The 2011 Earthquake from a Gaijin's Perspective

On Friday an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Northeastern Japan causing a massive tsunami, fires, and radiation leaks. Hundreds of people are dead and hundreds more are missing. This earthquake has been declared the biggest one on record to ever hit Japan.

 

 

 

www.nationalgeographic.com

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

Associated Press

Associated Press

I live in a city about 200 miles southwest of Tokyo so thankfully I haven't seen any of this damage first hand. My experience with the earthquake was pretty minimal but it was definitely enough to make me shake in my boots (er, slippers).

I was at school when my co-teacher announced that the building was shaking-I couldn't even feel it until someone said something. The kids were on their way upstairs from playtime so all the teachers covered their heads as they stood on the staircase. The building swayed for what seemed like forever (in reality probably 5 minutes) and I felt the same way I do after a few shots of tequila. Thankfully the Japanese staff had their heads on straight and told me we needed to get the kids out of the building. We took them to an open area outside where they put these on their heads...

The Telegraph

Moms who had arrived early to pick up their kids gathered around my hooded students laughing and taking pictures on their camera phones. Really? WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO FELT THE EARTH MOVE? It didn't seem so funny to me and I kind of wished I had one of those goofy looking hoods for myself. A fellow gaijin teacher shot me a look telling me she was just as confused. We eventually went back inside only to come right back out shortly after we felt the building move again. This time we stayed outside until moms came to pick up their kids for the day.

By the end of the day it seemed like I was the only one freaked out by this phenomenon. While I was trying not to throw up my 3 year-old students told me "it was fun". How is that for an ego boost?

Now obviously the earthquake we felt was very different from the one in Northeastern Japan. To the kids and the Japanese staff it was just a routine drill. At the end of the day I don't think anyone really knew how bad the damage was on the other side of the country.

A few hours later I came home to find my Facebook and e-mail littered with messages from friends, family, and people I haven't talked to in years asking me if I was ok. I finally started to realize just how big this really was. I immediately started browsing the internet for news updates and turned on my TV to see startling footage of plasma TVs falling off of walls and people wandering around aimlessly on the crowded streets of Tokyo. Everything finally started to sink in.

Two days have passed since everything has happened and the strangest thing is that things aren't so strange. I'm sitting in my apartment on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The door to my balcony is open and I can hear children playing, watch a man washing his car, and see my neighbor's creepy cat giving me the stink eye...life as usual on my block.

I don't know what I was expecting...maybe people falling over in the streets sobbing or something, but that seems a little dramatic. I went out to lunch and everything was oddly ordinary. I can't understand Japanese so the people around me could have easily been talking about the weekend's devastating events but it didn't seem like that to me. I asked my Japanese co-worker if she had friends in Tokyo who were effected by the earthquake. She told me she texted her friends but hadn't heard back from them...then she just kind of shrugged like it was no big deal. Call me a Debbie Downer but if I were in her shoes my attitude wouldn't have been quite so nonchalant.

I'm not sure if I just had impractical expectations about how the rest of the country would react to this record breaking quake or if the Japanese people are saving face and keeping their emotions to themselves (like they have been known to do). Either way the miniature earthquake I felt was enough to last me a lifetime. I thought my Friday was traumatic, I can only imagine how the actual victims of this natural disaster are feeling.

Shocking

This morning I woke up with a head pounding hangover. I was jonesing for a Coke (my favorite remedy for this particular ailment) so I went down to the local grocery store to pick one up before crawling back into bed. I grabbed the first can I saw with the word 'Cola' on it and was on my way. I went home and began to chug my sweet carbonated beverage when I suddenly realized something was terribly wrong...

Apparently I missed the part that reads (in plain English) "with vodka". I immediately spit it out and humbly crawled back into bed. I wish I could blame Japan for this one but this time it's all on me. FML.

Introducing...onigiri (rice balls)

After being in Japan 3 months I thought it was time that I paid tribute to the tastiest and most convenient snack around town. To the untrained eye a rice ball is (you guessed it) a ball of rice. But to those us of who have tasted this sticky goodness it is so much more. To me, the rice ball is a way of life.

3 Reasons Why the Rice Ball is Awesome:

1. Convenience. The rice ball is made of glutenous rice pressed together tightly with salt and various seasonings. The rice is wrapped in dried nori (seaweed) which acts as a shield of armor protecting the rice from harmful elements (wind, rain, clumsy hands etc.) If wrapped correctly the rice ball will hold itself together despite all odds leaving you free to eat with one hand and ride your bike with the other (although I do not recommend this without a helmet and/or knee pads).

This rice ball was wrapped incorrectly by yours truly. 

2. Price. Another awesome thing about the rice ball is the price. Rice is one of the few inexpensive products you can buy in any Japanese supermarket so if you make these sticky treats yourself then rice balls are super cheap. However if you are domestically challenged like I am, then you can pick up rice balls at any convenient store, supermarket, or abandoned bento lunch box you can find for about 120 yen (about $1.20). Who says Japan has to be expensive? (I have recently decided to substitute all my meals for rice balls).

3.The element of surprise. One of the greatest things about the rice ball is the tasty surprise that lies below. Remember when you were a kid and you used to beg your mom to buy a box of cereal simply for the promise of a prize inside? The rice ball is like my Japanese version of Frosted Flakes (more or less). Many rice balls are filled with mouthwatering treats like salmon, beef, or pickled plum. For most rice ball consumers, eating one of these is not nearly as suspenseful as I make it out to be (the package clearly states what lies under those sticky white grains). However I am an illiterate gaijin so every time I bite into a rice ball I feel like I just walked in on my own surprise party.

salmon woohoo!

Setsubun

So last Thursday I had the privilege of celebrating Setsubun. For those of you not savvy to the Japanese ways Setsubun is a bean throwing ceremony held the day before the beginning of spring. It is sort of a New Years tradition where you cleanse away the evil of the year before. In order to do this you must participate in mamemaki where you throw beans at someone dressed as an Oni or devil.

Here's how it went down at my school...

our throwing beans

Oni!

some of us were braver than others...

we have to vacuum...but at least the evil is gone. Happy Setsubun!

An American, a Mexican, a Brazilian, and a Japanese walk into a bar...

okay...bad joke.

A few days ago I was having a drink at a local watering hole with some friends of the aforementioned nationalities. The four of us sat around talking about our travels and I couldn't help but notice that we were in Japan yet our entire conversation was in English. As the only native English speaker I was loving it. I didn't have to apologize for any mispronunciations or be embarrassed for using a word in the wrong context. I could sit back and humbly correct my friends' English when they asked. Then I started to feel guilty. I was sitting with three people who could speak at least two languages fluently and all I could do was ramble on in English, mumble a few phrases in Spanglish (despite 4 years of Spanish language education), and ask for a beer in Japanese (and maybe a few more phrases). Here I was all the way across the world, in a country I barely knew, and everyone was accommodating me. As a native English speaker I have to say...we've got it made.

Unfortunately, this makes me incredibly lazy. I really haven't had any problems getting around in Japan. Sure, I've felt embarrassed for not knowing the language but I've always been able to get what I need (the power of pointing is a magical thing). I told my Japanese co-worker about some of the embarrassing encounters I've had while attempting to speak Japanese around town. She shook her head with disappointment and simply said, "more Japanese people should speak English". I couldn't believe it. Here I was, a foreigner in another country, and a Japanese person was making excuses for me. I corrected her and said it was the the other way around, I should get off my ass, pick up a book, join a class or something. The funny thing is I know that at home, in America, many foreigners are harshly criticized for not knowing English. I'm sure my attitude would change greatly if I received anything other than a smile towards my humiliating attempts to speak Japanese but I can't imagine how awful that would make me feel.

I guess I'm lucky that American influence is (generally) appreciated in Japan. American movies, TV shows, and music is everywhere. As a result, being a native English speaker (who knows only a handful of Japanese) doesn't hold much of a stigma...but I can't say this fact is really helping me acclimate to this new country. Then again, I'm a pasty blond girl...how much can I really fit it?

The Greatest Meal Ever-Yakisoba

Last week I had the greatest meal I've had since I arrived in Japan.

Granted, I've only been in this great country for a month and a half but I've had some great eats. Fresh sashimi, okonomiyaki, and fried mochi just to name a few. Of course I've had some questionable grub as well (who thought seaweed on donuts was a good idea?) But last week's meal was truly a culinary masterpiece that left a lasting taste in my mouth-so much that I felt the need to write about it a whole seven days later. I watch a lot of Man Vs. Food, No Reservations, and Iron Chef so I'm kind of an expert in the food world...brace yourself for this epic culinary critique.

After a staff meeting my Japanese co-workers took me and two other gaijin teachers out for dinner to an authentic Japanese restaurant (by authentic I mean everything on the menu was written in Japanese characters and I was completely confused). This was a special treat for us gaijins since our most frequented restaurant is named after a street in Las Vegas and specializes in a variety of crappy pizzas and 20 dollar nachos. Tons of tiny one room Japanese restaurants litter the streets of Nagoya waiting to be discovered but we can never go in without someone who speaks fluent Japanese. It's tragic really...everyone should be able to taste something this heavenly. 

When we walked in I couldn't help but notice the restaurant was only slightly bigger than my Japanese apartment...so it was similar in size to a gerbil's cage. We all sat down at the high top bar which only seats about 10 customers at a time. Behind the bar stood the "The Master", the owner and chef of this fine establishment. I want to say that he greeted us with arms crossed and two nakiri knives in hand because he's just that badass...but that's not exactly how it went down. He gave a friendly "konichiwa" to all of us and made a special effort to talk to me, Dermot, and Jen. He seemed pretty excited to be in the presence of gaijins and as he continued to talk to us I continued to smile and nod like I understood it all. Then I sat back while Ai-sensei ordered us the most amazing bowl of Yakisoba.

Sure, I've had noodles before, but this is nothing like I've ever tasted.

Fried noodles served with egg and a special secret sauce that The Master created himself. Four varities of spices to sprinkle on your noodles at various times and a variety of sides. The only bad thing about the whole experience was that my chopsticks slowed me down (I inevitably switched to a fork).

 Potatoes, sweet pickles, salad, miso soup, and rice accompanied this bowl of euphoria. This was without a doubt one of the best meals I've ever had.

As I stared blankly at my empty bowls and plates wondering where it all went, I felt myself slowly slipping into a food coma. I concentrated on trying not to pass out and The Master continued to talk to us gaijins. My Japanese vocabulary consists of about 10 words and half of those are for different foods...so I humbly allowed Eri-sensei to do the translating.

He marveled at Dermot's height and abundance of facial hair and then said the three of us look like we could be in Harry Potter. He went on to talk about his love of Western movies and the song 'Rawhide'...he may have even sang a line or two. He ended this cultural exchange by snapping a picture of the three of us on his camera phone and gave us each a 50 cent discount on our meals.

5 star meals, paparazzi, and special discounts. I think it's safe to say I have officially achieved celebrity status in Japan. It's about time.

Sincerely,
Hermoine Granger