As soon as some sort of sick bug goes around, without fail, I get it. Weak immune system, whatcha gonna do? (thanks Mom!)
Anyways, had a really weird experience today at the Sophia University Student Health services center that I'm going to try to describe, even as my head feels as if its a balloon filled with wayy too much helium (What does that even mean?? See, im sick!). So I just wanted to get some cold medicine, and unlike the US, you can't really just go to 7-11 and buy some DayQuil. I just needed something to make me feel less junky so I could finish my take home midterm and study for my Japanese lesson test, both occurring tomorrow. Apparently you have got to go to the pharmacy, or in my case the Sophia University Health Services Center. So I staggered over there after barely making it through my first and (luckily) only class of the day. I had prepared by making a cheat sheet of phrases I could say to describe my symptoms such as "Atama ga itai" (Lit: My head has pain..aka headahce) "Kaze o hita" (I have caught a cold)...etc.
So I go in there with the expectation of hopping in and hopping out with some Japanese equivalent of cold medicine. Well, as usual, my expectations were totally wrong. I go in there and they make me put a thermometer under my armpit (ok, thats fine, i guess) and then they bring to this bed in the back of the ward and motion for me to lay down (ok, I can see that being realistic as well). Then, they close the curtain around me, and close a sturdier looking curtain system behind that, so I am completely isolated. Kinda weird but OK. I'm sitting there for an hour waiting for a doctor to come give me some medicine and send me on my way, but no one comes. So, I decide to text my Japanese friend, Takuya, and ask him what is going on/is this normal? His reply was essentially, "No not really normal, but want me to talk to the on the phone for you?" I said that it wasn't necessary, then proceeded to get out of the bed to go and get some answers for myself. This is when I got a little bit creeped out.
I got out of bed, pulled back the 1st curtain, then tried to pull back the 2nd sturdier curtain, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed as though they had locked me in, quarantined me, if you will. WEIRD. So I kind of shimmied between the 1st and 2nd curtain, past other beds etc. until I got to an area where I could get out into the main infirmary. I hopped out, relieved, and the nurses were sort of standing there looking at me like "Uh...where did you just come from?" So I made up some story that I had to meet my teacher and just wanted some cold medicine. They then proceeded to tell me that the Doctors weren't in today and that they couldn't prescribe me and medicine. I'm thinking to myself, "Ok, so why was I laying in that bed for an hour?" Well at this point I was pretty creeped out by the quasi-quarantine vibe, so I decided to cut my losses and get the heck out of there.
I'm still completely confused about what had happened, and I still wonder how long I would have been there had I not escaped from my quarters. My Japanese has definitely improved a lot, but in terms of hospital vocabulary, my knowledge is pretty limited. So I am kind of wondering what my experience would have been like had I been able to communicate with the nurses.
Well, I hope that made some sense to you all...but seeing as how the whole experience didn't/doesn't make any sense to me compounded by the fact that I am trying to recount this experience while totally sick, I don't have very high expectations...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Slide show of Ishinomaki
So I have included a link to a slideshow of Ishinomaki. This slideshow was created by a man named Masato Kato, who I met while I was volunteering. He is a very talented photographer and I highly recommend checking out his work! Also, I make a couple cameos around the 5:45 mark. One is in Japanese, the other is in English. Enjoy!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Life-Changing Experience
I just want to start off this blog post by expressing how much admiration I have for all of those effected by the earthquake and tsunami. The past week that I spent with them has been an eye opening and humbling experience. Ganbare (Fight on!) people of Northeastern Japan.
We took an 8 hour bus ride from Tokyo to Sendai then finally to Ishinomaki. Our HQ was at an elementary school transformed into a "Refugee" center/Volunteer headquarters. This place was truly a site to see. There were many sections around the school that looked like a junkyard with cars, bikes, boats etc. strewn about. It would be impossible to describe all of the destruction so I will post some pictures. (Also, I will post more pictures on my Facebook page. I will make the album "public" so you all can see it.)
As I said earlier last week, we had no idea what kind of work we were going to be doing. As it turns out, they put us out in the field armed with shovels and wheelbarrows helping the local residents clean up their homes a bit. Our groups (anywhere from 8-15 people) would work 2 shifts a day from 8:30am-5:30pm with a lunch break. We were working our butts off all day, and the crazy thing was that at the end of the day it hardly looked like we did anything. Sure, we would clear tons of mud out of people's bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens, but we would move them out onto the streets where it looked like a wasteland. The rebuilding process is going to take years, even with all of the help they are getting. However, it was such a rewarding feeling to be able to help these people out. The gratitude on their faces and in their words was remarkable. There were times where we would be shoveling through the mud in their homes and we would find pictures and various possessions. We would bring it to them and ask them if it was trash or if they wanted to keep it, and there were times where they would be so thrilled that we were able to retrieve these items. These were memories that they had thought were lost forever, yet we were able to bring them back to them.
The elementary school that housed us was unlike anything I had ever seen. Classrooms had been converted into bedrooms housing anywhere from 20-25 people, the gym was converted into a cafeteria for the residents, and a portion of the baseball field had an Ofuro (public bath) built where everyone could get cleaned up. Overall there were probably around 500 people living at this school. I was so impressed with the cleanliness of the school, as many of the residents/volunteers took it upon themselves to make sure it was a suitable place to live.
Back at the elementary school that housed us, many of us were able to develop some really great relationships with the displaced people living there. In fact, some of the children came to hang out with us every day. We would come back from our shifts and they would be in our rooms waiting for us with baseball gloves and soccer balls ready to play ball! One of my friends, an avid yo yo enthusiast, brought 30 yo yo's up as gifts, and was giving some of the kids lessons. I brought my friend's guitar up and we would have jam sessions with the kids, and sometimes with the Oji-san's (Uncles, or middle aged guys). The residents stories of their experiences with the tsunami/earthquake were so sad, it was impossible to imagine what they went through. In future blog posts, I will go into further detail of some of the residents stories.
Overall, the trip was one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life, and I feel like I have changed for the better because of it. I think we all have. The positivity at this place was something to behold, especially given the circumstances of their living situation. I will continue to post stories of my experiences, but I doubt I will be able to document everything. If any of you have specific questions, leave it in the comments box and I will try to answer them!
We took an 8 hour bus ride from Tokyo to Sendai then finally to Ishinomaki. Our HQ was at an elementary school transformed into a "Refugee" center/Volunteer headquarters. This place was truly a site to see. There were many sections around the school that looked like a junkyard with cars, bikes, boats etc. strewn about. It would be impossible to describe all of the destruction so I will post some pictures. (Also, I will post more pictures on my Facebook page. I will make the album "public" so you all can see it.)
As I said earlier last week, we had no idea what kind of work we were going to be doing. As it turns out, they put us out in the field armed with shovels and wheelbarrows helping the local residents clean up their homes a bit. Our groups (anywhere from 8-15 people) would work 2 shifts a day from 8:30am-5:30pm with a lunch break. We were working our butts off all day, and the crazy thing was that at the end of the day it hardly looked like we did anything. Sure, we would clear tons of mud out of people's bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens, but we would move them out onto the streets where it looked like a wasteland. The rebuilding process is going to take years, even with all of the help they are getting. However, it was such a rewarding feeling to be able to help these people out. The gratitude on their faces and in their words was remarkable. There were times where we would be shoveling through the mud in their homes and we would find pictures and various possessions. We would bring it to them and ask them if it was trash or if they wanted to keep it, and there were times where they would be so thrilled that we were able to retrieve these items. These were memories that they had thought were lost forever, yet we were able to bring them back to them.
The elementary school that housed us was unlike anything I had ever seen. Classrooms had been converted into bedrooms housing anywhere from 20-25 people, the gym was converted into a cafeteria for the residents, and a portion of the baseball field had an Ofuro (public bath) built where everyone could get cleaned up. Overall there were probably around 500 people living at this school. I was so impressed with the cleanliness of the school, as many of the residents/volunteers took it upon themselves to make sure it was a suitable place to live.
Back at the elementary school that housed us, many of us were able to develop some really great relationships with the displaced people living there. In fact, some of the children came to hang out with us every day. We would come back from our shifts and they would be in our rooms waiting for us with baseball gloves and soccer balls ready to play ball! One of my friends, an avid yo yo enthusiast, brought 30 yo yo's up as gifts, and was giving some of the kids lessons. I brought my friend's guitar up and we would have jam sessions with the kids, and sometimes with the Oji-san's (Uncles, or middle aged guys). The residents stories of their experiences with the tsunami/earthquake were so sad, it was impossible to imagine what they went through. In future blog posts, I will go into further detail of some of the residents stories.
Overall, the trip was one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life, and I feel like I have changed for the better because of it. I think we all have. The positivity at this place was something to behold, especially given the circumstances of their living situation. I will continue to post stories of my experiences, but I doubt I will be able to document everything. If any of you have specific questions, leave it in the comments box and I will try to answer them!
Driving through Ishinomaki
Ishinomaki elementary school/refugee center/our home for a week
Ishinomaki Elementary's pool
A home we cleaned up, that used to have a beautiful botanical garden in front.
The line of sediment left on the wall, just below the 2nd floor was the water level of the tsunami.
Some old records
A class picture we found
The Oji-san's hanging out
Little man channeling Hideo Nomo
Team Kobe and Shunsuke, a resident, in the middle
Ishinomaki was really a beautiful place, and will become beautiful once again.
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