Only two days have passed so far since the gasoline shortage imposed a kind of house arrest on us all. And it only took me the first 15 minutes of the first day to completely abandon all attempts at productivity and set up permanent camp on my couch. My water is stored, my canned goods stacked, my milk already completely binged and replaced with tea. A rental car arrived this morning, but its one tank of gas is all I expect to see for a while so I'm saving it in case I have a chance to do some rescuing. The trains aren't running so I am restricted to the places I can walk to.
This morning we had a brief scare when it appeared that the wind might blow some radiation from the plants in our direction. Everyone was ordered to stay indoors and avoid the ominous rain at all costs. Of course later we found out the wind hadn't blown anything our way at all, and even if it had, the radiation would only be a fraction of the strength we'd encounter in a standard x-ray. But that didn't stem the tide of e-mails from fellow ALTs, all practically shouting homegrown wisdom in a bid for authority over our little force of couch potatoes.
Apparently, all we need to know about disaster preparedness we learned from watching zombie movies.
A bright spot came later, when I'd given up on connecting with the outside world and turned to drama shows instead. A friend, Yuriko, braved the outdoors to bring me an early birthday gift: a name stamp, some Gegege no Kitaro postcards, a few tins of canned salmon, eggs, and rice.
Now it just comes down to waiting.
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Avoid the tap water as much as possible, even for washing. You might already be doing this, but even so.
ReplyDeleteHi! I was Iide's first ever ALT (2003-2005), and I recently stumbled across your blog. I've been thinking a lot about Yamagata lately given recent events. The people I've kept in touch with seem to be doing okay, though I've been bad at keeping in touch with people at the kyouiku iinkai and in Iide in general. I've skimmed a bit of your blog, and it's really bringing some memories back! I hope that Iide is recovering from the earthquake okay and that the power outages and fuel shortages aren't affecting you all too much there. I'm curious to read about your experiences there, and I'll undoubtedly stop by here again.
ReplyDeleteBest,
RJL
Hey RJL! Wow, how awesome to hear from a previous ALT in the area...thanks for reading. :)
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, Iide is doing just fine. No buildings were damaged, no one was injured. We are all stocked with food & water. The only hardship is the gas shortage, and that is expected to end soon. I am sure all your friends are fine. :)
Jessica, How are the couch potatoes holding up? Hope you are still doing well. Stay warm and hydrated.
ReplyDelete