Waking up to Reality

Waking up to Reality

Reality hits you.  It hits you in the small things of life, like whether or not there is going to be a hot water supply for your shower.  It hits you in daily life, when you find out that the trains you take to work are still not running.  And it hits you most as you watch and read the news.

This morning, while discussing my work situation with my supervisor, I saw some TV footage.  I don't know the context, since I couldn't understand the Japanese, but the image was enough.  An older man was standing in the middle of one of the areas devastated by the tsunami.  All you could see was mud and timbers, crushed cars, and the remains of what had once been houses.  He was clutching two photographs: they were small and smeared with grime.  One was a family picture; smiling parents with two young daughters.  The second was of the same two girls, this time swimsuit clad and standing on a beach, grinning happily at the camera.  I don't know the context, but I suspect he was their grandfather.

Reality hits you, it hits you as you realize how many people here in Japan are suffering.  So many people have lost everything.  Some don't even have photographs; only memories of what life was like, what life should be like, but it's not.

 Pray for Japan.  Pray for the people and pray for the rescue efforts.  And most of all, pray for everyone in Japan as we wake up to reality.


*Images taken from CNN and BBC 

Reflections . . .

Tonight my host mom announced we would have dessert.  Then she pulled out a cake with a small pink "2" candle, and it hit me:  As of today, I have been living in Japan for two months.  And that made me think . . .

1 Year Ago:

I was at home in Wisconsin, finishing up my senior year and living a pretty ordinary life.

9 months ago:

I was getting ready for a 2 1/2 month trip to Korea, yet also fitting in some horseback riding.   

6 months ago:

I was in the middle of my stay in Korea.  After participating in the Lex Asian Youth Multilingual camp in Shanghai, I had begun to consider coming to Japan.  I wanted to be able to speak Japanese, so I could communicate with more people.  

And . . . six months ago to the day, I found out about the opportunity to come to Japan this year as an intern.  I was so excited!

5 months ago:

     I was back home in Wisconsin, but not for long . . . 

2 months ago:

 I had just arrived in Japan, I only knew a few phrases of Japanese, everything was very new, but I was so excited! 

Today:

I have been in Japan for exactly two months.  I have come a long way; at dinner I am able to chat in broken Japanese with my host parents about the events of the past few days.

I don't know what the coming days hold, but as I reflect on the last year, I keep thinking of the third verse from one of my favorite hymns:

“Hither to thy love hast blest me,

Thou has brought me to this place,

And I know thy hand will lead me,

Safely home by thy good grace . . . "

Monday morning

I woke up this morning to find that government controlled power-outages are coming into effect today, causing some train lines to stop running. As a result, heading into the office would be difficult, and a phone call with Yufu, my supervisor, confirmed that I should stay home.

So here I am, working from home.  Incidentally, right after it was decided that I should stay home, it was announced that the JR Yamanote line was no longer running.  That is one of the train lines I take to work, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to get into Shibuya.

Across Tokyo, people are being urged to conserve energy, and power is being turned off in different areas on a rotating basis.  From what I've heard, it will even be turned off in Shibuya.

I will be posting pictures soon.  I don't have that many, but you still will get a small idea of the earthquake's affect on life in Tokyo.