Ishinomaki Trip

Just returned from our Ishinomaki trip and while I'm still thinking through everything that happened and everything I saw.. I thought I'd post a few photos of what we did up there so you can see for yourself.
We left on Wednesday right after school and drove up North (about 6 hours), past Fukushima towards Sendai.
In the morning we met at the headquarters and grabbed our supplies before heading up to a remote village that was wiped out during the tsunami. We spent the day hauling out junk from peoples destroyed homes and doing basic work around the village. I spent a large part of the day cleaning out a home and coming across the things that belonged to a young girl. Seeing all these toys and little purses and clothes that once belonged to a regular little girl was rather difficult. Occasionally we would come across family photographs and if they weren't too damaged they were collected.

I was continually struck by how suddenly these peoples lives changed. In half an hour they lost everything. Nothing will ever be the same for them. We went past schools where almost all the students died and schools where the kids survived but their parents did not. It is an ongoing tragedy. To think that the waves stretched 250km down the coastline.. well I hadn't thought about that before. It was a real awakening for me to see the extent of the damage done.

 To see buildings half destroyed was something.. so much wreckage.

 To think that people actually lived in these places..

 Notice the clock.. stopped at 3:11.. when the earthquake happened.

 I was a tad upset that the helmets were orange.. Orange does nothing for my skin tone. There's my shallow side coming through.

The second day we went to a fishing village and helped clean out a factory that had been severely damaged. Not glamorous work but I did feel that we were helping out. There are so many tedious jobs to be done that it was fun being part of a large group that could get a lot done in a fairly short period of time.

 We had to scrub rust off gears.. it took forever!

 This is the lady who has been doing this job for 7 months.. She was happy for the help.

During our lunch break we went down by the water.. Such a beautiful area of Japan and hard to believe that calm water behind me was not quite so calm only a short while ago..  (like my rain suit? Not quite sure why I kept it on all day.. )

 It was also fun to get to know people I haven't really hung out with before. Things like this have a way of bringing people closer.

At the end of two long days! I think quite a few of us will be back!

 ***
Another thing that struck me.. the story has pretty much disappeared from the news but the tragedy is still very much existent. There is so much work to be done and that itself seems overwhelming. Tokyo sends buses of people up north every weekend to help out and I think this country is doing all it can to fix itself but it still takes time. Foreigners and Japanese are working hard to fix the country but it's difficult work and takes many hands and lots of time.

So please.. continue to Pray for Japan.

Things are about to get real messy!

Living in Japan post March 11th (the earthquake/tsunami) it is nearly impossible to go any amount of time without being reminded of what happened. Whether it's in conversations of reminiscence or conversations about future preventative procedures.. or in store displays advertising emergency kits or fundraising events or campaigns to continue to support and help those in the North... reminders are everywhere. It really did happen and there is still a lot of work to do. So when I was approached by a coworker to see if I would be interested in going up North to help for a couple days during our October holiday I was quick to jump at the chance.

At the end of the month I will be joining 21 other teachers/staff members and friends/family members to head up North and help in cleaning up the disaster area. We are heading to an area that was pretty much completely wiped out by the tsunami. We won't find out exactly what we're doing until we arrive but I was told that it with either be
a) helping relocate people and their belongings to more suitable shelters
b) helping gut buildings/houses that were wrecked
c) helping clean sludge from the sewer system because apparently they are so clogged that when the snow melts the entire village will flood again...
so it's going to be hard work and very messy.

I am thankful for this opportunity and while it sounds pretty horrible I'm excited for the chance to help out. I'll keep you posted as the details become available. I am praying that this will be a great experience and that we'll be strong and united as a group and able to work hard and help and serve and love others.

A Whole New World.. sort of.

For my handful of readers.. here I am! I recently told someone very dear to me that I don’t have much incentive to keep this thing going because I only have three readers. He assured me that he only knew of two. So for the two of you.. here we go:

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 6 weeks since I arrived in Tokyo. The initial days were all a bit of a blur and now I find myself nearly settled in my apartment, enjoying my commute to work and managing to get through my workday even though I still don’t know some of the girls names! I’m working on it.. I’m working on it..

It’s funny how quickly one can adapt to life in a new country and a job at a new school. The transition has been surprisingly easy so far and for that I’m grateful. Sure it’s a whole lot of learning and being resigned to the fact that I will be asking the dumb questions for the next little while but with that also comes the opportunity to play the “New Girl” card.. and so it isn’t always a horrible experience.

I am really enjoying working at an All Girl’s School.. I wasn’t sure how I would find it but the girls are really sweet and motivated and it’s amazing how much you can get done when you leave the boys out of the equation. On a side note.. I used to think that the reason classes were loud was “almost entirely because of the boys” but I’m finding this to be untrue. Girls make a lot of noise!

In terms of teaching it is nice to see an all girl environment. The students are generally comfortable and confident and also far less distracted. I’ve noticed that the younger girls are really rather secure and in my older classes we are able to have discussions that were never possible in a co-ed class of 17 year olds. It’s been a refreshing change.

Also this year is one in which I find myself teaching quite a few Middle School classes. I used to be frightened of anyone under the age of 14 but I absolutely adore the 7^th graders at my school. I have two sections of 7^th Grade English as well as a Grade 7/8 Drama Elective so I’m pretty much surrounded! I’m having a great time though and really enjoying the change of scenery.

Tokyo continues to impress me as a city. I’m enjoying getting to know the culture and exploring different parts of the city. Overall it’s very safe and comfortable here yet the strangest things happen or pass by and so that keeps me forever entertained.

I’ve been church shopping for the past 4 or 5 weeks and there are still a few possible options to go. We’ll see what happens next…

So yes, a month and a couple weeks in and so far I’m pretty happy to be here!

A Few Photos to Follow Shortly... 

"It's been one week.. "

I am nearing the end of my first week in Tokyo and what a week it has been! So far I'm enjoying myself although there are definite moments of panic from time to time. There is so much to learn and do when first moving somewhere but I think I'm making decent progress.
The big thing we had to accomplish this week was finding a place to live. I can now check that off the list! I saw probably 30+ apartments in the sweltering heat and finally found one that I'm very excited about. I'll post pics once I've moved in and it's all set up nice and cute.  Now that I have an address I can get a phone and furniture and bank account and all that jazz.
It's been fun noticing all sorts of strange things about this country. For example, yesterday I went to the bathroom in a mall and as we were standing and waiting we heard this weird sound. When I went in the stall I saw that they had installed small devices that make the sound of running and swooshing water so as to hurry up the process. Pretty genius and the line did move quickly!*
It's also been fun to discover new gadgets and fashions and food! I think life is going to be pretty great here.
It's really really hot but that's part of the fun? I do carry a little fan with me now. Shocking I know.
This week we start meetings at school and classes will begin next week. I'm hoping to be all moved in and settled by the time I start teaching..
So yes.. it's all very different here but so far I'm liking it and pretty excited about my new life in Japan!

 The food is pretty great here! Nothing quite like a little sushi for lunch!

 This is Shibuya.. but seeing as it's still early in the morning it's fairly .. empty?

 It's me! In Japan!

A little less empty here!

I have been quite busy and so have not devoted much time to taking photos.. will work on that and try to improve the situation in the days, weeks to follow!

* OK I was wrong. The sound is to mask people's "bathroom noises" so they won't be embarrassed. How polite! 

Getting There is Half the Fun.. Literally.

You know that whole saying about how the journey is more important than the destination or something like that? I'm choosing to believe that isn't so true.
The flight was direct, which was nice but 12 hours is a long time when one doesn't feel so good. My mom reminded me before my flight that part of the adventure is watching how God works out all the little details and this definitely happened. I met up with another new teacher at the gate and she told me that since she had been working in China for 10 years she liked small confined spaces (crazy pants!) and was wondering if I would trade my window seat for her Emergency Exit aisle one? Um.. yes! So that was ideal. I had so much legroom and also easy access to the bathrooms.. which was necessary as I did my sick and fainting thing a bit. That only happens the odd time but it's happened enough that I think I need to request an aisle seat from now on. But this is all quite dull...

After getting off the plan I randomly met a lady who works at another school in Japan and her husband who works at the boys school down the road from mine. They were super nice and gave me their contact details and said if I ever need anyone to drive me to IKEA or want a nice house to hang out in to give them a call and we'll hang out. Isn't that nice? People here are so nice! 

OK so we were met at the arrivals gate by a nice lady who has been in Japan for almost 20 years. She had a group of other new teachers waiting with her and we were all ushered out into the humid Tokyo air towards a school bus. The bus was good. I thought I had brought a lot but get the luggage of a few single girls and a family and you've got  reason for a bus!

We arrived at the hotel and dropped our bags and then went out for dinner with our group plus a few other teachers who had arrived earlier. On the school of course! Everyone so far has been so nice. Our hotel is great and we can stay here until we find the perfect apartment.. as long as we want. The school also has stocked our hotel fridge with nice goodies, breakfast treats, fruit, cheese, milk so that's a nice touch.

So far the vibe has been positive. Everyone seems happy and kind and excited to be here. The veterans seem friendly and helpful and I think it's all going to be a fine fine experience. All of us had good feelings during our Skype interviews and believe that we've found a really great place to work. This is all good.

I'm off in a little bit to start looking at apartments and tonight we're all going for a big Japanese dinner.
Once I start getting "oot and aboot" I'll take some photos and show you the sights but just wanted to let you know that all seems to be well and good for me in Tokyo this morning! 

Here we go again..

In 10 days or so I will board a plane that will take me all the way to Tokyo. This will definitely be a new adventure and I do find that as the days draw nearer I am growing more and more excited about it.
 Usually around this time I start to freak out and get really nervous and start to almost dread the date of departure (why do I do this right?) but this time it all feels rather different.
 
 I have done this before and while the country and culture will be new I at least know a bit about how long it takes to settle in, what my priorities should be and what to expect in a general sense.
I have also been in touch with a few people at the school and in Tokyo so I almost have friends and I do have a good feeling about the school and life in general in Tokyo.

So.. stay tuned because I think things are about to get interesting...

Watch this space...