Sayonara Nihon!

I am sorry (imagine me bowing many times), I am aware that I haven't updated my blog in an age. The sad reason for this is that I have left Japan. I made the decision way back in January not to sign for another year in baby Ita-where, and my contract expired at the end of July. What with a million goodbyes to say, gifts to buy (naturally), things to clean, pack, cancel and pay and a remaining box of sekihan to eat, my last couple of months didn't leave a lot of time for blogging I'm afraid. I was very upset to leave, and I received many lovely comments about my affect on the kids, the schools and the community from so many people (some obligated, some totally out of the blue), but, I knew that it was the right decision, as, I was sure that I couldn't live the rest of my life in Japan so that meant it wasn't wise to spend a third year making deeper connections and distancing myself further from my life in London. For ramblings on my final thoughts on Nihon, please see the articles for other websites section as I have written a piece for the Gunma JET blogzine.

I still had many articles that I was planning to write about Japan (I have a list) and there is so much that can be said about settling back into London after two years in the safe little bubble of Ita-where, so I am thinking of re-opening this blog under a new title soon, to post ridiculous stories of me bowing at people...I can sort of see London from the inside as a Londoner, but also from the outside as a foreigner now I think, so I'm sure there's something interesting to be said...watch this space.

In the meantime, as so much of this blog has revolved around the craziness that is the Japan gift-giving-omiyage custom, I thought you might be interested to know just what 2 years working (hard and with a big smile) can earn you in presents (and cost you in extra baggage)...I was very lucky to receive - 2 yukatas, 3 pairs of geta, 1 yukata pouch, 2 bags, 2 dvds, 2 posh green tea cups, 1 baumkuchen, 6 bouquets of flowers, 1 3,000 yen gift envelope (20 quid), 1 10,000 yen gift envelope (70 quid, all from one headteacher....WOW, couldn't bow lowly enough, my nose almost hit the floor), 21 packs of letters from kids (so happy with those...many a tear shed), 1 booklet of notes from teachers, 2 letter boards from teachers (sort of decorated piece of cardboard with teachers signatures, messages and photos), 3 letter boards from students, 1 letter board from a friend, 1 letter board from my taiko group, some home made sewed macaroons from the home ec teacher, some home-made sewed sushi by the home ec club, 7 fans
2 certificates saying how amazing I am in Japanese I can't read, 1 huge photo album with letters and photos from students, 2 special edition 500 yen coins, 5 sets of photos of things I have done whilst in Ita-where, 1 bottle of shochuu, 1 tub of hair gel (from my hairdresser...insane!), 1 bookmark, 3 straps (for mobile phones), 2 photo frames (1 with super-cool photo of my taikoing), 1 poetry book with Japanese and English translations, 5 paper aeroplanes from students...aaaawwwww, 2 posters/pictures from studetns, 1 notebook, 1 bag of homemade cookies, 2 tablecloths (!!), 2 taiko drumsticks signed by my group, 1 taiko drumstick carrier bag which I LOVE, 1 happi (google it), 1 taiko headdress that I don't know how to wear, 4 mini Japanese cloths, 1 homemade J-pop CD, 1 pack of stickers, 1 Mount Fuji paperweight (?), 1 pack of origami paper and 2 fairly creepy dolls that mean that I will find love...basically I have brought half of Japan home with me, so if you see on the news that Japan has no stuff, you will find it all in a house in South East London.

Like I say, I am likely to still write the odd bits and bobs on here about Japan and about London and my rediscovery of it...I'm scared! Anyway, please keep checking the website or "Follow" it. Japan, I will miss you so much, you have treated me very well! Everyone, please visit Japan! And, do not forget about the awful affects the tsunami and earthquake had on so many lives and the continued affects it has on people's lifestyles and the economy...please keep giving! Ganbatte Japan! I leave you with one last little piece of info...sushi-less was such a catchy title, I went with it, but, this blog is in fact based around a big lie! There is a gorrrrrgeous sushi restaurant in Ita-where, about a 5-minute-walk from my flat...sorry (big nose-hitting-floor bow).

Enough Ganbatte ?

Things in this part of Japan are returning to normality, but reminders of the wide range of problems the country is facing and will have to face for months to come, rear their head often. The upgrade of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima to level 7 and a 5.something earthquake yesterday very near to me have served to unsettle the people in my area again. This one was had its epicentre in Tochigi, only about 30km or so from my town and was the first since the 9.0 on 11th March in Miyagi to send things flying about in my apartment (another broken plate). I very much freaked out. The news has since said that this was officially NOT an aftershock of the Miyagi quake and has reminded us that other big earthquakes in various parts of Japan are an ever-present possibility (as they were before 11th March anyway). With these events still occuring, as resilient as the Japanese people seem on the surface, two drinking parties I have been to this weekend have shown how quickly the conversation turns to various concerns, once inhibitions are slightly lowered.

Understandably, people are very interested in what the UK government are saying and how many of my foreign friends in Japan have returned home. A couple of beers down and these sort of questions come thick and fast. Many people seem to have the impression that almost all foreign residents have fled to their home countries, which is grossly inaccurate if my friends are anything to go by. Even the people I know who did leave at first, have all returned to Japan as far as I know.

Last night, whilst at an open-air restaurant and drinking party in the name of charity for the people in Tohoku, I had a very interesting conversation with some of my Japanese friends about the word 'Ganbatte.' Without a doubt, this is one of the first pieces of vocabulary I learnt after my arrival in Japan. It is used all the time, with reference to work, sports, lifestyle, study... It is used when things are going well, or when things are going badly and need to be turned around. I like the translation 'to do one's best,' but Japanese people often translate it as 'to fight.' This is perhaps a little strong (but nice and pithy and easy to say for the Japanese), but I think it does often have slightly more persistent and tenacious connotations than simply to 'do one's best.' In a more negative situation, 'hang in there' may also be appropriate. It is used in so many situations, that it is probably a bit difficult to pin it down to one set English equivalent.

The Japanese media is currently flooded with adverts, speeches by politicians and celebrities and posters telling Japan, as a nation to 'ganbatte.' I have always thought it a fairly positive phrase and quite fitting for this sort of circumstance, but, many of my friends last night said that they found it a bit patronising to be told by the media to 'ganbatte.' The dictionary form of the verb is 'ganbaru' and 'ganbatte' is a sort of command form, so it is effectively saying to people 'do your best!' Friends' comments revealed that they felt they were doing their best anyway, what more could they do, they didn't need a politician or a pop star to tell them to do their best, as they would naturally do that anyway. Given how often the phrase is used in normal conversation, and having never picked up on a patronising tone to it before, I was surprised, as were some of the other Japanese people at the table, but, it was by no means just one person who shared the sentiment. They seemed to prefer 'ganbarou' which indicates that the person speaking is doing their best too, so that we should all do our best together. Maybe it's just been slight overkill, or that in such a serious state of affairs, it doesn't apply, but, for whatever reason, it is getting some people's backs up. I have also noticed that the term has been used in the foreign press a lot, such as the Independent front page on March 12th. I wonder if it has become a famous phrase in other countries in the past month? I don't think anyone would find it patronising from a foreigner though, as the sentiment alone is so appreciated.

With my level of Japanese, I can't understand all the connotations of the word, but, as most people seemed to agree that ganbarou was far more fitting, I will stick to that.

Japan, let's all do our best together! 日本！みんなでがんばろう！

New Aftershock

7.4 aftershock off the coast of Miyagi again at about 11.30 tonight. The information on the news says that it was about a minute long - it felt about that long here (I ran outside and met the new neighbour who was doing the same, but he was also mid brushing his teeth and the ground was shaking so not easy to make polite conversation). It says that there are some power cuts in the Sendai area and that some trains and shinkansens have been stopped. TEPCO are still checking the Fukushima nuclear power plant. There are strong tsunami warnings in Miyagi and smaller ones up the Eastern coast as far as the tip of the island in Aomori and as far down as Ibaraki (not as far as Tokyo). Just for your info, peeps, I am totally fine.

Japan Three Weeks On

The 9.0 Miyagi earthquake struck just over three weeks ago now. It's been a fairly uppy and downy three weeks, for want of a better expression. The death toll continues to rise and the situation is still dire for many people in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures.

The atmosphere where I live has been tense but calm. Generally, people have done their best to carry on with life as normally as possible. I admit to being a little bit freaked out by radiation reports every now and again, mainly because I know nothing about radiation and quite literally wouldn't know a gamma ray if it hit me. I'm not glowing in the dark yet though, so I won't be using the iodine tablets the UK embassy has distributed to us "just in case of the worst case scenario" for the time being.

A friend of mine was supposed to be visiting me here over the last two weeks, but, unfortunately had to cancel, as much due to practicality of travelling at the moment as due to health concerns. I used some of the holiday and transport that we'd already booked to take long weekend trips/evacuations to Osaka and Kanazawa. A certain amount of panic stirred up by various media sources has led to quite a few foreigners leaving Japan, at least temporarily, but I am happy with my decision to stay. In Gunma, it's been a few weeks of empty petrol pumps, pretty bare supermarket shelves, scheduled power cuts, fairly hefty aftershocks and elevated (but perfectly safe) radiation levels (except for in our spinach and かき菜 kakina, a Japanese leafy vegetable thing to the left there whose existance I was not aware of, until its radiation became dangerous, so that has affected my life precisely 0%). How it gets into spinach and kakina but nothing else, I have no idea, but, I have asked and been told and failed to understand...I have learnt not to ask again. I do not care. End of.

Over the last week, however, radiation levels have dropped (maybe I will be able to try some kakina soon), aftershocks have significantally decreased, petrol is available if you are willing to queue and pay a month's wages for a tank, supermarket shelves are back to normal unless you want yoghurt, milk, or pot noodles (don't ask me why) and power cuts have been cancelled almost every day for the entire week and are also off tomorrow. People have been told to save power...some people and companies seem to be taking this advice much more seriously than others, (ie some of the train stations have their escalators off, others don't, some of the massive screens in Shibuya and Shinjuku in Tokyo are off, but some aren't, some department stores seem to have one lift operating, whereas some seem to just have one token one shut), but, whatever we are doing, must be working, because there has been no need to carry out the scheduled cuts! The area of central Tokyo (the central 23 "wards," it's not a hospital, but for some reason the translation is "ward") is not having power cuts. To be honest, I think all the escalators and lifts except for one should be off in all department stores, because unless you have bad legs or something, if you really want something on the 8th floor enough, you can bloody well walk up and get it!! Especially if it will save some poor person in the countryside of Gunma having to go without lighting for 3 hours, but still, at least some effort is being made everywhere.

We are starting to get refugees arrive in my town. I will be teaching some of them next year I imagine (the school year starts in April in Japan, so, by next year, I mean next week). Some have moved into houses here and some are in one of the community centres. I will also be working the desk where people can drop off donations of clothing, blankets and dry/tinned food as the Board of Education representative one day next week. I've sent some other bits and bobs and have given some money to charity (there are people collecting EVERYWHERE and most shops, restaurants and schools seem to have collection boxes, which is lovely). I suppose I should think about doing more but I'm not allowed any time off in April and I'm a bit wary of going up there and just being a nuisance. I think they will need help for a long time, so maybe I can go later. It's nice that my town has taken some refugees though and from a selfish point of view, it certainly reassures me that where I am is safe from radiation!

In the mean time, I am getting through by treating myself to an obscene amount of chocolate and watching the NHK evening news reports with my new favourite person 青山祐子 あおやま ゆうこ Aoyama Yuko. She is so calm and trustworthy, and FAR braver than the wusses in the helmets, who just make me feel more scared.

The best newscaster ever.

The most chicken hard-hat newscaster ever.

Bottom line is, things here are safe, and touch wood, returning to normal. Things up north are still bad, so please give to charity or send things if you can! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

Wish I'd paid more attention in physics...

I literally do not understand ANYTHING about earthquakes or nuclear things...forget about Japanese, it might as well be written in Double Dutch for all I can understand. I have decided to stay in Japan for the time being, but I might head south to a safer part, just in case. My friend was supposed to visiting me this week, so I have holiday booked from work anyway. The official advise from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office states that people in my area should "consider leaving" the area, but more due to concerns over food and power shortages, than due to actual health risks. I have rung them to confirm that I am understanding correctly, so please try to ignore the selective attitude that "news" reporters, such as the BBC, CNN, The Telegraph, and The Guardian seem to have to the facts. The most reliable news I have been reading seems to be from The Independant so far, who give a far more balanced view and qualify the things they are reporting with facts and comparisons. I have just had my first power cut. Three hours in the dark, but the water DID work and it's not so difficult when you have prepared for it. Had a glass of imo shochuu (芋焼酎), a Japanese alcohol made of sweet potatoes, which sent me nicely off to sleep. I may have pranced around in the dark with my torch to Live And Let Die by The Wings first, it's a great song to prance with a torch to. I was woken up by everything switching back on, and a perfectly timed afterschock. What a jolt back into action. I can't understand how the official things tell me that some quakes of magnitude 6.0+ I can't feel, but can feel some of around 5 even though they are in the same area, and the readings say that they are all registrering 3 on the Japanese shakey scale near me. Still, I know I felt that one really strongly, but, on the upside, it's only the second one I've felt all day. Still very worried about the people up in the north...there are all sorts of clips of people without heating, just under blankets in school gyms etc. It's snowing quite heavily up there by the looks of it. I'm lucky that it's not snowing here. Also, everyone at work is being very kind, although I don't want to think of the panic and fuss that might break out if I decided to go home...a couple of English teachers in the next city have decided to leave and the fuss has spread to my town on that one. The FCO still says that we are safe, so I am following that. My Board of Education have lent me a battery-powered radio and lamp for the blackouts. Sorry that this post has been a bit of a ramble, probably a sign of the state my head is in at the moment. I feel a bit calmer that the TV is back on, and I have my lovely reliable news lady back. She wouldn't let me come to any harm. Current biggest health concern : potential overdose on chocolate.

My Latest on the Earthquake

I've been a bit up and down over the last few days...yesterday was a particular low, with many aftershocks waking me on Monday night, leaving me very tired, and constant, conflicting reports about the ongoing nuclear 'catasrophe' in Fukushima, as the foreign press are so reassuringly calling it. Yesterday, there were many reports of well above average radiation deteced in the prefectures surrounding me, but, not in my prefecture. However, my location right on the corner of Gunma, between Saitama and Tochigi, made me somewhat doubt that Tochigi and Saitama prefectures were recording unusual levels and we weren't...I don't think radiation cares too much for local political borders. The foreign press continued to whip up a dramatic storm, I was struggling to understand any of it, no matter what language it was in, and was starting to think that I was going to headbutt the TV if I had to see a diagram of the inside of the bloody reactors again, either that or just scream 'I don't know what a f***ing nuclear reactor looks like when it's working anyway, so that stupid diagram is really not going to inform me of anything, it could be a diagram of a car engine or a piece of modern art, or a random doodle drawn by the newscaster for all I know.' The information all seemed very scientific and not very user-friendly. I admit to having a small panic. When I went home, I put on a mask and cycled with quite literally only my eyes showing.

However, looking at all of the information from the Japanese goverment, the scientists and the British government and embassy (who I trust the most, the Foriegn and Commonwealth Office has reassuring advice for British nationals), I realised that I was allowing myself to be whipped up into hysteria, which is not going to help anyone. I feel much calmer today. The current levels aren't enough to harm anyone, even in the area right next to the plant, which has already been evacuated, and the sort of levels recorded around me (200km away, similar distance to Tokyo) aren't harmful at all. All scientific reports seem to say that even in a realistic worst case scenario, only the current 30km evactuation/quarantine (can't think of a better English word) would be at any serious health risk. I feel reassured by that. Also, when first looking at international news, I was worried that the Japanese media were trying to sweep it under the carpet, but, now there is almost 24 hour news on the TV about the developments at the nuclear power station dai ichi ni san yon (福島第1234原子力発電) and a man, who is looking older and sweatier by the day, is making announcements every few hours or so. Also, I love the evening NHK (Japanese BBC) news reporter, she looks so professional and talks with such sincerity...I would trust her with my life. I love her. I'm going to take her photo tonight. The wind is also blowing strongly eastwards today, so that is a relief too.

Afterschock-wise: we are officially down to a 40% chance of there being an afterschock of magnitude 7.0+ in the Miyagi area where the first big earthquake hit. Other aftershocks are still going on, in various parts of Japan, some are big, at around richter scale 6, and they are unnerving, but more because of the worry that it could be a big 7.0 up by Miyagi again which might cause another tsunami and do more damage to the region that has already been hit, or upset something at the nuclear power plant, rather than the thought of any immediate damage in this area...I am safe there touch wood. For me, the afterschocks are just a reminder that things are not back to normal yet and of the tragedy that is happening in the North of Japan, rather than a worry for my personal safety. There was a big one last night, which was pretty strong apparently, but I barely even felt it because I was on the toilet! Apparently you feel them a lot less on toilets and in baths, so it wasn't just that I was concentrating on a big poo or anything.

In other related news - things up north still look horrible from a recovery point of view and the death toll continues to rise. The Emperor of Japan, Akihito, has made a TV broadcast saying that he is 'deeply worried' which sort of makes you want to say...what an understatement, and what a delayed reaction, but, he NEVER appears on TV normally, so I imagine it might have really touched the Japanese people, although I haven't spoken to anyone Japanese since I've found out that it's happened. I didn't even know what the man looked like and I've been living here for a year and a half. In my area, fresh food is almost all gone, as is toilet paper (?) and petrol. It's slightly worrying, but I've got a few tins of food and quite a bit of dried stuff and my boss has given me enough rice to feed the 5,000, so I might turn into a riceball and not be able to wipe my bum (not a common problem amongst rice balls I imgaine), but I should survive. No need to panic!!

Fuss Of The Day 4

I truly admire the Japanese cool and calm in the face of the crisis going on around them, but, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when, admist fears of aftershocks, power shortages, radioactivity and lack of food and petrol, I was sitting in a 10-minute long meeting about whether the kids could take their chocochip pan チョコチップパン　chocolate chipped bread home with them (school lunch has been cancelled due to various problems, so the kids had brought packed lunches, but, in some chocolate chipped miracle, the bread had arrived and they weren't sure whether to make the kids eat it at school or whether they would let them take it home in spite of that being against normal school lunch rules). Ten minutes of fuss meant ten minutes of lessons missed, ten minutes of tiny kids left in classrooms to their own devices when aftershocks had been happening all through the night before....why the choco chip fuss?? Miraculously, in just 10 minutes a decision was reached, and.....they COULD take them home, but only if they hadn't opened them in school...what a worthwhile fuss that was.

Random Event Of The Day 6

It's all a bit tense here at the moment, so, might as well lighten things up with some good old Japanese randomness.

The power cuts, as mentioned in my post below, have been going on in various areas around Japan for the last few days. On Tuesday, the school I was at decided to carry on with normal lessons in spite of a three-hour cut planned in the middle of the day, which I think makes sense. What didn't make sense was everyone worrying that it was going to get too cold...it was so strange. All winter I've been going to that school, in freezing temperatures, snow a-falling outside, feeling like I was in the coldest place in the world and I can't ever remember anybody mentioning anything about the fact that the kids might be cold. It's an old building, the heating is so poor and, indeed, the room I teach English in has NO HEATING AT ALL. But a 3-hour power cut in not too cold weather and all anyone was talking about was how cold it was. "Mark, aren't you cold?" "Yes" I answered, stumbling, bewildered because I was thinking "I've been cold for 4 months and you've never asked before." Everyone worried a lot about the lack of heating (bear in mind the English room has no heating ever anyway!!) and one teacher even gave me an extra jacket which I felt was a bit rude to turn down so I was marching around school, pretending to look colder than I was, in a really nice white Zara long-necked jumper, poking out from underneath a GIGANTIC plastic navy tracksuit top...ironically this was all before the cut even started and...it never even happened! I think I was actually a bit hot in the end!

Latest - Power Cuts

I think I may have been a bit naive on the front of life seeming like it was returning to normal. The difficulties caused by the Miyagi Earthquake on Friday in the way of power supply has led TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) to carry out planned power cuts over several prefectures tomorrow, so that people will know when the power will be cut, rather than there simply being a power shortage at some point in the day and everything stopping. From what I understand, except for important public services like hospitals and fire/police stations, everything will be cut in the given areas. Trains should also still run in spite of the organised power shortages. They had been calling for people to try to keep their power usage to a minimum anyway, but a spokesman announced this plan a few hours ago. Amazingly, just a couple of hours a later, a list had already been drawn up, giving the concerned cities, towns and villages individually by name and the times they would be out. Ita-where? will be cut for 3 and a half hours in the mid afternoon. Fun school day afternoon for me! Some places have two periods of three hours each it seems! Generally, it all sounds like a very sensible and well-organised plan so far. I'll post about how it goes afterwards. Rumours say that, at worst, this could go on for a few weeks, but the situation will be in constant review. Tepco's website is down and is not working at the moment, so the list of towns and when the power cut will be carried out is not available, but it has been on the TV a couple of times, so hopefully most people have noted their designated time.

The affected prefectures are Gunma, Saitama, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Yamanashi and Shizuoka with various towns at various times. Out of the Kanto region, it seems that only central Tokyo isn't affected. There are some mistakes on the lists though. Ita-where has, for instance, been placed in Tochigi-ken, when the poor little baby is in Gunma. There are concerns about water supplies being cut too.

Furthermore, experts say that there is a 70% chance of an afterschock of 7.0 magnitude or more in the next 3 days, which could cause more tsunami worries...3 more days of anxiety in Japan it seems.

I'm taking my mind off things by laughing at the new presenters on Japanese TV, wearing helmets in the studio. Small pleasures.

The Miyagi Earthquake

I thought I had better post something about this. Obviously I don't need to tell you that a massive earthquake occurred off the coast of north east Japan on Friday afternoon. It has just been upgraded to a magnitude of 9.0, making it one of the five biggest earthquakes in recorded world history. Bottom line from my point of view is that I'm ok, and am currently just sitting at home, thinking of the poor people in the devastated area in the North of Japan and watching (but not really understanding) the news about the nuclear plant in Fukushima which is currently having various issues.

Anyway, I'll tell you how it's all played out in my area, although it is not one of the worstly hit at all. For info, if you look at a map of Japan, I'm in Gunma prefecture, right on the tip bit nearest to Tokyo. At about quarter to 3 on Friday, tremors began. Earthquakes are very common in Japan and it only took a few weeks of living here to get used to quick jolts beneath my feet. The longer ones are always slightly scarier for me, but, by and large, you just learn to just wait for it to finish and to carry on with what you were doing. Friday's one was a lot different. After 20 seconds or so, the ground was still shaking and it just felt like it was growing and growing. I was in the staff room at my juniour high school, with about 15 other members of staff. Everybody started looking at eachother in a sort of a "is this a really big one then? Should we be doing something?" way. I am so relieved that I was with other people...basically, I just copied everyone, so I put out my hands and held my computer screen in place. Some of the teachers went and opened the windows (I'm not actually sure what that's for, something to do with less chance of them breaking?) and then the vibrations got much bigger, anything that was hanging began swinging back and forth and then, all of the computers and lights went off. Previously to that, a few teachers had been nervously saying "should we get under our desks?" but the lights going out made it clear that that was what we should do, so we all got down and sat under our desks, while the shaking continued. A few things crashed and banged around me, but it was fairly clear that is wasn't the building and was just fittings or other objects. The only person not under his desk was the headteacher, who walked down the staffroom to hold up the massive new free-standing air-conditioner thing they've just brought. I watched his funny trainers going past and just thought he was like Superman or something. I was so scared! I can't believe he was so so concerned about the air-conditioner!! I think the earthquake might have lasted about 3 minutes from the first time we could feel a tremor to it stopping. It was really unnerving and it felt like it was shaking so much...I can't imagine how terrifying it must have been nearer the epicentre. It must have been horrendous.

On emerging, everyone looked worried but calm. We all set about clearing up broken glasses and picking up fallen chairs and books etc. Some of the brave staff went around and checked all the rooms for damage and the other staff - there was next to no damage and everyone was fine. Luckily for me, the children had already all gone home, because it had been the graduation ceremony that day and so they all went home early. I was in the best place...the thought of being on my own, or on a train full of strangers, or, as I would have been on any other weekday this month or last month, in a room full of primary school children that I am responsible for, and, even worse, a room without desks. Having said that, I have since spoken to two friends, one who was teacing in primary school and one who was in nursery school, and they also noted the lack of panic. I have been INCREDIBLY impressed with the reaction of the people here. No hysteria, no panic. Even talking to friends in worse affected areas or watching the pictures on TV of the devastated towns, the reaction still seems relatively calm. A true testament to the lack of selfishness amongst Japanese people and putting what is best for the wider community first. Anyway, I was truly in the best place. Well, a better place would have been further south in Japan, or indeed, not in Japan, but, you know what I mean.

In the staff room, somebody managed to access the internet on their mobile and found out that the epicentre was in Miyagi and that is was a "7" and that we had felt it as a "weak 5." I thought they were talking about the richter scale, but, it turns out that there is a different scale in Japan based on shakiness (?) instead of energy, 7 being the top. Weak 5 is basically still a lot but unlikely to knock down buildings. Most of Tokyo felt a strong 5 apparently. The fact that it was in Miyagi (two prefectures over from me and about 200km away as a teacher told me) made me very worried about what the damage might be there, but, I was slightly relieved at the same time that it hadn't had its epicentre in Tokyo. Everyone in the staff room speculated for a while about whether there would be big aftershocks and, sure enough, a couple of minutes later they started. Two of them sent us under the desks again...actually, one of them sent us all under our desks and the other one sent a few of the wusses under their desks - I am a wuss. The atmosphere in the staffroom remained calm, humour was still present. One teacher teased me for getting under my desk the third time and the school secretary got word from her husband that he was ok and announced "he's ok...unfortunately." I'm not sure how different nations react to things, but the continuted nervous humour and the reluctancy to panic and assume straight away that the earthquake was going to be big when we first felt shaking, or that it was likely to have been a tragedy in the area that it hit before we knew anything, reminded me somewhat of a British reaction to big events...maybe all countries react like that, but I'm not sure. However, I'm sure the UK would have seen much more hysteria once it became clear just how dramatic the effects were in reality, but Japan really doesn't seem to have. For the next hour and half, the mainline phone was off and on, but we had no power, water, or mobile coverage. The headteacher, Clark Kent, told us to go home and check our homes etc. I didn't really want to go and be alone, because the aftershocks were still rumbling away and I knew that I would literally have no information at home. However, as the last few people were leaving, I went too. I walked my bike back, just to be on the safe side, as the ground was a bit shakey and the traffic lights weren't working. There were no signs of damage in the town, except for a broken plaque to a park and some fallen roof tiles.

I was a little bit scared to open my flat's door, but, I had to let out a laugh as I did, to find two eggs had broken on the floor. If that's the worst that's happened I thought! I'd bought about 10 eggs the other day for pancake day as it was all I could find and was worried about using them that night as they'd officially gone off on Thursday, so that was that decision made for me! The only other damage was a broken mug which had jumped into the bath, as I'd left it on the side after my naughty breakfast bathtime coffee...silly Mark. Also, my globe had committed suicide from off of the top of my TV and into my kotatsu. Apart from that, it was mostly just food that had been flung about a bit and the fridge that had leapt forward a tad and sent the blender down the back of it. It's really amazing how strong things are!

Anyway, I still had NO IDEA how large the earthquake had actually been up in Miyagi. My flat was without phone, electricity, water or gas. I just sort of sat for a couple of hours to ride out the aftershocks and tried not to panic (not easy...I had no idea how to tell what was going to be a big one, and couldn't decide if it was safer to get under my kotatsu if a big one came or to get out of the building.) Just on the off-chance that somebody saw something about it on international news, I updated my Facebook status from my phone and emailed my parents...thank God I did! I still hadn't imagined that it would make worldwide headlines. Gas came back on, but unfortunately, I spent the night without water, power or phone, and my mobile phone's battery went dead. I stupidly waited until it went dark to find a torch, so I was clambering around using my iPod for light as I tried to find it and then find batteries for it. Not my most nimble of moments. In the night, I didn't sleep more than 15 minutes at a time without being woken up by an afterschock, or sirens outside, or the town hall's van going round making announcements that anyone in trouble should go to the community centre.

Everything came back on at 6am the following day and I managed to speak to friends and family at home and in Japan. I was in complete ignorant bliss of the tsunami and the damage that had been caused, so I was very shocked to find the number of emails and Facebook messages piling up. I was very grateful for Facebook yesterday - it was great that I managed to update my status to let people know that I was ok and put people's minds at rest. Seeing the pictures on the news really paints a scary picture and, thankfully, where I am is nothing like that at all...neither is Tokyo. Most of the country has been very lucky. The Japanese and the British media coverage has been VERY different. It seems even the BBC has sensationalised something that really doesn't need to be sensationalised at all, it is dreadful as it is and everyone knows that. I might write another piece about that another time. Of course, this massive earthquake and tsunami have caused a great deal of devastation in the area, and the media shouldn't play that down, but it doesn't need building up either.

Yesterday, last night and today, the afterschocks have been much smaller and further between for the most part. I don't think I've felt any in the last 3 hours or so (touch wood!). My supervisor from work drove me to the supermarket yesterday to get supplies and explained some more things about the earthquake to me, she also rang me at about 7.30pm on the night of the earthquake, when the phones were working briefly, to check that I was ok and that I had a torch etc. She has been amazing, because, it has been a very lonely time and not having any electricity on the first night was truly horrible, so even speaking to her for one minute was very reassuring, even if it was what put my phone out of battery - ironically just as she was telling me that if another massive one was going to come, my phone should bleep and warn me! The phone warning system was a bit broken she said the next day. None of us got anything for the actual quake (it's only about 10 seconds or so in advance anyway, but still...) and then I DID get one at about 7 on Friday evening and almost had a heart attack, running outside, thinking, it's going to be even bigger, seeing as I've got a warning this time, but, I didn't feel anything at all. Yesterday's ones were all correct. They come on the TV as well, anything that ranks about 3 on the Japanese scale I think. Amazing to get any warning at all really! Very intelligent!

Today, I've cleared up the last of the mess here, caught up on lack of sleep with little interruption and emailed a couple of friends. I've also made the mistake of thinking my bath was totally dry, so that it would be safe to try and hoover up the tiny bits of broken china in it, please picture that image to give yourself a laugh...the electric plug is a mile away as well so it was bit of a stretch around a corner, and then picture my alarmed face as I realise that some water has got inside the hoover and my bathroom floor is getting covered in brown water!! Still not quite sure what I'm gonna do about that...I hope it's not broken for good because it belongs to the board of education and I can't cope with fuss! What a plonker!

The supermarket trip yesterday showed that it was pretty much business as usual around here...hairdresser's was open, some kids were about in school uniform, obviously coming back from sport practice. I've heard that Tokyo is fairly similar. It's just the really hard hit areas around the coast in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima that are in big trouble still it seems. There are some other electricity problems still in other parts of the country I think. I've been very lucky. Really, it's just time to think about the people who haven't been so fortunate. It's a massive shocking earthquake, and the tsunami has caused a lot of damage in certain areas. Many people are totally out of contact and are not sure if their relatives are safe or not. Naturally, the death toll is rising. Aftershocks and cold weather are making it even harder to sort things out. I hope people are able to make contact as soon as possible. Clearly the whole of Japan is shocked and worried about the people in the affected areas.

I've been very humbled by the amazing calmness and consideration of the Japanese people and the unity and support I've felt from all of my friends in Japan (not just the Japanese ones), let alone the concern from my friends, family, friends of family, and, indeed, people I've never heard of back in the UK...My Mum's been telling all about cousin George and the lady that comes into her work once a week, the next-door-neighbour-but-one's ex-girlfriend's dog etc. all asking about me...Thank you everyone for your concern! I am fine, just a bit, pardon the pun, shaken.