Three-Eleven

Everyone's posting their "Remember 3-11" stories.  I don't really have much of one, as i was just watching it from afar, but you can read my thoughts at the time.  I don't really know what else i can say.  There are still so many towns in ruins and displaced people living in shelters, but things are progressing little by little.

I found the Japan Quake Map, which has recorded earthquakes that have happened since March 11th.  If you go to that link it will start showing a visual of the earthquakes as they happened.  It gives me chills.  You can tell without a doubt which one The Big One is.

I'm not sure how i would've reacted if i were here then.  Natural disasters have never seemed to faze me much, and having never dealt with earthquakes before i came to Japan i've never really had a reason to fear them.  Even now, though i feel them multiple times a week and have felt some pretty decent-sized ones, i usually just get an adrenaline rush and watch the things around me shake, and then usually check the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake information to see where it occurred and what magnitude it was.  Even when they happen in the mornings while i'm sleeping, if i wake up i just kind of lie there while being rocked back and forth before rolling over to go back to sleep.  Still, trying to imagine one of that magnitude is, to me just... unimaginable, and my thoughts are with those still deeply affected by the loss that the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear scare that happened just last year.

Those in Need

A fellow blogger who i've been following for a while has posted this video that i thought i'd share.

It breaks my heart that i can't take one.  Or all of them.

Hop on over to her site.  She's been up around Fukushima Prefecture since after the Big Earthquake in March, rescuing lost, stranded, and abandoned animals within the evacuation zone.  I think it's amazing that there are people like that doing this sort of thing.  You can make a donation to the cause on her site as well.

Lazy Weekend

On Friday i woke up pretty late, almost noon.  The latest i've woken up in a while.. nowadays i'm up at 10am or earlier, even on my days off.  Not a very exciting day.  I did a lot of cleaning before biking it to physical therapy.  My boss introduced me to one of his doctor friends who does acupuncture and physical therapy.  I've had neck pain for probably about a decade, and so my boss brought me to the clinic and i've been going at least once a week since (the first week i went a few times).  I was really afraid about the acupuncture thing at first, since i can't stand needles, but i seriously couldn't feel anything the first time he put the needles in.  He said, "Okay, it's in."  And i had to ask, "Really??"  The acupuncture he does for me for free, since he's friends with my boss.  Each time i go in i get a little... electric treatment?  I'm not sure what it's called.. 電気 (denki, electricity) in Japanese but i'm not sure what you'd call it in English, although i did have it done once in high school when i went for physical therapy.  The lady there had it turned up too high and my muscles twitched and constricted and it was not a pleasant feeling.  The sessions now are just fine though, and he finishes up with the acupuncture, heat therapy, and a little bit of massage/acupressure.  It has been helping considerably, which is amazing because i've been dealing with this neck pain nonsense for too long.  And it's really cheap too, since it's covered by the 国民健康保険 (Kokumin Kenkou Hoken), National Health Insurance.  Each session is only about $4 USD.

Yesterday was rather uneventful as well.  Woke up late again, around 10:30am.. did some studying and sweeping and laundry.  Doing laundry when it's raining sucks because i can't hang my stuff outside to dry.  Actually doing laundry in the winter just sucks in general because it takes forever for anything to dry.  At least it was mostly sunny today, so i put the clothes out in the morning to finish drying.  Nothing else exciting yesterday.  I stayed inside the whole day in my PJs, it was nice.

Was shaken awake this morning around 10:30am by a rather long earthquake.  I usually send S a message when i feel earthquakes to see if it originated up north.  Usually they are, although there was one that happened a couple months ago, when i was still living in the guesthouse, that actually happened in my prefecture.  I might've written about it before.  It was actually kind of funny because it was around dinnertime and i was in the kitchen with all the guys.  We were inspecting one of the cucumbers one of our students had given us, as it was rather oddly shaped- really bulbous on one end then it got skinny towards the middle so that if you picked it up it drooped over into the shape of a candy cane.  So i picked it up and was like, "What's wrong with this one?  No one's going to eat it!"  And then suddenly we were all jostled about as a magnitude 5.something hit us.  The strongest one i've felt since i've been here.  We were all joking afterwards about how we had upset the cucumber god.

Anyway, off topic.  So a shaky start to my morning, but i guess it was good because i probably would've slept until almost noon again if i hadn't been woken up.  Took my time getting ready.  Did a little kanji study before i decided to take a trip out to the local Ito Yokado to look for a little toaster oven.  I've been doing without one for a while, but with Thanksgiving coming up and S and Gaki-chan and maybe a couple others coming over to celebrate, i figured it might be a good time to invest in one.  Sadly, Yokado didn't have any good ones (good ones meaning within my price range!), so i think i'll head up to the second-hand store on Wednesday (a day off, yay holidays!) and see if they have any good ones.

Right before i was about to leave for the store, a huge rain cloud blew over the area and just opened up with a crazy downpour!

It passed in all but 5 minutes, then i was on my way.  The sunset was just gorgeous.

Stopped by Mister Donut on my way back.

A "Chocolate Ring" and a "Caramel White"

I love the little Peanuts bag they put it in.  Happiness is... two donuts all to yourself!  ^-^

On a random unrelated note, was really happy that i  fixed the second burner on my stove the other day!  For a while i could only get one to work, and i was wondering how S and i would manage cooking for Thanksgiving with just one burner.  A couple weeks ago i realized that there was foil covering the second knob for the gas.  I always thought the one knob turned on the gas for the whole thing.  Anyway, after i turned on the second valve, i got the second burner to light but as soon as i let go of the button the flame died.  Then on Friday, when i was cleaning the stove, i realized on a little round part on the burner there was an arrow with the word テマエ (temae), which i guess in this case would mean 'forward' or 'front'.  I noticed that the arrow on the first burner was pointing toward the front of the stove so i adjusted the part on the second burner to be the same.  Pushed the button and voila!  Success!  I now have two working burners and i feel proud for finally fixing the problem myself.  :D

日本のために祈りを。

Nihon no tameni inori o.

We pray for Japan.

I would've rather not have the first post of this blog be a solemn one, but it just wouldn't seem right to not say my part about the situation..

I guess it all really started last Thursday (US time).. i was excited about getting an email from Amity, inviting me to the group interview next Saturday.  Then i sat down to start studying for my Japanese final the next day, but ended up falling asleep.

I awoke a couple hours later only to find news of the earthquake and footage of the tsunami swallowing the northeastern coast of Japan.  I panicked.  I had no idea of the extent or range of damage or where exactly the tsunami had hit.. I knew the earthquake had rocked Tokyo though, as a few of my friends had posted on Facebook about it, and even friends in Kansai had posted about feeling it.  If people that far south had been able to feel it, it had to have been huge.

And it worried me sick.  I spent the next few hours glued to my computer screen, checking every news site that was streaming live video, and frantically trying to get in contact with all of my friends in Tokyo who hadn't posted anything on Facebook yet..

All of my wonderful, amazing friends.  I felt so helpless as i sat in my quiet little room, watching all the destruction as it unfolded thousands of miles away.  I wanted so bad to be there with them all, make sure the were okay.. it seemed unfair to me that they had to go through that turmoil while i got to sit in the quiet comfort of home.  Needless to say i didn't get any studying done that night.  I chatted with a few classmates after the test on Friday who also had been too worried or distraught to study, so i felt better that i wasn't the only one who knew they did poorly..

My trip to Japan is only about a month away.  People keep saying, "Oh I hope things are better by the time you get there!" 

All i can tell them is, "Well, if i could i would go right now."

I really would.  In the short couple times i've spent in Japan, it feels like a second home to me.  Despite language and cultural barriers, i feel completely comfortable there.  I have wonderful memories of that place, and even more wonderful friends there that i can't imagine living without.

I know that when i'm there i'll long for home- the US.. I am American after all, nothing can change that. I wouldn't want to change that either, it's who i am.  But while i'm here i'm always longing for my 'other home'.  My heart belongs in two places, and it's torn apart even more now as i sit here so far away, glued to the news from the time i wake up to the time i go to sleep, hoping that nothing else catastrophic happens to my second home, hoping that all of my friends remain safe..

A lot of these Twitter posts have been going around, but I'm still going to share them here.  A friend posted a bunch on Facebook, and they nearly moved me to tears..