Final Thoughts

This is the last post because my supposed year in Japan ended at the 7 month mark. Although, if you guys would like to ask me any questions about Japan or the earthquake or my experiences with study abroad, I will still happily reply.

So the earthquake happened...
Originally, I was planning to go home for around only 2 weeks (in order to assuage my parents' fears and beat out some intense cabin fever that was sure to come for the rest of spring break) however...a few days ago at 5 am I was awaken by a phone call from my friend, Jamie. She told me that the email we were all fearing, finally came.

The Oregon Program in Japan was officially canceled. Our visas were to be revoked, and we were to get out of the country as fast as possible. Needless to say, we were all in complete shock. I still am as I write this now. To think that I just won't be returning to Japan in 2 weeks and I won't know when I'll be able to go back is just unfathomable. My life here was snatched away with one email.

The blog post I was writing right before the earthquake hit, was a sort of self-reflection on the 3 week South East Asia trip I just went on. This is what I wrote a week ago:
           "It's funny...I didn't realize how much I missed Japan till I got back here. My trip kind of reignited my love for Japan in a way---not suggesting I didn't have an AMAZING time in South East Asia...because I totally did (and I have the bajillion photos to prove it).
            But it's definitely good to get away from 'everyday life routine' and have adventures and explore new things while giving yourself the chance to miss certain parts of your life. You learn all sorts of things about yourself and it reinforces what is really important, in turn, making you cherish the time spent with those missed things (and especially people) even more. Now I am excited to get back into the swing of things and finish out these last 4 months here in Japan with renewed enthusiasm."


Right after I had wrote that- the earthquake hit.

I was not scared being in Tokyo. I was calm through this whole thing and a bit surprised about how much people were worrying about me. ( I guess when you're hit by one of the largest earthquakes in history, a tsunami, exposure to radiation, and volcanic eruptions..your family and friends WILL worry ha). But really, besides some scheduled blackouts and people buying out all the toilet paper and water from the stores, Tokyo was fine when I left.

I can understand leaving and why it had to happen... But it was just so hard. -I had no time to give a proper goodbye to my host family and friends (I barely had time to pack my stuff). I didn't even have time to eat one last bowl of ramen!
I don't want to complain, because I am so lucky that I was safe through all this- and right now so many people are suffering. 

But to have to leave so suddenly is really heartbreaking.

See, I have an awesome friend named Kanako....who surprised me by inviting 8 of my closest Japanese friends to the bus station as I was en route to the airport. I was able to say goodbye to them and take last pictures and exchange last gifts. We were a teary mess basically.

I was so touched by the number of people who quickly showed up just for me (with only having a few hours notice that I was leaving for good). Again, I will say I am so lucky to have been able to have this experience. I am sad to see it end. I've made a lot of friends and learned so much about myself and about Japan.  I know I'll return someday, but I know It'll never be quite the same experience.
My family and all my friends across the globe have been super supportive.  To everyone who's sent me messages of love and encouragement: I just want to say 'Thank You' so much. I am a big grumpy bear right now, and they help a lot.

If you have money to spare, please think about donating some. <3

Earthquake Geography

Hay guys. This is an update and a post for those of you unsure about the geography of Japan. A lot of names are being thrown around: "fukushima" "sendai" etc, so I thought I would let you know where all this stuff is in relation to where I am (Tokyo).

I took this from my friend Lucy's blog:

Here's one more image of where exactly earthquakes hit.

So as you can see, Tokyo was really lucky. It's the Sendai area which got hit the hardest.

The reason why I highlight Fukushima is because that's where the nuclear reactor is (aka my mom's biggest worry). People have been evacuated from that area, though Tokyo is fine right now because it's about 160 miles away. They are working on getting it under control. As long as nothing goes wrong with that, my trip here should continue on normally.

 People are preparing for the possibility of a second big earthquake but my host mom assured me we have water and food stored away in case anything drastic happens. I think, or rather hope, the worst is over. I'm still doing fine and I'm finally in contact with all my friends here-my phone is working again and the trains are starting to run, but most people are staying home since there are still a lot of aftershocks coming.

I think that's all for now.  Thank you all for your warm wishes...I woke up with 50 new emails this morning! It was nice after listening to helicopters, sirens, and my phone's scary earthquake alarm going off all night.

My thoughts go out to those who were hit hardest by the quake.

*If you want to donate, don't do it at just any place (make sure it's not a scam). The RedCross is accepting donations via their website and text messaging and GlobalGiving.org is as well. Even Lady Gaga is selling bracelets on her site~

Biggest Earthquake in 140 Years

I arrived home this morning all safe and sound: Had a delicious Family Mart corn dog and my first HOT shower in 3 weeks~As I was preparing to update my blog with a sneak peak about my travels....my plans were halted due to the 8.9 magnitude earthquake.

I've never experienced earthquakes before Japan....and after the shaking of this one halted, everyone I talked to said it was the scariest one they've ever felt in their lives. In case you're interested....where I was (my house in Tokyo), it started out very soft but soon the shaking intensified. After some seconds without the shakes ceasing, I had realized "oh cripes this is a big one...." and went to open my room door (you don't want to be trapped in a room if anything happens). I stood in my doorway of my room and my host mom called down the stairs to check on me from where her and my host sister were taking cover upstairs. I remember the shaking getting really bad- (no help from my knees trembling haha).  Pictures crashed to the floor, vases tipped over knocking over some plants. A lot of things fell off shelves and broke but somehow the china managed to survive.
 And then....the serious shaking stopped and all that was left was some swaying.

That's my experience with the earthquake so far. Even as I write the house is still moving from aftershocks every once in a while...and it's been 4 hours. My host family and I turned on the T.V. to see how it's been hitting other parts of the city and country...and by now you can see it too. The earthquakes triggered a 10 meter tsunami which is hitting the coastlines....buildings are catching on fire..Narita airport has been temporarily shut down...trains are down as well as cell phones (luckily internet still works)....people are being evacuated.

We are doing fine. Though parts of the country are not so fine to say the least.
And now there are tsunami warnings for Hawaii and even Oregon.

I will keep you guys updated ~