Arahama, 11 Months Later

Mid-February 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Recently a friend and I went north of Sendai to Kesennuma to learn firsthand how things were almost one year after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. This week different friends and I ventured closer to home to hear stories of people who used to have homes and work near the sea. We went to Arahama, one section of widely spread out Sendai City. We talked with four courageous souls. Each person had a story. Each tale was unique. But the underlying theme was the same: “We lost everything. The future is uncertain. We can only do what we can today.”

Kesennuma, 12 Months Later

February 11, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a long time since I wrote to you. For me personally life has resumed a degree of normalcy. I go to work, I shop for food, I write, and I try in my own ways to be involved in the relief efforts going on here. Those activities are time and energy consuming, so my letters to all of you have become far less frequent.

When I have time I go out to areas still struggling, more so even that Sendai, to get their feet back on the ground. We have come very far, but we still have much to do. In fact, amazingly just the other day a cluster of bodies from the tsunami were found and identified. So, yes, our work is far from over.

Yesterday I went north to Kesennuma. Maybe you remember hearing of that port town, one of the most severely damaged by the tsunami. I went exactly eleven months after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Somehow that seemed appropriate for a day of observation, admiration, and wonder.

Kesennuma was freezing cold with winds that cut and sliced. But even so, my friend and I set off walking from the small train station perched on a hill, down to the port area, our focus of interest. We were surprised that the beautiful old buildings near the station were in relatively fine shape. They were standing and had few cracks. Even the tile roofs were in tact, unlike those in Sendai and her surrounding areas.

Class Project: Helping the Homeless

November 6, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

One of the classes I teach is Writing I. It is a required basic writing course. The Japanese teachers who also have this class usually do translations, one unrelated sentence after another, from Japanese to English and back again. My Japanese simply is not up to such levels of sophistication, so my instruction focuses more on how to write coherent essays and on Western thought processes. Among other things, that means how to organize thoughts in a logical, cohesive manner, how to write paragraphs, and how to begin and end their compositions. My students must write one essay a week. The topics vary. Since Japanese youngsters tend to be several years behind their Western counterparts developmentally, the themes they write about are simple and personal. They might be “My Hometown,” “My Part-time Job,” “My Free-time Activities”, or “How Music Influences My Life.”

This academic year my students’ work in the first semester (from April to August) was better than usual, so I decided to do something different in the second term. During the summer break when I traveled a bit in the Tohoku area, I witnessed a lot of the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami, of course. But along side that, I became acutely aware of the admirable and much appreciated work being done by NGOs. The most renown is the Red Cross. But Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and even Habitat for Humanity are also contributing immeasurably. I was so deeply touched by the selfless service of those organizations that I wanted to convey their spirit to my students.

Frogs in Fukushima

October 10, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

According to Wikipedia The Congregation of Notre Dame is a Roman Catholic order that was founded in Montreal, Canada in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys. However, other sources claim that that organization doing good works began in France and later branched out into Canada, where it offered education to children, especially native girls. The facts about the early history of the order are probably not as important as the work the nuns continue to do even today. The sisters vow to a life that is “little, simple, and poor”. And their main focus is education. This order can now be found in nine countries, one of which is Japan. In fact, there is a Congregation of Notre Dame in Fukushima.

During World War II, in 1932 to be exact, five sisters opened a convent school in Fukushima City. Now that institution has a kindergarten, an elementary, junior and senior high school, and a junior college. It also has expanded to offer classes to adults in the community. There is also a residency for the nuns.

Ishinomaki September 2011

September 18, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Recently a friend visited me. At the end of his stay, I escorted him to Narita Airport to see him off. It was very eerie there with a paucity of travelers. Only a few passengers were wandering about, and very few of them were westerners. Even so, the staff members politely maintained their routine behaviors of bowing and giving assistance when needed. Ueno Station in Tokyo, usually a bubbling hub, was also strangely quiet. That was because business hours are now staggered to put less of a strain on energy usage during peak hours. And all businessmen wear short sleeved shirts with no jackets or ties. The trip back home up the coast revealed city after city with dimmed lights, making it feel as if the country were experiencing war. But none of that was due to armed conflict, but rather to energy conservation measures now that nuclear power is in question. I was impressed that everyone without protest was complying with the government’s request to cut back on energy consumption.

Kids’ Festival & Frogs

August 25, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Higashi Matsushima is one Japanese town very badly hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. In fact, most of the area was completely devastated. And that included an army base with very expensive aircraft. But since then everyone has been working hard to pull themselves back together, both as individuals and as a community. It has not been easy and there are still years of work ahead, but little by little life is moving forward into a future of hope and stability.

Usually every summer late in August there are many festivals all over Japan. Some are large and famous. Others are small and local. The authorities in Higashi Matsushima wanted to cancel their small summer celebration this year, but the locals begged them to hold it despite the devastation everywhere. Luckily, those in charge complied, and a marvelous event ensued. In fact, one local told me it was the largest festival ever, drawing people from far away places as well as those who resided nearby.

Very touchingly the theme this year was “Gratitude”. Gratitude to be alive. Gratitude to be able to start again. Gratitude for all the help this region — including Higashi Matsushima — has been receiving. So, rather than being inwardly focused, this year’s festivities reached out to embrace the world. In fact, the staff’s T-shirts had either “Hope” written on them, or a fanciful drawing of people of all nationalities holding hands and circling the globe. The back had “Thank you” in seven different languages, one for each of the countries that sent volunteers to this region. And indeed, every heart present at the festival was brimming with gratitude and thanks for so much, despite the major losses everyone shared.