. FML.

Returning to Japan

When I first arrived back at school after my trip back home I was reminded just how appreciated I am here. As I walked into the staff room and greeted people with the usual ohaiyo gozaimasu (good morning) I was met with gaping mouths and gasps of “Whaaa?!”. Apparently no one actually thought I would come back even though I assured them repeatedly that I would be back before the new school year started. People who never spoke to me before came up to me to welcome me back and everyone was very grateful that I had chosen to finish my contract.

On Saturday I joined up with some of the local JETs to enjoy a picnic under the cherry blossoms in Takasaki. I have to admit that I was hesitant to go because the government has asked that people refrain from having hanami parties during this difficult time. They feel that it is a time for self-restraint, not getting drunk under the blossoms.

Now this is a very tricky situation to be in because of the cultural importance that is placed on hanami in the first place. You see, in Japan the cherry blossom is a sign of the fleetingness of life and it reminds people to enjoy the moment and treasure the time that you have. One would think that this fits in perfectly with the current situation here but hanami tends to degenerate into drunken stupors. In the end I decided to go. I’m happy I went, even though it rained a little, as I had a nice relaxing afternoon under the cherry trees.

It feels odd to be back in Japan after my visit back home but at the same time it just feels right. I couldn’t possibly abandon my students without saying goodbye. Every time I pass one of them in the hall or outside of school their eager smiles remind me why I am here.

Political Side Note

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.