Wow, so it’s been over a month since the earthquake and tsunami here in Tohoku. It’s so crazy thinking about what so many people here went through, and what are continuing to go through everyday. As an update, Sendai itself is doing pretty well all things considered. Many business have opened up again, train lines have started up with limited stops, and Spring time has arrived… although right now it’s hella cold as I am writing this.
A lot of people have been asking me what are ways to help contribute to the cause, aside from monetary donations. For the most part, physically volunteering in affected areas is the most effective. I had a chance to head to Ishinomaki a few weeks ago, a coastal city that was pretty badly damaged by the tsunami.
Luckily my JTE had a pair of rain boots I could borrow for the trip, which was a big necessity to have on feet. However, his feet are a bit smaller than mine- so nevertheless, my toe had some cramps after.
The city itself has its good and bad parts. After taking a long bus ride, we were divided into groups and sent off to different affected areas. I was the only foreigner in my group, but because of that, I was able to meet some cool university students from Tokyo that knew some English, so we had a good time. My work day consisted of helping people move worn out tatami-mats from their homes to outside, and shoveling up nasty sludge left over from the tsunami.
I gotta say- it is rough! While the area I was in was not destroyed, I know others went into parts where cars were flipped over, boats were on the sidewalk, and just what seems to me to be hell. The people are incredibly positive though! Everyone’s homes that we went to were set on rebuilding and getting back on track, in their respective areas. I really admired that a lot, though am not sure if I would do the same.
There’s still a lot of work to do in Japan, so once I find more information about volunteering over the summer, I’ll post it here. I’d love to especially see friends back home come over with organizations like ‘Habitat for Humanity’ to help out.
Life is as normal as it can be now… just gotta wait for a few more things to open back up, and I’ll be fine.
Check out some more photos from my Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1732692751245.2084551.1056300053
Good stuff, man. I think it's great that you're helping out. It's nice to read your perspective about the aftermath instead of watching the news as well.
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