Sunday, March 27, 2011
Helping out
I'm trying to find the best ways to help out the victims of the earthquake and tsunami up in northeast Japan. I found some websites that made me a little confused about donating to Japan from the U.S.
http://aidwatchers.com/2011/03/does-japan-need-your-donation/
http://chrisblattman.com/2011/03/15/dont-give-money-to-japan/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chrisblattman+%28Chris+Blattman%29
I guess you can believe what you want, but I do think Japan will need help from other countries, especially America, and that donating to the Red Cross in general is a good idea.
Anyway, here are some cool projects I've found:
1. BE ONE Tohuku Aid
The website is half Japanese, half English. A teacher in my company is part of a church called "Be One" and her friends are running this project where they drive up to Sendai from Osaka to deliver food, water, supplies, etc. and help rescue people. I like this project because you actually know who your money/donations are going to and that they are being used. Check out the photos and read the wife's blog for more information.
They are also accepting clothing and toys now, but please keep in mind that space is limited in their van.
2. Japan Relief Effort
I found links on the Gap website and now they are selling limited-edition T-shirts! I love Gap! I like the links found on global giving because they tell you what your donation will provide people with. There are also links to the Save the Children foundation which tells you how different increments can provide children with different necessities.
3. Yahoo news
Here is a list of different organizations on the Yahoo website.
4. Other...
A list of organizations accepting donations found from doing a little research:
Yomiuri Light and Humanity Association
www.yomiuri-hikari.or.jp/
The Central Community Chest of Japan
www.akaihane.or.jp/en/
The Japanese Red Cross Society
www.jrc.or.jp/english/
The Japan Committee for UNICEF
www.unicef.or.jp/
GiveOne
www.giveone.net/
Yahoo Japan Volunteer
volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/
The Nippon Foundation
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/
(Note that some are in Japanese.)
In Japan, we can donate pretty much anywhere. I think the majority of people are donating to the Japanese Red Cross. We can even use the ATM machines at convenience stores to select an amount to donate, print out a ticket/receipt for it and pay the amount at the cashier! Isn't that cool??? Also, my friend went to donate blood but she said she couldn't because there was a 2-hour wait! I love how dedicated the Japanese are to helping each other!
http://aidwatchers.com/2011/03/does-japan-need-your-donation/
http://chrisblattman.com/2011/03/15/dont-give-money-to-japan/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chrisblattman+%28Chris+Blattman%29
I guess you can believe what you want, but I do think Japan will need help from other countries, especially America, and that donating to the Red Cross in general is a good idea.
Anyway, here are some cool projects I've found:
1. BE ONE Tohuku Aid
The website is half Japanese, half English. A teacher in my company is part of a church called "Be One" and her friends are running this project where they drive up to Sendai from Osaka to deliver food, water, supplies, etc. and help rescue people. I like this project because you actually know who your money/donations are going to and that they are being used. Check out the photos and read the wife's blog for more information.
They are also accepting clothing and toys now, but please keep in mind that space is limited in their van.
2. Japan Relief Effort
I found links on the Gap website and now they are selling limited-edition T-shirts! I love Gap! I like the links found on global giving because they tell you what your donation will provide people with. There are also links to the Save the Children foundation which tells you how different increments can provide children with different necessities.
3. Yahoo news
Here is a list of different organizations on the Yahoo website.
4. Other...
A list of organizations accepting donations found from doing a little research:
Yomiuri Light and Humanity Association
www.yomiuri-hikari.or.jp/
The Central Community Chest of Japan
www.akaihane.or.jp/en/
The Japanese Red Cross Society
www.jrc.or.jp/english/
The Japan Committee for UNICEF
www.unicef.or.jp/
GiveOne
www.giveone.net/
Yahoo Japan Volunteer
volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/
The Nippon Foundation
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/
(Note that some are in Japanese.)
In Japan, we can donate pretty much anywhere. I think the majority of people are donating to the Japanese Red Cross. We can even use the ATM machines at convenience stores to select an amount to donate, print out a ticket/receipt for it and pay the amount at the cashier! Isn't that cool??? Also, my friend went to donate blood but she said she couldn't because there was a 2-hour wait! I love how dedicated the Japanese are to helping each other!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
March 11, 2011.
I’ve started to write this about a dozen times and I don’t even know where to begin. Then I get tired and stop. So I have all these drafts waiting to be posted but haven’t gotten around to finishing them. The truth is, I don't really like writing and I don't think I'm good at it, so it takes me awhile to collect my thoughts.
So I’ll take things one day at a time and start by telling you about the day of the earthquake.
I was at work and around 3pm the office started buzzing with news about an earthquake in Sendai. The Japanese staff started frantically calling the schools in that area to check and see if everyone was okay. It was seriously impossible to get a hold of anyone because the power was out and the phone lines were dead. I honestly had no idea how big the earthquake was and how bad the damage was. I also do not remember being in an earthquake (even though I was definitely alive and close enough to feel the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989). So not only did I not know what the people up in Northern Japan were experiencing, but I had no idea how to comfort the teachers who were lost and scared. How scary it must have been for them to experience this in a foreign country, with no way to contact others by phone, and with no way of being prepared for this to happen.
The teachers described the earthquake in great detail to me. They said their instinct immediately told them to run out of the building, where they stood with others in the street as they watched building sway as if they were “under water.” Some teachers saw parts of buildings fall off right in front of them, but thankfully no one was trapped or injured. The 4-6 minute earthquake felt like hours to those who were waiting for it to end.
I thought the earthquake would hit and things would go back to normal. I did not know that the “yoshin,” or aftershocks were basically “mini-earthquakes” that were probably worse than the initial earthquake because they seemed endless and made it difficult to calm down or sleep.
With the help of the entire staff we were able to locate the teachers and make sure they were all safe.
Some people stayed in shelters that night with a combination of little or no food, no water, and no power. It must have been freezing, and I can’t help but thinking, how did they go to the bathroom???
Some people I know said they felt the earthquake in Osaka, too, but no one was hurt. People in northern Japan’s apartments were completely trashed and even parts of Tokyo had broken dishes scattered across their apartments when they got home. I however, did not feel anything. I was so touched by all the emails and messages I received asking if I was okay. I felt guilty knowing that so many thousands of people were suffering and people wasted energy worrying about me for no reason. I’m sorry for those who worried about me but I am so grateful for your love and concern. I am also so happy to see all different types of Americans showing their concern for Japan. Thank you all for supporting and caring about this beautiful country.
The news and thought of the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami is so devastating. When I look at pictures it breaks my heart.
I know Japan will work hard to rebuild houses and buildings, but it seems so difficult as things seem to be getting worse.
I pray for Japan to return to normal soon.
I'll try to post more blurbs this week about what's been going on in Japan. I need to break up all this information into small chunks. Email me if you have specific questions or post a comment.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Hisashiburi! (Long time no see!)
Hisashiburi!
I’ve been busy lately with work, but life is good. Oh, except that it is STILL cold here! It’s March!! I’m ready for winter to be over!
So two weeks ago I went to Osaka. TWICE. On Saturday, I went just for the day to pick up the new teachers from the airport. The best part about that was that we got to eat Subway at Kansai International Airport!
I know that turkey luncheon meat is not as good as fresh turkey breast, but Subway is pretty much the ONLY place in Japan where you can get turkey instead of gross slimy chicken with the skin on it. Another cool thing about Subway in Japan (or maybe Subway in the U.S. too??) is that they have all these sauces you can choose from instead of just plain old mustard and mayonnaise. They have flavors like wasabi-shoyu, creamy lemon (basically lemon-mayonnaise dressing), basil, and of course, oil and vinegar. They also have “Japanese” sandwiches like teriyaki chicken katsu, but really I just crave the classics.
OK so anyway, then I went to Osaka again for two days to visit friends.
I love Osaka. :)
It really is my home in Japan.
Sunday night, I stayed at my family friend’s house who lives with father who we call “Ojiichan” (grandpa in Japanese). Well, when I was about to brush my teeth, I had to rummage through the sink area to find the toothpaste. I found a tube that looked kind of old, but couldn’t find anything else that looked remotely like toothpaste.
The label had the Kanji for "new" (新 pronounced "shin") the rest was written in Katakana (Japanese alphabet for foreign words), which I didn’t bother to read—mainly because I really don’t like Katakana. It takes forever to figure out what they are trying to say in English and it’s really hard to spell out words in Katakana since they pronounce most English words differently than we do. So anyway, I squeezed some “toothpaste” onto my toothbrush and I notice that it’s pink.
Huh. That’s funny.
It also was a really weird texture—very thick and sticky.
I start to brush my teeth with it but it feels really weird. It tastes kinda weird, too. And it started to ball up and stick to my teeth.
Oh God.
Wait a second!
I looked at the label again and decided to actually read it.
OMG it said "SHIN PORIGURIPPU"
in other words...
in other words...
“NEW POLY-GRIP”!!!!!!!!!!
Ahhh!!! I used Ojiichan’s denture paste!!!
Spit it out! Spit it out! Spit it out!
Of course it’s not that easy to do since it is basically glue!
So I gargled and gargled over and over to try to get all the paste chunks out of my mouth. And finally found the toothpaste!
It left me with a really weird aftertaste but I kept telling myself that it can’t be bad for you, right?
Moral of the story: READ something before you put it in your mouth! Even if it’s in Katakana!
Other than that, the weekend was fabulous! I ate pizza at this really nice Italian restaurant in Umeda and a BBQ chicken burger at the Outback Steak House!
Why does American food taste so much better in Japan?? I guess because it's so sparse and we always want what we can't have, right???
Osaka, see you soon!!
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