The Last One

The long-awaited final installment of my blog has finally arrived! Although the majority of you reading this have already endured the endless stories, pictures, videos that have documented my final days in Japan, so this may all be incredibly redundant. I apologize in advance.

I started this blog to not only keep friends and family back home up to date on my adventures abroad, but I also did this for me. Originally I tried finding a voice for the entire blog and maintaining it throughout (look at me getting all writer-y...yay for my USF education!), but I found that would have been far too disciplined for my liking and then it wouldn't have been fun anymore. Luckily none of my USF professors have read this, otherwise I'd be scorned from the English department for all eternity. For shame!

Honestly, it's taken far longer to wrap this blog up than it should have. I would try to spend some time coming up with some viable excuse, but the truth is, I just couldn't summon the inspiration. I wish I had done a better job of committing my last few weeks in Japan to paper..er, screen? Whatever. But now what I believe to be some of my life's fondest memories will be forever locked away in my mental faculties...well, aside from the plethora of photographs and video snippets. So in the interest of time, I'll throw up a few photos from my last days as Takko's CIR and add the link to the video I made for Julia and Nana's trip to Japan.

The beginning of many tears this evening

Everyone. (almost)

Cutie Daichi

Pretty standard gaijin shot.

Mah gurls!

Empty. Sad. Yakuba.

These two...

4th of July. Good friends.

Yes, indeed. See you!

To be honest, these pictures don't even begin to capture the essence of those last few days. But sometimes it's best to keep some memories within the confines of your mind. And there you have it! My last few weeks in Japan all wrapped up in a nice little bow.

The reason why it's taken me so long to update is because it was truly difficult to summon the words to accurately wrap up this experience...and it still is. Three months later, I regularly talk about Japan, Takko-Machi and all my wonderful friends who are still there. No joke, I think my new friends here are getting tired of me starting every other sentence with, "In Japan..." I know I have Patrick to console with in reliving the memories, but the other day he looked at me and said, "You really miss it, don't you?" Yes, I do. Very much.

So for my last post, I'd like to post my sayonara speech that I gave at my farewell party in Takko-Machi. Much like this post, it was very difficult to find the right words and I received help from a few special people. My gratitude goes out to them in helping me properly relay my feelings to the people of Takko. I've posted the speech in English, but I delivered the speech entirely in Japanese.

Mina sama oban desu.

I want to thank you all for coming tonight. It means so much to me to see so many dear friends come out and join in the celebration of my sayonara and Jeff’s welcome.

When I visited Takko-Machi almost two years ago as the Gilroy Garlic Queen, I immediately fell in love. So many of you made me feel right at home, even though we had just met.

I feel extremely blessed to have had this opportunity to be Takko-Machi’s CIR and I know that I will never have another job as wonderful and rewarding as this one has been.

I am grateful for the many friends I’ve made throughout my year here. You welcomed me into your homes and made me feel like family.  I will always consider you more than just a host family. Though we may look a little different; you are my mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. Please think of me as your family for I will always be there if you call on me.

Over the past year we have shared many memories, most in good times, but also in the difficult times. The earthquake and tsunami on March 11^th was a terrifying and devastating time for the people of Japan. But everyone here in Takko and across Japan came together and overcame. This amazing unity made me feel safe.

I, along with my entire family are grateful for everyone that went above and beyond in making me feel comfortable and safe during that scary time. Had I been anywhere else, I would have been on the next plane back to America. But because of you, I never felt that need.

The earthquake and tsunami was a tragedy that the Japanese people have bared with incredible perseverance. I admire you and find inspiration in you. As the world watched this country, taking note of the severity of the tragedies, I hope that they also took note and will remember the overwhelming sense of community and resilience that has revived the country more quickly than anyone could have expected.

Everyone back in America inquired relentlessly as to why I intended on staying in this country that seemed to be perpetually shaking, but it’s not an easy task to describe what it’s like to live here, to develop relationships with people here, to feel like this is your home. Living in another country is certainly a special experience, but living in Japan, living in Takko-Machi is something entirely different; its specialness goes above and beyond what can be described at best.

A year is not very long at all. In a year, I’ve met countless people, visited countless places, and have made countless memories, but it has not been enough time. Not even a year or two more would be enough.

So, just as I had promised myself almost two years ago after my initial trip to Japan, I will be back again. We will never say good-bye…only see you again.

Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you for reading. Though this blog is intended for my own personal records down the road, I probably wouldn't have put as much effort into it had it not been for you, and I most likely would have procrastinated a considerable amount had it not been for my mother always reminding me to update, update, update! Love you, Mom!

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

またあいましお日本！

Golden Week and Tsugaru Adventures

Aah, Golden Week. This famous week that I've been hearing and thinking about since I arrived last summer. Golden Week is made up of four national holidays (Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day) that have been lumped together and deemed as a national spring break; most people travel around the country, and most of those who travel do ohanami, or flower viewing. You may be thinking, "Flower viewing? Really"? And I would answer, "Yes. Totally".

Budding trees!

Before I get into this, I should let you know that Japan, Aomori in particular, has an unnaturally long winter (in my opinion). I guess this is an instinctive reaction from a girl who was born and raised in the sunny and weather-neutral state of California, but I think anyone who isn't a polar bear would agree with me. Anyway, place of residence here in Japan had been covered in snow and ice for so long, I nearly forgot what it was like to have greenery surround me. When the trees and plants around me finally started to bud, I got so excited I took a picture of it.

So my belief, and for those of you reading who have lived through several seasons of a real winter can either agree or disagree with me, is that the Japanese people get hyped up with flower viewing because they've bared this crazy winter. I get it now. But they take this excitement to a whole new level when it comes to sakura, the cherry blossom. Sakura is considered the most beautiful flower in all of Japan, and I'm not exactly sure when this all started, but there has been a developing obsession over this little flower for centuries.

Here's the catch: sakura are only in bloom for a week or so, and then the petals are blown away. It just so happens that its shockingly short life span occurs right around Golden Week, which is convenient for all those obsessed with it (aka: everyone). Poor flower. So much pressure to impress and so little time.

My first sakura sighting

Well, impress it does! Now, keep in mind that I just experienced the longest and coldest winter of my life, but when I caught my first glimpse of sakura while walking down the streets of Sannohe, I cried out with glee and might have even jumped up and down for joy. I can't remember. I was too excited to see an actual flower.

Sannohe Castle

Sakura

The three ohimesama of Nanbu

So after a preview of what a sakura matsuri (festival) is like while in Sannohe, I headed out to Hirosaki, the most famous sakura viewing spot in the country, with a few nihonjin friends and Joel. The plan was to drive to Aomori city and then take a train to Hirosaki to avoid all the traffic. Well, we missed our train by two minutes and ended up driving the entire way, but it was totally worth the stop because we had some awesome parfait at this little cafe in the city. Mine was very patriotic...American flag and all :)

We had two concerns as we drove over to the other side of the ken, and those were: a) that the blossoms wouldn't be in full bloom (it was still pretty early); b) the crowds would be overwhelming. Well, thanks to some wet weather, the crowds were significantly less as we made our way into Hirosaki and walked around the castle area. The overall scene was breathtakingly beautiful in spite of the rain. I don't think my photos were able to completely capture the beauty of what was before me. Nothing would be able to do it justice.

The light pitter patter of the rain drowned out the little white noise that the small crowds were creating throughout the park and it was almost like having it all to ourselves. We walked for a long while without talking, just taking our pictures and really enjoying it. Of course, my remind repeatedly went to the same thought: I wish Patrick was here with me (it's been over three months...can't blame me). It was hard not to wish to share this with someone else. But I had some wonderful friends to share it with :)

Hirosaki Castle

Without the rain, seeing the sakura
reflect itself in the water is beautiful

As we made our way down a path deemed the sakura no tonnelu (cherry blossom tunnel), we heard the soothing voice of Frank Sinatra drifting towards us. As we got closer, we discovered that the music was coming from a makeshift tea house that sat right on the water. Since the rain was coming down harder as the afternoon wore on, we decided to duck in and watch the dusk take over the sky while sipping on a variety of teas and listening to Sinatra and friends.

Light shining on sakura as dusk fell

Enjoying our tea

By the time we were finished up with our tea, it was time for yozakura, or night viewing. Paper lanterns (like the one pictured above) are hung around the park for yozakura along with spotlights that have been particularly placed throughout to highlight the flowers. Just when I thought the scene couldn't get any more spectacular, Japan bested me! Well done, Japan.

The castle at night

Soon it was time for my nihonjin buddies to head back to Takko, while I met up with Ululani for our second leg of the trip...adventures in Tsugaru! And what adventures they were indeed.

About three weeks ago, I had completed writing this blog and was ready to post it. However, blogger.com had different plans for me and deleted half of it. Wonderful. In the interest of time and my sanity, I'm going to consolidate the rest of this post into bullet points along with some pictures.


The following pretty much sums up the crazy four days we spent in Tsugaru.

*BBQ in Hirosaki and ate real Tillamook cheese...it is truly the little things.


*Got mooned by a tattooed Japanese man as he proclaimed, "I AM JAPAN"!


*Drove for 45 minutes in the wrong direction on our way to Morita...at 10pm. Not my fault ;)


*Spent some time with the oldest apple tree in Japan.


*Made up for missing the Neputa Festival last fall by visiting the museum. Highly recommended.


*Had coffee at the ONLY Starbuck's in Aomori prefecture. The ONLY one. (And bought the exclusive Tsugaru/Aomori mug. Jealous, much?)


*Made friends with Wasao, the most famous dog in Japan...although we didn't so much make friends with him as much as he just ignored us. He was kind of grumpy.


*Drove up the coast to observe the geographical changes to the Sea of Japan due to the earthquake (Japan moved eight feet).


*Discovered the magical land of magic (aka: seemingly undiscovered orchard of sakura).


*Shrine par cor.


*Participated in some awe-inspiring karaoke.


*Ate more maguro than is humanly possible. Ass-a-moo-shi knows how to serve up some tuna!

*Visited the Jomon excavation site...really put into perspective how old this place is. For. Reals.


*Fell asleep driving around Aomori. I iz tired.


*Revisited Hirosaki Castle to view the sakura at desk and for yozakura (this time, sans rain...yay!).

*Grabbed a delish dinner at the convenny. Suuccceeessss.


*Watched an unhealthy amount of Murder, She Wrote, and thus was introduced to Michael's idolization of Angela Lansbury.

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And here is where the real fun begins. This puts us at Wednesday. Our plan was to rise, grab an early lunch at the samurai noodle shop in town, and then bust on over to the Nanbu side. We woke up to internal alarm clocks and began to pack the car when...*GASP* Ulu could not find her car key! We searched high and low for it, but it soon became obvious that the key was nowhere to be found at the house. Thus began our adventure across the great lands of Tsugaru (written, once again, in bullet points for your convenience).

*Ulu can't find her keys.
*We head to the convenny (visited the night prior) to look for the keys (they weren't there).
*Ulu and Michael call every place listed in the above bullet points (no luck).
*Ulu decides it can only be in one place: Hirosaki.
*Begin our trek back to the Castle (Jessica's third visit this week).
*Thunder and lightening storm commences.
*Arrive in Hirosaki.
*Find the ice cream cart from our visit the day before and inquire about the key.
*Ice Cream Cart Lady has found the key! But gave it to a volunteer just 30 minutes before we got there.
*We head to the honbun (park headquarters) for lost and found (15 minute walk).
*We get lost on our way to the honbun.
*...we find the honbun!
*Lost and found at the honbun claims they do not have a lost key. After five minutes of us insisting it had to be there, we turn away...rejected.
*We return to Ice Cream Cart Lady to report our sad tale.
*She calls the honbun herself and gives her account of the Lost Key.
*It is discovered that the volunteer had returned the key to a DIFFERENT honbun (makes sense, right?).
*We are instructed to return to the original honbun and the volunteer will meet us there (another 15 minute walk).
*Ulu and the Lost Key are reunited! Oh joyous day! (Ice Cream Cart Lady is rewarded by us buying three ice creams)

But wait, it gets better!


*We return to Michael's abode where Ulu's car is located.
*Pack Ulu's car with our luggage.
*Michael starts his car.
*Ulu attempts to start her car and...nothing.
*Michael and Ulu hook the cables up to their cars to jump start it (but not without looking up the online instructions).
*Ulu's car has successfully been jump started!

But wait...it gets even better!

*We make a pit stop at the samurai noodle shop for lunch before beginning our journey back to Nanbu Land.
*After lunch, Ulu and Jessica say their good byes to Michael.
*Ulu attempts to start her car and...the prior issue rears its ugly head once again.
*Another go at the jump start.
*Car starts...but dies during test run in the parking lot. Uh oh.
*Several calls are made to JAF (Japan's version of AAA), Ulu's rental shop and two translators.
*Two hours, one visit from JAF and $100 later, we find out that the car will be towed back to Nanbu in the morning.
*Jessica is empty...sad.

And wait...it gets even better still!

*We drive back to Michael's house to devise a plan for the evening.
*In the middle of making evening plans, Ulu says something funny.
*Jessica smacks her head on the wall behind her in a fit of laughter.
*Jessica cries.
*Michael doesn't know what to do with us anymore, so he brings us back to the mall and Starbuck's.
*Ulu realizes she has lost her ATM card when she attempts to take out money.
*Everyone drowns their sorrows in Starbuck's, McDonald's and general retail therapy.
*We return to Michael's for more Murder, She Wrote.

The next morning we met the tow truck driver in the parking lot of the samurai noodle shop where we left Ulu's car the day before. Ulu, Truck Driver and I piled in the front seat and headed back to Nanbu, and Ulu and I had never been so grateful to return home. During the long drive, we amused ourselves by watching Stardust on Ulu's iPad and more than likely annoyed the driver till no end with our fits of laughter.

Our mantra throughout this entire debacle was that we wouldn't let it ruin our trip...and we didn't! It was a frustratingly amusing way to end it all. Tai hen desuyone, kedo shouganai! (It was all too much, but it couldn't be helped!)

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This entire update is way overdue, so let me update you all on what has been happening more recently...

In recent news... My trip to Georgia came and went! I know you're all dying to hear how it went, but since that trip is totally and completely unrelated to Japan life, you'll have to get it out of me in person. Or go check facebook for the pictures. In short, it was an incredible visit and I'm so glad to have him "back"...the quotations suggesting that although he isn't physically here with me, we're once again tethered to our phones and are free to chat and talk whenever we please.

Coming up... I'm officially eight days into my last month of work here in Japan. I'll be handing over the reigns and keys to my apartment come June 30th. But before that, the high school group from Gilroy will be here! So along with packing (hah, like I've started...), cleaning (..or that), and arranging my affairs (let's be real), I'm also in the finishing stages of planning this trip (this I have spent some significant time on).

Also, remember that little trip that was canceled because of some huge earthquake? Well, it's FINALLY back on! Julia, now along with Nana, will be making their visit come July! We'll be spending their first few days here in Takko, and then off to Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. It shall be grand.

As you can see, I have quite a bit of stuff going on over here until I leave. I may not be updating before I leave, but I am determined to wrap up this blog in a befitting way. Thank you for reading so far!

Mata ne!

'Tis the Season to Have Enkais

Fa la la la laaaa la laa laa laaaa

See what I did there? Clever, I know. So if you've been paying any attention whatsoever to my blog posts, you would know what an enkai is. For those of you that are forgetful...allow me to remind you. An enkai is a gathering of people, usually for a specific purpose and/or function, that begins with the formal party and is followed by second party and sometimes third party. Alcohol is a must and the number one rule is what happens at the enkai, stays at the enkai. If the big director boss just happens to toss his cookies outside of the bar on the way out or your desk neighbor belted out an embarrassing rendition of AKB48's Love Revolution during karaoke, you are in no way to reference those shenanigans Monday at work. These are the unspoken, unwritten rules of the enkai.

In Japan, our fiscal year ends/begins at the end of March and beginning of April. This also coincides with the end/beginning of the school year. And, as I believe I've mentioned before, there is usually a personnel change of some sort every fiscal and school year (people move around within yakuba, teachers are moved to different schools, etc). Thus, several parties for several different celebrations are the norm, which is why this is enkai season. However, I was one enkai into the season when the infamous March 11th earthquake struck and put an abrupt stop on all other parties. Since then...nada (that's Spanish for y'all not in the know). Because of the change of the fiscal year and a personnel switch around, we did have an enkai for the newbies in our division (I'm not the new kid anymore!), in which I was abandoned by my supervisor and left to defend myself by my mostly non-English speaking officemates. But all is well in the land of General Affairs Division. With a little help from our dear friends bieru, saki and shochu, conversation flowed freely...almost. There were several pauses to reference my keitai no jisho (Japanese/English dictionary on my cell phone) for more clarity, but we got the point across. Personalities really came out during second party at the karaoke bar near my apartment and I just about had a panic attack when I realized I was the only female that was in attendance. But all was well. And I'm pretty sure my entire division knows I'm with Patrick now. I shared this information with the new guy, who I'm sure shared it with the rest of the guys as they walked home or where ever; that's the thing about the enkai...everyone's business stays at the enkai, except the foreigner's.

This evening I'll be attending another enkai, of sorts, with the grand folks of Garlic Center. Every year before Golden Week (which begins on Friday), they have a ganbaro dinner to inspire them to work hard through the busy holiday. I won't be working through the holiday, but I guess I can be a good time, which earned me an invitation. Excellent.

In other news... An assortment of random happenings have been going on in my life. Nothing worth its own blog post or anything, but a few amusing events. This past weekend was the town council elections, and the voting took place at Garlic Center; therefore, the restaurant and shop moved operations outside onto the sidewalk. Yes, they are hardcore like that. Well, since the carrot cake I made with mama san class earlier that week was so impressive, we decided to sell it as a fundraiser for the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. We threw in some face painting for good measure, although most kids threw their hands up and said, "Yadda" (I hate that)!

Face painting and selling carrot cake...just another day

Also, I've become the official test bunny for Garlic Center's newest product: garlic face soap! I'm one day into my testing and my face felt very soft afterwards...but my face is usually soft. I'll try to log in the long term effects with time.

Coming up... Golden Week! Going to Hirosaki for a few days, but spending most of the time hanging around Takko. But for more recent happenings, I have a Friday full of baking funtivities planned (yup, funtivities...thank you, Michael Scott) with nihonjin gal pal, Mieko! Tanoshimi! And then Saturday, I'll be playing around with the Sannohe gang and attending the Sannohe Castle Hanami (sakura viewing in the next town over). Again, tanoshimi!

All Joking Aside :)

Happy first of April everyone! March, also known as the craziest, most random month of my life here in Japan, is finally over. What started out as an amazing month with tons to look forward to quickly turned into frantic phone calls and emails topped off with earthquake early warning alarms (which really only give you a few seconds to sit there and think about what you could be doing if you had more time to prepare for an earthquake). I've been so lucky that I haven't been in the shower or something during a big earthquake...I'd be more terrified to run outside in my towel than the actual quake.

So with this new month comes new adventures ahead. Unfortunately, because of this silly earthquake, a lot of plans have changed. I've made some new plans and secured some old ones as well. With only a little more than three months left, I'm booking up my schedule nice and tight so there is no wasted time. So, since nothing new has come to light since March 11th, I'm going to map out my plans ahead. It's an idea I got from my friend, Kendal, who made a list of everything she wanted to do once we regained power, fuel, etc, essentially giving her something to look forward to. An excellent idea, don't you think?

Without further ado, here it is:

The weekend of April 16th: Although this doesn't sound like much fun, I'll be locking myself in the apartment for the entire weekend to turn back the clocks and have a long, uninterrupted, no countdown necessary skype session with my one and only. That's right, Mr. OC himself will be branching on the 15th and will HOPEfully be getting a weekend pass. So this plan is tentative, but I'm sincerely hoping for the best. I'm looking forward to not worrying about "lights out" or him having to go to a squad meeting or something. A blissful two days of nothing but us. Tanoshimi!

Golden Week: Essentially a spring break for the entire country of Japan, this week is made up of four national holidays falling around the the first week of May, which usually leads to a mass travel throughout the country. This coincides with cherry blossom season, which is what my vacation will revolve around. I plan on doing some sakura viewing with my nihonjin pals for part of the break, and (if the shink is back up and running) visiting my wonderful friend Kate in Chiba for a reunion after this whole mess, granted she comes back by then. F$!# cancer, by the way.

Georgia Trip: A twelve day vacation mid-May to see my honey graduate from OCS! A trip that has yet to be fully confirmed, what with all the unknowns and still seven more weeks to go, but a trip to look forward to nonetheless. I'm anticipating that more time will be spent putzing around Columbus than actually with him, but the little time spent is always more than worth it (I still have absolutely no regrets about that whirlwind trip to Missouri...it was worth every second of traveling spent).

GTSEP: The official last CIR duty that I will have is the student exchange program from Gilroy coming out to Takko. I love that this is how I started my year and how I will end it. This year's group is incredible and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure as time gets closer I'll become a basket case and complain about how much stuff I have to do (packing, getting affairs in order, GTSEP planning, etc), but it's really the perfect way to end it all.

That's all that I have planned so far. There are talks of rescheduling Julia's trip for the summer (along with Nana... joshikai!), but it's left to be confirmed. Sounds like a fun three months ahead, right? I think so too. But after this earthquake, my friends and I up here have talked a lot about how quickly life can change in a matter of moments. Ululani brought up a Proverb that really hits home and I thought I'd share:

"Boast not yourself of to morrow; for you know not what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

Right?? So with that in mind, I begin this new month with positive energy, but living in each and every day for what it is.

Coming up... Another quiet weekend ahead, but with an added shopping trip with my nijonjin girl friends. Looking forward to lots of laughing, unnecessary shopping and purikura!

In other news... So nothing of any major significance has happened lately, but life has been going on as normal. I started writing an entry about the recent ceremonies that have been going on (the school and fiscal year have just ended and restarted) but never published it before the earthquake. That's coming soon!

Letter Update: Well, OCS has been much kinder to us than expected, so daily letters are no longer necessary (for the time being). His first week at OCS (when we couldn't talk) was the week leading up to Julia's trip and I was busy busy busy. Since then, it's been (kind of) smooth sailing! Send my OC positive thoughts as he continues the journey.

In Spite Of...

It has been nearly two weeks since the big earthquake, and while life here in Takko is slowly going back to normal, the vast majority of Japan's northern east coast is still struggling to recover. I don't need to recap what has happened and what efforts have been made to help get the Tohoku region back on its feet. The entire world has had its eyes turned on Japan since March 11th, leaving many people in the international world feeling helpless. I am thankful for all the great people in my life who have offered their kind words, prayers, and well wishes to me, my friends, and the entire country. I realize how frustrating and heartbreaking it must be to watch the countless news stories being aired and printed about the devastation here, and feeling like you can't really do anything about it. But please trust me when I say that simply reaching out and offering those kind words, prayers, and well wishes is making a world of difference to the people of Japan.

Although what has happened here has been absolutely horrible, I have to take the time to tell you how truly impressed I am with the Japanese people. In my 24 years, I have never experienced or even been closely related to something so catastrophic, but I have lived through some pretty awful historical events and natural disasters (September 11th and Hurricane Katrina, for example). Unfortunately, I don't believe these to be the last.

For the sake of this entry, I want to only talk about natural disasters, because it seems as if the American people behaved much differently during 9/11 than any other time that I have seen, and for me, it will always be in a category completely of its own. In America, there seems to be a very different vibe when there is the threat of a natural disaster. The threat of the unknown truly is terrifying and for many (I am not generalizing here), it becomes an "every man for himself" situation. But in Japan, no matter how dire the situation, the community always comes first. There is no blame to be placed here, because it is simply the difference of cultural characteristics. However, I believe that America has quite a bit to learn from their across-the-Pacific neighbor.

The following is my observation over the past thirteen days of the challenges, big and small, that people living in Japan have faced and how they are handling it.

In spite of going days without power...there has been no looting, stealing, or robbery of any kind. It is simply not in the nature of the Japanese to do so. In fact, there have been several stories about the lack of a Japanese term for "looting" and that the concept has an exceptionally long dictionary entry to explain it, since it is so difficult for them to comprehend. In Takko, we were without power for a mere 40 hours, which is nothing compared to the nearly two weeks that some areas have been subjected to. But during those 40 hours, we were given reports that we may be without power for up to a week! A tormenting thought to be had as we were still being severely shaken up by aftershocks every few hours. As you may remember, I was staying with Yasuyo and her family, and we went to a nearby store to buy some non-disposable items. Since the stores were unsafe to go into, the workers had brought some of the stock outside and set up manual cash registers. There was no pushing, running, grabbing, or stealing. People talked and reassured one another as they picked out a few items and waited patiently to purchase them.

In spite of the food shortage...there hasn't been significant amounts of hoarding. I add significant because there has been a bit of hoarding, but I think that's due more to the fact that replenishing the necessary items has been difficult. Ramen, milk, formula, diapers, and bread have all been extremely difficult to find in stores now, but everything else seems to be aplenty. In places closer to the most affected areas, there have been some rules instilled such as only allowing 20 items per family to make it as fair as possible. How well do we think that would do in America? I'd be willing to bet that there'd be some minor cases of chaos throughout the supermarkets. There was another story (that I heard through the grapevine) about one guy who went into a convennie and grabbed all the ramen off of the shelves, but before he could go buy it, a group of people walked in, so the man put several of the ramen back for others to purchase. Again...what are the chances of that happening in America? As far as here in Takko, it hasn't been that extreme. We don't have the items listed above, but everything seems to be well in stock as long as the deliveries continue to come. I believe that people have enough sense and faith to know that they will be fine. The Japanese mottainai has never been more practical.

In spite of the gas and oil shortage...no one is hoarding the fuel. In fact, at many gas stations, they are only allowing 10 liters or 2,000円 per car. Since I don't have a car, I'm not 100% sure if they're only allowing you to fill up if you have a quarter tank or less, but I personally think it's on the honor system. Again, it isn't in the nature of the Japanese people to think of the individual first. Everyone needs gas, and if the individual has to slightly suffer so that there is enough for everyone, then so be it. But people are waiting hours in these lines at the stations, not even sure that they'll be able to get anything, and yet there is no yelling, no honking, no impatience. Just quiet understanding. It's truly incredible to me. I know that I've cursed the driver in front of me at the station for taking so long to screw the gas cap back on and making me wait 30 more seconds. But wow. Kudos, Japan. Also, we're pretty reliant on kerosene at the moment. The low for tonight is 23 degrees and it just snowed a whole bunch. Wonderful. Well, I was nearly out of kerosene with only half a tank left out of two tanks in the house. Luckily I have an electric blanket, but getting out of bed in the mornings is not fun with working heaters. I had just gotten out of the shower when my landlady (who hasn't once knocked on the door in the past eight months) was at the front door asking for me to bring her my red kerosene tanks. I explained they're at the Yakuba (someone was going to fill them up tomorrow). Then she asked for my tanks in the house. Thoroughly confused, I give her the empty one and she tells me to chotto matte. Three minutes later she's back with a full tank of kerosene, a box of chocolates from Tokyo, and two vending machine coffees. She instructs me to stay warm and eat the candy because it's delicious. Only in Japan, my friends.

In spite of the nuclear scare...there is no massive flee from the country, hoarding of iodine pills or panic whatsoever. This has most certainly been, for me, the most controversial aspect of this entire experience. I'll be upfront and say that yes, it's probably true that the Japanese media is downplaying the Fukushima situation just a bit. But they are most certainly not omitting information. If you go to NHK's English news, they give the good and the bad of the situation. American news is reporting the facts, but they are also sensationalizing the situation. Takko is about 200 miles from the Daichi plant, and although we are keeping track of what's going on down there, no one is rushing to the pharmacy trying to find a cure-all for radiation poisoning. I can't imagine the thousands of people who actually live there are doing it either and yet, people in California who are over 5,000 miles away are raiding the vitamin sections of stores. And no, Nancy Grace, California did not declare a state of emergency because they were afraid of becoming radioactive. I'm not going to deny that there is a bit of concern about Fukushima since the situation is not under control at the moment, but the point is that the people of Japan have complete faith in the experts and that they are doing everything in their power to ensure our safety. And believe it or not, Daichi is not the number one concern for us. Rather, it's the thousands upon thousands of people who have died, are still missing or are living in horrid conditions because of the Tohoku Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami.

In spite of an 8.9 earthquake...we were all back to work on Monday. Those of you familiar with Japanese lifestyle shouldn't be surprised. The earthquake occurred on Friday at about 2:50pm and we were all back at work on Monday at 8:15am. No lost time. Granted, my division at Yakuba is heading the earthquake operations here in Takko and several city employees worked all weekend, but we were all back to business the next week. In all seriousness though, I would've preferred to be at work anyway. The week following the earthquake was nerve-racking, what with the continued reports of more large earthquakes to come and the threat of rolling blackouts. Sitting at home and waiting for that haunting earthquake alarm to go off again was not going to calm me down by any means. So I spent the week fielding phone calls, emails and facebook messages from concerned family and friends. Still a bit nerve-racking when you consider how many times I answered the same questions and calmed the same concerns, but better than the alternative.


And such is my report. There is so much more I can tell you about, but I believe that it will be locked away in my memory for years to come, and will come out in stories that I tell my grandchild. And of course, this is all far from over. Relief from all over the world has been coming to Japan's aid, but the numbers of the deceased continue to rise towards the estimated 20,000. I remember hearing the first reports on the day of telling us that 600 people had died and I was shocked at that number. 20,000. It's simply beyond me.

In the past few days, the JET community was hit with their first reported loss. Taylor Anderson, a JET living in a coastal city in Miyagi Prefecture, was found after having been missing for days. I didn't know Taylor, but I saw her name come up on my Facebook newsfeed several times asking for any information about her. It is such a tragedy that has deeply affected not only the JET community, but all foreigners living here. There are still several thousand people missing, so in Taylor's honor and in the hopes of finding those who are still missing, a movement has started to make origami cranes. The crane is a sign for peace and hope in the Japanese culture, and it is believed that if you make 1,000 paper cranes, whatever you're wishing or hoping for will come true. All you need is a square sheet of paper. Click here for instructions on how to make one.


Coming up... This weekend, I'm hoping to flee the Nanbu area for a couple of days and go to Ululani's aunt and uncle's house in Misawa. We've signed up to volunteer through the Red Cross in Hachinohe, the nearest city to us to have been affected by the tsunami. I'm looking forward to finally being able to help, if only for a few hours.

An example of our keitai earthquake alarms

The 8.9 Earthquake Heard 'Round the World

On Friday, March 11th at approximately 2:50pm, an 8.9 earthquake shook our world here in Japan. The epicenter was near Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture located in the northeast part of Japan, but the entire country was affected, especially the Tohoku region. The following is my account of events from Takko-Machi in the Aomori prefecture.


As with most Friday afternoons, I was sitting at my desk at the Garlic Center. I was finished with my responsibilities for the week, and I was running through everything I had to do at home in preparation for my sister to arrive the next day. As always, I had left everything to the last minute. I needed to do laundry, mop, vacuum, do dishes, straighten up, etc, etc! I was chatting online with Ululani about how slow Friday afternoons can be when the town's PA system sounded an alarm I had never heard before: ding dong, ding dong, jishin desu jishin desu! I looked over at Makiko sitting across from me and before I could finish asking, "What is that for?", the building lurched in one direction and threw itself back in the other. After five seconds of shaking, it had grown so violent that I knew this wasn't just another earthquake. In all my years of earthquake drills at school, my instinct was to jump underneath my desk and cover my neck, so I did. But as the shaking continued, I felt even less safe under my huge metal desk. I popped my head out from under and watched the room shake around me, the lights above us flicker and then go out. I felt my eyes well up with tears, bent my head down and said, "Why won't it stop"?! About a minute and a half later, the shaking finally subdued enough for us to run downstairs. I grabbed my phone and jacket, and ran down as fast as I could, still covering my neck. The garlic bulb lights in the front entry way were still swaying, as were the stuffed garlic toys hanging in the front window. We hadn't been outside for more than a minute before the first aftershock came, knocking us from balance and roaring through the town.

Unfortunately, the first aftershock wouldn't be the last. For the next two hours, the ground beneath us continued to shake shake shake every few minutes, and we're not talking small tremors here. Someone suggested that I go check on the apartment, which is infamous for being pushed around by a strong wind. As Yasuyo and I approached the apartment, I joked that I was glad to see it still standing...joking, but also impressed. A few things had fallen from their spots atop my TV, dresser, desk, etc. The most devastating damage was my fruit basket (normally filled with snacks from America) that was hanging from the ceiling and had fallen to the ground. *Sigh* I surveyed the apartment quickly, and left, not wanting to be in there if another aftershock were to come. The town PA system came on several times, warning us to be careful and for parents to pick their children up from school. Teachers and principals guided most of them into town to make sure they were picked up or in sight of other adults. For the most part, I was distracted, but I couldn't help but notice how much everyone was taking care of each other.

My phone almost immediately lost service, but Nana was able to call in to my phone one last time before it completely gave out. We discussed the possibility of me being able to meet Julia in Tokyo the following day. At the time, I had no idea of the severity of the earthquake in Sendai, but I knew Shinkansens wouldn't be running that afternoon and figured they may be running the following morning. After we hung up, though, news images on the car's TV of the tsunami taking out everything in its path as it crashed into the city of Sendai made all of our stomachs sink. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I tried to stay positive that Julia would be able to come out and that we'd be seeing our trip through, but as the news went on and on about the rising damage and continued aftershocks, it seemed less and less certain. As everyone began packing to head home, I went into a silent panic. Would I have to stay at my apartment alone tonight? I was desperately trying to get a hold of Joel, the other foreigner in town to see if he wanted to buddy up tonight and battle the aftershocks together (which at this point were happening every 10 minutes or so), but the cell phones were completely down at this point. Just as I thought I was going to have to brave the long, cold night of quakes alone, Yasuyo had me in her car and on our way to the apartment to pack an overnight bag. It was dark inside, as it was past 5pm, and it's funny what you throw in an overnight pack when you're terrified of being thrown around by another earthquake. I managed sweatpants, a work sweater, and my toothbrush (I ended up sleeping in exactly what I was wearing...too afraid to leave the room and change in the dark).

Before heading off to Yasuyo's, we stopped by Yakuba to let everyone know I was okay. Of course, the place was a mad house, as it was the only spot in town with power (due to a handy dandy generator). The people in my division were all glued to the TV in the corner, and my supervisor looked beyond relieved to see me standing and well. I tried calling home from my desk phone, thinking this may be the last time to call them for a while. We confirmed that Julia's trip was canceled; Narita Airport was completely shut down.

Although the power was out, you wouldn't know it being at Yasuyo's! Her family had a portable gas heater that didn't need electricity, and they managed to keep the kotatsu (this nifty heated table that Japanese go nuts over) warm despite the lack of power. Dinner was cooked all on the stove and was delicious: miso ramen and garlic rice. Yum. After setting up our futons with about seven blankets for each, we went to bed early. I was shocked at how exhausted I was, and as I tried to sleep through the "aftershocks" (I put quotations because they continued to be much larger than anything I've ever felt before), I thought about how surreal everything still felt.

We woke the next morning to no power. Yasuyo was scheduled to work, and I needed to call home so we headed into town. Garlic Center was, of course, closed, so we headed over to Yakuba so I could check in and make my phone call. During the night, however, the generator ran out of battery and Yakuba was without power. My cell phone was still out of service, but Yasuyo's allowed us to check facebook and send messages to loved ones. I was able to get emails and messages out to my sister, Mom, and Patrick before we headed back into town where cell service was unavailable. With nothing much else to do, we sat at home listening to the radio and sleeping. Despite having napped all day, I was still tired at night (being tired seems to have become a recurring theme in my everyday life) and we went to bed early.

Dinner with friends...
no earthquakes allowed!

Aftershocks continued to wake us throughout the night, but we woke up to a wonderful surprise. Denki (electricity) had returned! I grabbed my phone, hoping that cell service had returned as well, but it had not. At least, not quite yet. We headed into town, delighted to see that the power was back on everywhere. Next, we needed Internet. I checked in with the Garlic Center, and then headed to the apartment to see if I'd have luck with getting online. Yatta! The Internet gods were good to me. I skyped and facebooked for a few hours, checking in with everyone and reporting the good news that I was okay. Throughout all of this, I was hoping that I'd get the chance to talk to my Patrick, because from lack of emails from him, I figured he still wasn't allowed to use his phone or laptop yet. But then low and behold, his name signed online! I dialed him up and was greeted with a, "Hey, what's up"? What's up? What's UP? I'll tell you what's up...his class had been on complete lockdown at OCS the entire week and he had no idea that an earthquake had even happened! It was difficult finding a way to explain it all, but I managed after calming down a bit. We ended our conversation with me asking him to promise to ask to call the next day. After my hours online, I headed to Joels', the other gaijin in town, house for dinner. Saki, one of my favorite kids here in town, was there too and for a few hours, we talked about anything and everything uninterrupted by any aftershocks. That night, I spent the first night alone at the apartment since the big earthquake hit. We had one aftershock that I felt before drifting off to sleep, and if we had any more, I didn't feel them.

The next morning being Monday meant time to go to work! This may come as a shock to all you Americans, thinking that we all went back to work after a huge disaster like this. But such is the way of life in Japan. I wouldn't know what else I'd be doing if we didn't have work; I relished in the fact that I'd be around people all day long. I turned on the computer and wasn't shocked at the crazy amount of emails, comments, messages, etc. that greeted me. I got right to work updating my friends and the people in Gilroy (not to say you all aren't one and the same!). I knew people were eager to hear from us, and I didn't want anyone worrying more than they had to, so I made some phone calls to reporters, threw some updates up on the Takko facebook page, and hoped that it would reach everyone it needed to. Whew.

Since then, it's been business as usual for the most part. Here is the situation as of now and my personal situation because of it:

They reported that we may expect another large earthquake sometime in the near future. Of course there is no real way of knowing when of if they could even happen, but it's keeping everyone on edge. Because of that, I've decided to stay with the Chiba family. Nothing would be scarier to me than to be in that apartment alone during another earthquake like that on Friday afternoon. I am forever grateful for their hospitality!

Gas, oil, and food supplies are slowly dwindling here in town. The gas is in short supply because many of our gas and oil suppliers are on the coastline located in cities that were greatly affected by the tsunami. Because gas is hard to come by, it's difficult to transport anything, including food! Many people are offering to send food, which is really very sweet, but the mail relies on transporting to get here sooo...we're stuck. But okay! I promise. I went to the Takko store and there was plenty of food...just no bread or cup of noodle, which just means no ramen or toast for me for a while. What will I do with all that peanut butter...?

The shinkansen, my beloved bullet train, is down for an undetermined amount of time at this point. I'm not sure what kind of damage the tracks themselves have but the Sendai station, one of the biggest stations in the Tohoku line is nearly destroyed. I'm hearing that it'll be okay and that it won't be okay...but it's been less than a week since the big quake, so there's no way of knowing now. The only way to Tokyo is by plane at this point.

The Fukushima power plant crisis. There are no words because too many have already been said. This is probably the biggest point of conversation regarding all of this and it's exhausting. American news is portraying it as being VERY bad, while Japanese news is telling us that it should be okay. I think both sides are at fault here for either leaving information out or blowing it out of proportion, but since no one in Takko is freaking out over it, neither am I. In reality, we really are too far from the plant for it to cause any real harm. So Californians, stop buying those damn iodine pills. You're 5,000 miles away. You'll be fine.

We just got some spring snow last night, so we're crossing our fingers that kerosene comes soon! In the meantime, we'll be fine with the wood stoves and electric blankets. No need to worry! We'll be warm. I'm greatly concerned for our Japanese brothers and sisters on the coastline that are all dealing with the tsunami aftermath. As scary as this earthquake was, nothing compares to the videos and images we see of the tsunami tearing through cities and towns. The death toll is inconceivable, now in the tens of thousands. Despite the rising numbers of people missing and/or dying, small glimmers of hope can be found in stories of miracles. However, the Japanese people have this amazing sense of resilience about them, and nothing seems to get them down. With the community always coming first, neighbors and strangers alike are helping each other during this extremely difficult time.

I'll continue to keep everyone updated as this amazing country that I've come to call home rebuilds itself. I'm finding that I need to remove myself from the media every once and a while because it becomes simply overwhelming.


The following is a video posted on the Discovery website showing the before and after shocks of the now infamous 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan on March 11th. It's an excellent representation showing how busy the Pacific plate has been this past week.

Just Another Aomori Weekend...

In light of two very eventful weekends in a row, when I realized I didn't have anything big planned for this past weekend, I was relieved. The pile of laundry that had been staring at me all week and my sad, empty refrigerator were happy to hear that I'd have some free time. But as the end of the work week approached, plans quickly changed, of course.

"What is your schedule this weekend?" (Japanese people like to call it your 'schedule' instead of your 'plans'...something I 'schedule' to change pronto)

I'm always tentative to answer this question because I feel like if my "schedule" is open, then they have automatic rights to fill it with whatever event they are ready to propose. Of course, with the right person/people, I don't really mind.

So first, my snowboarding nihonjin pals asked what I was up to, and it was quickly brought to my attention that 229 Skiland, Takko's mountain, was having its end-of-the-season fiesta (multi-lingual...impressed?). After the day events, the Takko Snowboarding Association (TSBA) would be having a get together at Ikeda Farms, the beef farm in Takko and also the site of one of the many welcome/sayonara events for Patrick and me. Sunday? Booked.

Next, Nanbu Ben was gushing about this sushi restaurant in Hachinohe that was cutting up a huge tuna on Saturday night. Apparently this place is one of the best sushi restaurants in the area (arguably in the entire prefecture), and I love me some tuna, or maguro, so Saturday night? Booked.

Lastly, since finding out that 229 was in its last week of the season, Nanbu Ben, Kendal and I talked about trying to get in a last night-snowboarding trip. Due to some fairly busy schedules, Friday night was decided upon as THE day. Booked.

Friday morning came and went and as the afternoon slowly came to a close, plans of snowboarding were nixed. It hasn't snowed here in nearly two weeks, and it had RAINED earlier in the week. Yes, it has been too warm for snow. Sadly, this makes for some very icy, therefore resulting in painful conditions. Instead, Friday night's plans turned to a beer fest at Nanbu Ben's with Whitney...involving power hour, tuna melts, and a drinking game involving the movie Casino Royale. Well, when you drink as infrequently as I do, six beers go straight to the head, tuna melt or not. I was out thirty minutes into the movie...who sleeps during James Bond? Especially when we're playing "drink at every 'that's-what-she-said' moment"? This gal. The next morning, I woke up to a wonderfully long phone conversation with my honey, Pato chan, chocolate chip pancakes, and Whit's nighttime staircase story which doesn't need to be spelled out in print. I headed home soon after the last bite of pancakes to freshen up before the night.

Fish head!

Believe it or not, I have only been to one real sushi restaurant in Japan. I have only recently developed the taste for raw fish, but haven't had the chance to really indulge...that is, until this past Saturday night. The crew of gaijins: Nanbu Ben, Michael, Whit, Ululani, and myself...ready to take on one of the best sushi joints in Aomori! We expected it to be packed, and it was. This event of chopping up a huge tuna only occurs once a month (I believe) at this particular restaurant, and it really draws a crowd. Of course, the sushi chef makes a big show of beheading the fish and parading it around the center of the restaurant...much to the delight of the children present. We were the only gaijin there, but people would have figured we were foreign by the subsidiary oohing and aahing on our part...oh, and the picture-taking too. I was fascinated by the size of the fish...my entire life, tuna has been this pink chopped up fish mess found in a round can at the grocery store and that my cats would go crazy for every time I drained the juices. My head could fit inside this fish's head. I was also enthralled by the fact that this fish had been swimming merrily about mere hours ago in the ocean a few kilometers away. He was probably hanging out with his fish buddies, minding his own business and enjoying the increasingly warm weather when...BAM! A fish net swoops him up, and he's screwed. You can bet that he wasn't planning on being tonight's entertainment, but at least he's going out with a bang. When we finally sat down, no one lost any time in grabbing the sushi plates as they rolled by on the conveyer belt next to our table. I enjoyed several kani rolls (crab), king salmon (that's what they call it too...), and of course, maguro. The *special* pieces of maguro were served to the select few customers who could raise their hands the fastest at the sound of a bell...our table was usually all over it, and I had the opportunity to try the meat of the tuna from its cheek. There's probably a much more sophisticated name for it, but you're going to have to deal with what I gave you. Anyway, I was very much about this sushi place and "schedule" to return at a later date.

The prize won for quickest hand

The next morning, I forewent (really?) a ride from my nihonjin pal, Ayumi to 229 in exchange of talking to Pato chan all morning (his temporary free use of his phone is spoiling me again...I'm sure no good will come of this). I finally rose at midday to prepare myself for an afternoon of riding when...dun dun dunnnn. I realized I had left my gloves in Nanbu Ben's car. Woo is me! With all my snowboard gear and no gloves to go, I was forced to stay in for the day. At least my apartment finally received the TLC it had been looking forward to all week.

As the last load of laundry happily tumbled in the dryer and my sparkling clean floors sighed with relief, I ran my brush through my hair once more before running downstairs to meet my ride for tonight's Ikeda farm par-tay. The usual spread was available (including cow tongue...remember that from when I first got here? And yes...I tried it again) and I helped myself to a beer or two. There were several others that helped themselves too...but to more than just a few. At first I thought it was my imagination that the table behind me was saying my name, but when I was ushered into a picture and the usual giggling and gesturing to "practice English" ensued, I knew I hadn't imagined anything. Any kind of "flirtatious" behavior in Japan can be likened to that of a pre-teen on a hormone high. In other words, there is a lot of giggling, gesturing, and instigating on the part of the friends. Engaging in conversation was like being back in Jr High, except I wasn't 13 years old. Needless to say, it was entertaining because they were quite yopparai (drunk) and I was not quite, and to top it all off, their English was just as good as my Japanese. Excellent. The translating went through three or four people to get back to us, although I could hear my friends, Ayumi and Yoshie, doing the translation from across the room. The climax of the conversation occurred when they asked, "Jeshka have boyfriend"? Yes, I do. Yes, he lives in America. His name is Patrick (keep in mind that most of these people knew Patrick from snowboarding and it was brand new information for many). "Oh my gaaawdd...shock! Shock!" (Shock in this term of use meaning sad). Yes, yes it is quite sad. Oh, and I leave Japan in four months. "O my gaawdd...shock!!!" Probably the most utilized English word of the evening. It was quite the to do, I suppose, but these guys did have one English phrase down pat: "I love beer!". Yes, yes I can see that. By the end of the night, this is what was made clear through a very specific rating system illustrated by what level their hands were at as they called out each item:

-- beer...
-- coffee....


-- chocolate.....





-- Shaun White.......



-- JESHKA!


You can imagine how thrilled I was to be a higher priority than the great Shaun White. Oh, joyous day.

Oh you know, just hanging out in an igloo. NBD.

So like I said...just another weekend in Aomori :)

__

Coming up... Tomorrow is Takko HS's graduation, and I recently learned that the entire country of Japan holds their high school graduations on March 1st. Oh yea, by the way? February is over. It's truly shocking (in the surprising, not sad sort of way)! Japanese graduations are VERY different from American ones, so I'm excited to see that. And to wear one of my suits.

ALSO coming up... Julia comes in less than TWO weeks! I visited Shimizugashira today (one of the schools we'll be visiting), and they're all so excited. One of my 6th graders kept saying, "beautiful! beautiful!". Oh, they have no idea :) I can't wait!

Letter update... Letters are currently at a stand still. We have truly lucked out this past week with regular phone/email contact. Like I said earlier, I'm being spoiled. I'm sure the letter count will be brought back into action soon enough. Stay tuned!