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As an american who has lived Sendai for nearly a year, and in the Tohoku region of Japan for 2 years, the earthquake and tsunami have caused me to reflect on the time I spent in Japan a decade ago.  I've followed the new reports each day, and spent time last weekend looking up the places I lived in Sendai to see how close they were to the ocean, and if those areas were damaged.  From what I can tell, my friends that live there are all okay, but I'm still waiting to here from one friend.  He hasn't posted on facebook yet since the disasters, and I don't have his phone number.  As I just checked back now, someone posted on his facebook wall that he is okay.  What a relief.  

During my 2 years in Japan, I felt 4 earthquakes, all of which caused no damage.  Small earthquakes are just a part of life there.  I made many good friends and came to love the culture of Japan.  For me, the culture shock coming home to the US was worse the the culture shock of going to Japan.  I came to love so much about the people and their way of life, that it was hard to come back to the US and realize our cultures are so different.  In the end though, we are all part of a large human family, and even though we are an ocean apart, I still think of and hope the best for my many friends struggling through the challenges brought upon them through the disasters. 

Ganbatte ne!

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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