Part One: 9.0
It's been a month. It wasn't easy typing this, but I want to get it out there. I'm going to leave this entry open, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't share the next few entries. Honestly, I've had a couple of requests for interviews, but I've turned them all down. I'll answer questions from my friends, but I don't want to talk about it with people I don't know.
I'm seperating this into three entries: the day of the big earthquake, the week after, & the month after.
So, well. Here it is.
First, let me start with Wednesday, March 9th. That night we’d had two small earthquakes, & then at about 11:30 (I’d just gotten to work), we had another kind of big one. The other teachers & I ran into the hallway & under doorframes. It was a bit big, but after about 2-3 minutes, it stopped. Later that day, I was talking about the quakes with a student, & he told me that there was going to be a big one soon. This was the first time I heard about it, so it kind of freaked me out…
Friday, March 11, 2011.
At 2:00, I had my private lesson with Masako. She had just found out she was going to Chicago with a friend & wanted information about places to go, things to see, etc. so instead of doing a normal lesson, we talked about Chicago. At about 2:40, it happened: it really started shaking. I thought at first it was going to be like Wednesday’s, so we all ran into the hallway, but it just kept getting stronger & stronger, so we decided to get out of the building. Thankfully, only two classes were going on at that time - my class with Masako & Tomoe-sensei’s grammar class. Everyone ran out onto the pedestrian deck between Swing building, Ito Yokado, & Selva. So many people were there… Kazue (one of our students) was holding for a long time while I tried not to hyperventilate. We could still feel the shaking, so we decided to leave the deck (the bus terminal is below it), & we headed a little towards Nanakita Park. We gathered everyone at the streetlight towards the park & decided to wait there. It was freezing outside, & no one had their jackets. Richard had his house keys, so he was amazing & ran back to get people blankets & coats. He came back, & we all bunched together to stay warm. (BTW, this is where I felt my first vertical earthquake. Feeling the ground go up & down while you are on it is definitely a strange feeling!) Everyone was really concerned about all the things they’d left in the building so we started to head towards the building. On our little walk there, it started snowing - a freaking blizzard came! We took shelter in the parking lot entrance to Swing & found some of the people from the gyutan restaurant on our floor were making hot tea for people to warm up with. (When everything is back to normal, I am definitely going there to give my thanks!) We waited there for a bit, but eventually headed back to the entrance. There was a building safety worker letting one group representative go in at a time. Miyuki (my assistant manager) went in for everyone & after a bit, came back with purses & some coats. She was absolutely in tears from seeing all the destruction - please don’t forget: we were getting big aftershocks, so I’m sure the building was still swaying a bit. The coat room had been blocked, so she couldn’t get my coat, but she was able to get my purse and cell phone.
So we waited a bit of the pedestrian deck, and about 2-3 hours after the initial quake, people were able to get home if they had a car/could walk. Emiko-sensei lives pretty far away & Richard’s stuff was still in the coat room, so they came to my house. When we got home, all my power & water had been turned off and my apartment was trashed. All my dishes had either fallen in the sink or fallen on the floor & broke. It was pretty scary - there were some major aftershocks. Maybe 4 or 5 every hour? I just remember sitting there, ready to run if another big one came. (BTW, it’s a big no-no to run away if there’s a big earthquake - falling debris!)
After about an hour or two, Yasutomo finally got home. Now, let me tell you where he was during the initial quake. For work, he often travels out to the coastal areas. That day he had been in Matsushima. When the earthquake hit, he had just finished talking to a client & was heading home. He said when the radio went out, he knew it was serious. Everyone on the road stopped & got out of their cars. After the 3 minutes it took for the initial quake to stop, he followed his instincts & took the mountain roads home instead of the usual one he took along the coast line - that may have saved his life. Thankfully, Matsushima has a lot of small islands that were able to slow down the tsunami in the area a little bit, but that coastal road was hit pretty badly.
So, when Yasutomo got home, I was able to feel a little bit of relief. He had sent me a text when the earthquake hit, but after that the cell phone lines were pretty much all down, so I couldn’t get in any contact with him. Emiko-sensei & Richard already knew about my relationship with Yasutomo, but it was still a little strange at first for us all to be in my little room. Yasutomo & Richard went back to Yasutomo’s house to grab some supplies - a portable gas burner, food, water, etc. For dinner that night (we ate before the sun went down), we pan-grilled some bacon, wieners, and corn. (Honestly, I didn’t eat much - I just couldn’t stomach it.)
That night everyone climbed on my bed, horizontally with our legs hanging off the side. It was a tight squeeze, but everyone was able to fit. I think everyone got about 2 or 3 hours that night because of the aftershocks & the general feeling of anxiety & fear.
I'm seperating this into three entries: the day of the big earthquake, the week after, & the month after.
So, well. Here it is.
First, let me start with Wednesday, March 9th. That night we’d had two small earthquakes, & then at about 11:30 (I’d just gotten to work), we had another kind of big one. The other teachers & I ran into the hallway & under doorframes. It was a bit big, but after about 2-3 minutes, it stopped. Later that day, I was talking about the quakes with a student, & he told me that there was going to be a big one soon. This was the first time I heard about it, so it kind of freaked me out…
Friday, March 11, 2011.
At 2:00, I had my private lesson with Masako. She had just found out she was going to Chicago with a friend & wanted information about places to go, things to see, etc. so instead of doing a normal lesson, we talked about Chicago. At about 2:40, it happened: it really started shaking. I thought at first it was going to be like Wednesday’s, so we all ran into the hallway, but it just kept getting stronger & stronger, so we decided to get out of the building. Thankfully, only two classes were going on at that time - my class with Masako & Tomoe-sensei’s grammar class. Everyone ran out onto the pedestrian deck between Swing building, Ito Yokado, & Selva. So many people were there… Kazue (one of our students) was holding for a long time while I tried not to hyperventilate. We could still feel the shaking, so we decided to leave the deck (the bus terminal is below it), & we headed a little towards Nanakita Park. We gathered everyone at the streetlight towards the park & decided to wait there. It was freezing outside, & no one had their jackets. Richard had his house keys, so he was amazing & ran back to get people blankets & coats. He came back, & we all bunched together to stay warm. (BTW, this is where I felt my first vertical earthquake. Feeling the ground go up & down while you are on it is definitely a strange feeling!) Everyone was really concerned about all the things they’d left in the building so we started to head towards the building. On our little walk there, it started snowing - a freaking blizzard came! We took shelter in the parking lot entrance to Swing & found some of the people from the gyutan restaurant on our floor were making hot tea for people to warm up with. (When everything is back to normal, I am definitely going there to give my thanks!) We waited there for a bit, but eventually headed back to the entrance. There was a building safety worker letting one group representative go in at a time. Miyuki (my assistant manager) went in for everyone & after a bit, came back with purses & some coats. She was absolutely in tears from seeing all the destruction - please don’t forget: we were getting big aftershocks, so I’m sure the building was still swaying a bit. The coat room had been blocked, so she couldn’t get my coat, but she was able to get my purse and cell phone.
So we waited a bit of the pedestrian deck, and about 2-3 hours after the initial quake, people were able to get home if they had a car/could walk. Emiko-sensei lives pretty far away & Richard’s stuff was still in the coat room, so they came to my house. When we got home, all my power & water had been turned off and my apartment was trashed. All my dishes had either fallen in the sink or fallen on the floor & broke. It was pretty scary - there were some major aftershocks. Maybe 4 or 5 every hour? I just remember sitting there, ready to run if another big one came. (BTW, it’s a big no-no to run away if there’s a big earthquake - falling debris!)
After about an hour or two, Yasutomo finally got home. Now, let me tell you where he was during the initial quake. For work, he often travels out to the coastal areas. That day he had been in Matsushima. When the earthquake hit, he had just finished talking to a client & was heading home. He said when the radio went out, he knew it was serious. Everyone on the road stopped & got out of their cars. After the 3 minutes it took for the initial quake to stop, he followed his instincts & took the mountain roads home instead of the usual one he took along the coast line - that may have saved his life. Thankfully, Matsushima has a lot of small islands that were able to slow down the tsunami in the area a little bit, but that coastal road was hit pretty badly.
So, when Yasutomo got home, I was able to feel a little bit of relief. He had sent me a text when the earthquake hit, but after that the cell phone lines were pretty much all down, so I couldn’t get in any contact with him. Emiko-sensei & Richard already knew about my relationship with Yasutomo, but it was still a little strange at first for us all to be in my little room. Yasutomo & Richard went back to Yasutomo’s house to grab some supplies - a portable gas burner, food, water, etc. For dinner that night (we ate before the sun went down), we pan-grilled some bacon, wieners, and corn. (Honestly, I didn’t eat much - I just couldn’t stomach it.)
That night everyone climbed on my bed, horizontally with our legs hanging off the side. It was a tight squeeze, but everyone was able to fit. I think everyone got about 2 or 3 hours that night because of the aftershocks & the general feeling of anxiety & fear.