Addfwyn (Level 1)
Funny how you realize how much your friends post on FB/Twitter about food when you are incapable of eating any solid food for weeks
followed by
50
I posted this on Anime Vice already (which obviously, has a vested interest in Japan) but I know people here were concerned for me well-being (which I am endlessly thankful for). I wanted to post my experience at living through the quake. I know this is a tech-site, so if you aren't interested, I understand and you can skip past this.
It's been a few days now, and I think I finally have my thoughts composed well enough to actually write something on it. Forgive my english, I don't use it much anymore. I just wanted to offer a first-hand account of the experience
For those who don't know, I live in Japan, thankfully I live in Tokyo, an area that was comparatively untouched by the earthquake, but still incredibly scary.
I woke up from my nap on Friday at 2:45 PM. It was a small shaking at first, a minor earthquake like I am used to every day here. We get small quakes like that on a daily basis, it's just like a truck rumbling by, you never think of it. However, the earthquake didn't seem to stop, and slowly got stronger and stronger. Soon, I am up out of the bed and standing in shock in my room as everything falls down around me. A flower vase falls over off my shelf, and for some reason the only thing I can think of is what a mess that flower and water will make. My lamp falls to the ground, cracking, and I think about replacing the light bulb. In a moment of crisis, it is odd what occurs to your mind. I realize, as I stand in utter shock in a room that is literally turning itself upside down around me, what kind of danger I am. I have never been so scared. Honestly, I have NEVER feared for my life in the way that i did during those 20 minutes. I realize that I need to get out of the house, I've never been through an earthquake like that and I had no idea if the entire building was going to collapse around me. You are trained as a child to get under your desk, or to hide in the doorway. However, you realize in the moment how utterly trivial doing something like that is, and that the only thing that matters is getting out of that building.
Running outside in still cold weather, I realize I am barefoot and have no jacket, and I frankly don't care. Neighbours around me had the same idea, with people congregating in the street. Most poignant was a little boy sitting down alone in the street next to his bicycle, just crying, with no family nearby at all that i could see. The shaking seemed to last for hours, but in actuality it was over in less than 30 minutes. I stood there in a moment of shock...what had happened? Where was the earthquake located? Did it hit Tokyo, or was it further away? If it was further away, WHERE did it hit? Was Tokyo in dager, was the city collapsing? I had no idea. Slowly I realize i need to get back in the house and see how things were. To my surprise, power and the TV were still functioning, so I was able to turn the news on.
My first thought was relief, relief as to how far away it was from Tokyo, and that me and most of my friends (in the Tokyo area) were going to be okay. Then disgust at myself for thinking that, as I see the area where it actually did hit. Then worry, I had friends in some of these areas, how much worse was the quake there. Then the news report of the tsunami, and I am aware of how much more damage a tsunami can cause than the quake itself. I was fearful, not for myself anymore, the feeling of imminent danger to myself was dead, but fearful for friends and fellow countrymen. I try my cellphone, none of my housemates are home, but the cell networks are dead. Trying my iPad, the internet is working fine, so I am able to use facebook and tweet. Thank heavens for these, cause I was receiving an outpouring of support from friends and family concerned for my wellbeing, and those around me (again, thank you to everyone who messaged me and showed that you care). All day, I am just attuned to the news, watching the literal waves of devastation roll over the country I am living in. Never before have I lived so close to such a crisis and disaster. Constant aftershocks, though expected, scare me a little bit more everytime. I know they are coming, sometimes 2-3 an hour, but every time I panic and remember the initial feelings.
Eventually, my housemates start to arrive home. They are okay they say, they just had to walk home from work. Five or six hours in some case, I was immensely thankful that I had the day off and was at home. Others I hear back from on facebook or twitter, they are also okay and staying at workplaces or friend's apartments for the night, becaues trains won't be running again. Palpable relief builds as I hear back from friends and loved ones in and around Japan, largely in the Tokyo area. All of us are gathered around the TV to hear news reports. Even in the middle of the earthquake, news anchors make reports with hardhats in a studio where everything is falling down around me. This is the Japanese spirit, to perserve in the face of any adversity. My housemates walk home 5 hours, and never complained about it once after they got home. News anchors make a report on the disaster even as potentially life-threatening debris falls around them. People in affected areas just stand up and start clearing debris.
Never, not once, did I hear 'this isn't fair' from anyone in Japan. Never did I hear 'why us' or 'what do we do now' or even 'help us'. Help is accepted of course, but people just immediately set about getting up, dusting themselves off, and doing what they can to help out. For those in affected areas, it means helping their neighbours and clearing debris. For those of us in Tokyo, it's donating money, food, clothing, medicine, or blood. It's turning lights out earlier as power remains limited, and making do on a cold night with blankets instead of heat. People understand earthquakes here, they have never experienced one of this caliber, but they know the damage that they can do. There was panic of course, in the face of the disaster, but by the time the quake was over, people were already banding together to help each other out. Even as nuclear reactors fail, and possible follow up earthquakes remain a threat, nobody flinches. This is Japan, this is our unmei. We don't have to like it, but we aren't going to complain about it, and damnit we will fight to the last to preserve it and those around us.
I was scared, more scared than ever I have been in my life. I was devastated, more devastated than any event or tragedy I have witnessed, simply by proximity and actually being involved in it. But I was also proud of those around me, and what they did and how they acted in the fact of the disaster. You will not find a looter or a thief here, taking advantage of the tragedy. It's a horrible disaster, and I wish it never happened, but it has, and so we must deal with it as best we can.
それから、日本が大好き。頑張って日本。
It's been a few days now, and I think I finally have my thoughts composed well enough to actually write something on it. Forgive my english, I don't use it much anymore. I just wanted to offer a first-hand account of the experience
For those who don't know, I live in Japan, thankfully I live in Tokyo, an area that was comparatively untouched by the earthquake, but still incredibly scary.
I woke up from my nap on Friday at 2:45 PM. It was a small shaking at first, a minor earthquake like I am used to every day here. We get small quakes like that on a daily basis, it's just like a truck rumbling by, you never think of it. However, the earthquake didn't seem to stop, and slowly got stronger and stronger. Soon, I am up out of the bed and standing in shock in my room as everything falls down around me. A flower vase falls over off my shelf, and for some reason the only thing I can think of is what a mess that flower and water will make. My lamp falls to the ground, cracking, and I think about replacing the light bulb. In a moment of crisis, it is odd what occurs to your mind. I realize, as I stand in utter shock in a room that is literally turning itself upside down around me, what kind of danger I am. I have never been so scared. Honestly, I have NEVER feared for my life in the way that i did during those 20 minutes. I realize that I need to get out of the house, I've never been through an earthquake like that and I had no idea if the entire building was going to collapse around me. You are trained as a child to get under your desk, or to hide in the doorway. However, you realize in the moment how utterly trivial doing something like that is, and that the only thing that matters is getting out of that building.
Running outside in still cold weather, I realize I am barefoot and have no jacket, and I frankly don't care. Neighbours around me had the same idea, with people congregating in the street. Most poignant was a little boy sitting down alone in the street next to his bicycle, just crying, with no family nearby at all that i could see. The shaking seemed to last for hours, but in actuality it was over in less than 30 minutes. I stood there in a moment of shock...what had happened? Where was the earthquake located? Did it hit Tokyo, or was it further away? If it was further away, WHERE did it hit? Was Tokyo in dager, was the city collapsing? I had no idea. Slowly I realize i need to get back in the house and see how things were. To my surprise, power and the TV were still functioning, so I was able to turn the news on.
My first thought was relief, relief as to how far away it was from Tokyo, and that me and most of my friends (in the Tokyo area) were going to be okay. Then disgust at myself for thinking that, as I see the area where it actually did hit. Then worry, I had friends in some of these areas, how much worse was the quake there. Then the news report of the tsunami, and I am aware of how much more damage a tsunami can cause than the quake itself. I was fearful, not for myself anymore, the feeling of imminent danger to myself was dead, but fearful for friends and fellow countrymen. I try my cellphone, none of my housemates are home, but the cell networks are dead. Trying my iPad, the internet is working fine, so I am able to use facebook and tweet. Thank heavens for these, cause I was receiving an outpouring of support from friends and family concerned for my wellbeing, and those around me (again, thank you to everyone who messaged me and showed that you care). All day, I am just attuned to the news, watching the literal waves of devastation roll over the country I am living in. Never before have I lived so close to such a crisis and disaster. Constant aftershocks, though expected, scare me a little bit more everytime. I know they are coming, sometimes 2-3 an hour, but every time I panic and remember the initial feelings.
Eventually, my housemates start to arrive home. They are okay they say, they just had to walk home from work. Five or six hours in some case, I was immensely thankful that I had the day off and was at home. Others I hear back from on facebook or twitter, they are also okay and staying at workplaces or friend's apartments for the night, becaues trains won't be running again. Palpable relief builds as I hear back from friends and loved ones in and around Japan, largely in the Tokyo area. All of us are gathered around the TV to hear news reports. Even in the middle of the earthquake, news anchors make reports with hardhats in a studio where everything is falling down around me. This is the Japanese spirit, to perserve in the face of any adversity. My housemates walk home 5 hours, and never complained about it once after they got home. News anchors make a report on the disaster even as potentially life-threatening debris falls around them. People in affected areas just stand up and start clearing debris.
Never, not once, did I hear 'this isn't fair' from anyone in Japan. Never did I hear 'why us' or 'what do we do now' or even 'help us'. Help is accepted of course, but people just immediately set about getting up, dusting themselves off, and doing what they can to help out. For those in affected areas, it means helping their neighbours and clearing debris. For those of us in Tokyo, it's donating money, food, clothing, medicine, or blood. It's turning lights out earlier as power remains limited, and making do on a cold night with blankets instead of heat. People understand earthquakes here, they have never experienced one of this caliber, but they know the damage that they can do. There was panic of course, in the face of the disaster, but by the time the quake was over, people were already banding together to help each other out. Even as nuclear reactors fail, and possible follow up earthquakes remain a threat, nobody flinches. This is Japan, this is our unmei. We don't have to like it, but we aren't going to complain about it, and damnit we will fight to the last to preserve it and those around us.
I was scared, more scared than ever I have been in my life. I was devastated, more devastated than any event or tragedy I have witnessed, simply by proximity and actually being involved in it. But I was also proud of those around me, and what they did and how they acted in the fact of the disaster. You will not find a looter or a thief here, taking advantage of the tragedy. It's a horrible disaster, and I wish it never happened, but it has, and so we must deal with it as best we can.
それから、日本が大好き。頑張って日本。
31 Comments
I mentioned I'd do this a long time ago, and felt that I should finally get around to it, now that I am all settled in and classes have calmed down a bit. For those who don't know, I live in Tokyo now, which is oft heralded as something of a mecca for quirky technology. Not always the most advanced tech in every way, they soar ahead of the US in some areas and lag decidedly behind in others.
I thought I'd start this (hopefully) regular blog with one from the latter category, something Japan lacks in spades. Wi-Fi hotspots are an absolute rarity here, rendering devices like an iPod Touch, PSP, or even a laptop very weak on the road. You may think that it isn't so bad to not have open hotspots lying around for regular use, there's always those cafes and restaurants that will have wifi that you can use, right? Well, not in Tokyo. With the notable exception of McDonald's for some purposes (mostly for DS wifi) there is an absolute lack of hotspots anywhere in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area. Even the very common coffee shops, including Starbucks, are almost all lacking in any kind of wifi for their customers.
Now, it isn't that Wi-Fi doesn't exist here. Plenty of homes and businesses use it, it's just that every network is closed down and properly secured, which is less the norm in some areas of the United States I feel. This may not be surprising in a country where many consumers don't have a computer at home, preferring to just use their cellphone for all computer related tasks, but to the average foreigner coming to Japan it will seem very limiting. All those fancy wi-fi enabled devices are going to be useless to you unless you use them in the safe confines of your home network, or at worst a portable 3G wi-fi base station. I shouldn't need to note that if you are interested in going the route of a Mi-Fi like device, you'll need to get one and sign up for a contracted plane at a Japanese cell phone carrier.
So if you're packing for a trip to Japan, you may want to bring some ethernet cables with you, because you're going to be hard pressed to hook up to a wifi access point, even at your hotels.
I thought I'd start this (hopefully) regular blog with one from the latter category, something Japan lacks in spades. Wi-Fi hotspots are an absolute rarity here, rendering devices like an iPod Touch, PSP, or even a laptop very weak on the road. You may think that it isn't so bad to not have open hotspots lying around for regular use, there's always those cafes and restaurants that will have wifi that you can use, right? Well, not in Tokyo. With the notable exception of McDonald's for some purposes (mostly for DS wifi) there is an absolute lack of hotspots anywhere in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area. Even the very common coffee shops, including Starbucks, are almost all lacking in any kind of wifi for their customers.
Now, it isn't that Wi-Fi doesn't exist here. Plenty of homes and businesses use it, it's just that every network is closed down and properly secured, which is less the norm in some areas of the United States I feel. This may not be surprising in a country where many consumers don't have a computer at home, preferring to just use their cellphone for all computer related tasks, but to the average foreigner coming to Japan it will seem very limiting. All those fancy wi-fi enabled devices are going to be useless to you unless you use them in the safe confines of your home network, or at worst a portable 3G wi-fi base station. I shouldn't need to note that if you are interested in going the route of a Mi-Fi like device, you'll need to get one and sign up for a contracted plane at a Japanese cell phone carrier.
So if you're packing for a trip to Japan, you may want to bring some ethernet cables with you, because you're going to be hard pressed to hook up to a wifi access point, even at your hotels.
I haven't had the time to really do my first full writeup of Japanese technology yet, been busy setting up my housing and registering as a foreigner at my local city hall (expect one within the next week or so, even if it is just on my toilet), but there's something I can really truly appreciate that I didn't have last time I was in Japan, that fills a massive void for me.
E-book readers. Specifically a Kindle for me.
For those of us who live in a country where our first language is not terribly common (and English is not in Japan, even if you can get by with it) having access to books in our native language is just wonderful. Yes, I can read Japanese and can read books here, but there's simply a massive volume of books that don't get translated over, and I'm very slow at reading a novel in Japanese. Previously, my need for western books was always met via my Audible account, which I still have and greatly enjoy. However, there are times I don't want to just listen to a book, but actually want to read it. The Kindle, or any other ebook reader, is a perfect device for that. Sure I can't use the wireless here and I have to sync it to my computer to add books, but it still enables me to quickly and relatively easily get books that I would just totally be without here.
It's an underrated application for ebook readers, and actually one of the reasons I invested in one. And it is worth every penny of it here.
E-book readers. Specifically a Kindle for me.
For those of us who live in a country where our first language is not terribly common (and English is not in Japan, even if you can get by with it) having access to books in our native language is just wonderful. Yes, I can read Japanese and can read books here, but there's simply a massive volume of books that don't get translated over, and I'm very slow at reading a novel in Japanese. Previously, my need for western books was always met via my Audible account, which I still have and greatly enjoy. However, there are times I don't want to just listen to a book, but actually want to read it. The Kindle, or any other ebook reader, is a perfect device for that. Sure I can't use the wireless here and I have to sync it to my computer to add books, but it still enables me to quickly and relatively easily get books that I would just totally be without here.
It's an underrated application for ebook readers, and actually one of the reasons I invested in one. And it is worth every penny of it here.
