Sometimes I believe it is all to do with the earthquake. But I still find it difficult to talk about. I reason with myself that nobody understands. On a bad day I find myself blaming the media. As I watched houses cascading into the ocean, journalists turned up on our doorsteps by the cargo load, scavenging for sorrow. News reported that the end of the world was nigh. And I, in the midst of it all, was subject to phone call after phone call, demanding I come home.
I began writing to document my story of the earthquake. I don't for a minute think it is worth your pity. But I hope that by breaking the 9.0 into pieces, thoughts, interactions, experiences, you might understand us better.
I'd like to say that Japan, despite what you heard about Fukushima, earthquakes, tsunamis, Godzilla, anything else which might deter you from going... Japan remains the safest country to which I have ever been. Japan, the Tohoku region, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in particular, still need your support (Disaster In Figures on the BBC) and tourism. If you worry about radiation, all I can tell you now that I am yet to grow a third kidney (I lived 60km from Dai ichi Power plant). But perhaps this report by the BBC will put you at ease.
To make a monetary donation try this website.
And finally, I have to say thank you again to Otake-sensei, Shiho, Jonathan, Jen, Corey, V, Aido, Johnny, Mides, Clodagh, Andrew, Adele, Ceely, Ro-ro, Jeremy and Shiroishi BoE.
Jenni Yau updated her status
9 March at 18:46
"my favourite animal is cats. i have a cat. the cat's name is daijiro. i like him because he is a big cat. daijiro has a girlfriend. i must give him food. thank you."
Aftershock
Rumbling
From sail to sail
長い長い!
They croak
beneath steel desks.
At 3am.
And at 6.
6:27.
I roll over.
Jenni Yau updated her status
10 March at 07:52
“'What lies, we had 3 6.something quakes last night! I hope this isn't like, a warm up for the big one or something... I mean it is allegedly due...”
Graduation.
'Last time
Jenni-sensei.
Will you marry me?'
The last school song
See you forever, they say.
Now home.
in my pillow
For a mid afternoon nap.
The cradle begins
To rock,
Again.
I wait to
Let it pass.
Open eyes
In time
For the
Crash.
The room shatters
We smack
TVs against crockery
Shipwrecked
On rugged shore
Scramble
To the doldrums
Under the doorframe
I observe,
wait
watch.
Matchsticks
In a box
I am lucky.
Only broken glass,
and
a suicidal microwave to report.
My first thought
Went to the kitchen
which I cleaned
Just yesterday.
My neighbour
(Age three)
Asks what happened.
But I haven't yet read
Japanese for Earthquakes.
Jenni Yau updated her status
11 March at 14:58
"Holy christ that was a big un. all my shit is now on the floor"
Back to work
for the shock
Battling
snow
and falling glass.
We がんばっろう
One ear to ground
7.9
8.4
8.8
Figures creep higher
As we do
Through the wailing school
8.9
What news?
Tsunami...
Silence falls
Twenty miles from shore.
Stephen Yau wrote on your wall
Wing Yun Yau wrote on your wall
Yuk Hung Yau wrote on your wall
Rachel Ng wrote on your wall
Nestor Iwanowicz Machno sent you a message
11 March 2011 at 18:23
Hey,I'm sorry to bother you, as I'm a stranger, but I've seen your comment on Sam Rosenblums wall, and it indicates that you're in Japan at the moment?
I know Sam very briefly, I'm just a good friend of his good friend. But I'm also a journalist from Poland, and my newspaper is preparing an article about the quake in Japan. I need a few quotes from the people, that are at the spot. Could you please help me out?
If you could write very briefly about how you felt during the quake, what your first thoughts were, what is the life on the streets looking like, and how are the people around you acting, I would be extremely gratefull.
Or maybe, if the phones are working again, could you please pass me your number, so that I could phone you?
Or course, if you don't want to be quoted in the newspaper for any reason, I perfectly understand that, and in that case I'm sorry for bothering you.
Cheers, ...
(that's my real name, the Facebook one is a fake)
Joma West wrote on your wall
Scott Graham Strachan wrote on your
wall
Adam Matheson wrote on your wall
Raymond Q Smuckles wrote on your wall
The gaijin union
We are only three.
Seek companions in the dark
Refuge
With students
And strawberries.
Samea Khan wrote on your wall
Peter Wright wrote on your wall
Kirsty Halliday wrote on your wall
Thundering through the gym
Clockwork silence.
Sam Wood wrote on your wall
Adam Wilson wrote on your wall
A generator bursts
Basketball nets quiver in
lamplight
Now we see
Whose children cry.
Gregg Francis sent you a message
Sacha Seeruthun wrote on your wall
Steven Watt wrote on your wall
Alan Inkster wrote on your wall
Stuart Dalgliesh wrote on your wall
Hazel Mckendrick wrote on your wall
Joma West wrote on your wall
The morning after
still 2:46
A murmur.
9.0
Stephen Yau wrote on your wall
12 March at 17:26
“I've put you on the Foriegn
Embassy's missing persons register...i can't find your mobile number
..i've only got your home number...mum and Yun aren't home or
something....bt already asked mum, she'll pass it to me soon.. which
evacuation centre are you at?”
Jenni Yau updated her status
12 March at 21:37
"Hey all, thanks for the lovely
messages but worry not, I am safe and dry. I live in the mountains so
I avoided the tsunami havock but because its rural I have no water or
leccy. If someone wouldnt mind donating eother or some jaffa cakes it
would be much appreciated."
Clodagh Power wrote on your wall
12 March 2011 at 23:23
"hey jenni have you heard from
adele? her family are really worried..."
We four
clasp torches.
The room wobbles
Jonathan snores.
Stephen Yau wrote on your wall
13 March at 06:17
“ok, big earthquake, 30ft tsunami,
over 1000 dead/missing, and most damage is around miyagi where you
stay - i must have been crazy to panic.. i've notified the embassy.
As for jaffa cakes, i'll send you a whole box on condition that you
just stay where you are in the hills, and give us a minimum ten word
daily update...starting with "I'm ok".”
No light
We cook
By heartbeat
My microwave jumped
Jon's cupboard,
ducked for cover
A boat knocked
on Anna's door.
Everyone saw it
The whirlpool.
Jenni Yau updated her status
13 March 2011 at 11:41
"If anyone has heard from Anna can
you let me know? And if anyone wants to contact me my phoneline works
but still no electricity or water so... Might go out to get some so
dont panic if I don't a answer. 0224 24 5227"
Relatives, not mines.
Ask about grandaughters,
brothers, cousins.
I know nothing,
Beyond my village limits
Joma West wrote on your wall
13 March 2011 at 20:23
Btw in case you're retarded and didn't
get the message keep the updates rolling in as often as possible.
You'll get your jaffa cakes when you come back. Present pile.
Fukushima;
A byword
For disaster.
Stephen Yau wrote on your wall
13 March 2011 at 21:01
"Jennifer, I've just heard on news
of a second explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant, if you're at
home in Shiroishi you're less than 30 miles away from it. The BBC
reports that Road side security have imposed a 60km evacuation zone,
Which puts you in the middle of it. You'll need to leave Shiroishi
and go with emergency services to an evacuation centre much further
away, its not safe. You're home phones engaged but will keep trying.
Staying at home isn't safe, so you and your friends should leave
asap. Stay with emergency services where you'll be safe.
Still 2:46.
At least
I'm not late for work
Stephen Yau wrote on your wall
13 March 2011 at 21:54
"The second explosion has not
happened yet, but there is a threat of it happening, you'll need to
leave shiroishi, i'm not able to get through to your home number for
some reason, WY is about to call you"
Primal rumble
I hear it
Before I feel it.
Reconnected.
Ring ring. Ring ring.
It never stops.
A shout from below.
Digits flash.
We blow out candles.
Jenni Yau updated her status
14 March 2011 at 19:43
"apologies for the slow updates. i
do live on the boarder of miyagi and fukushima, but we are far enough
from the nuclear plants. electricity restored an hour ago. no water
yet. food is a vague concern, but there was a food drop. cant leave
the village for the forseeable future. gas is... not sure. if it
rains it will be acidic. but, we are happy, safe, and flipping lucky
not to live at the coast."
My sister demands exodus
But I'm no Israelite.
Flyjin, we're called.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
15 March 2011 at 10:09
Jenni wrote a new note: Dear Nestor.
Our fridge empties;
Three lanky carrots
A carton of warm milk.
Jenni Yau updated her status
15 March 2011 at 12:32
“Is anyone from Tohoku Gakuin
University? A friend from home is trying to locate a family friend
who taught English there so any info would be greatly appreciated"
He calls
We haven't spoken in a
year.
Come home.
He calls.
Radioactive spinich.
I could use an extra heart.
Ring ring.
(Anonymous) updated her status
15 March 2011 at 12:53
“All the embassies have been great.
Sending out emails and messages to their citizens, personally
visiting their citizens in Miyagi, and bussing them to neighbouring
prefectures... Except for Canada which has not sent us any
information or tried to make contact.
Liam called the embassy this morning,
and they told us to fly out of Sendai airport -which is underwater.
When Liam told her it was underwater,
she told us to go to Fukushima and fly out of there.
Fukushima is the prefecture with the
Nuclear Power Plant, that has evacuated 100,000 people.
So the embassy directed us towards a
flooded, tsunami area, and then a Nuclear disaster zone.
Then they told us to ask local
authorities instead, saying they were going to wait until after an
earthquake hits Tokyo to make any comments or suggestions.”
A six hour queue
for petrol.
Roads torn
Broken like biscuits.
Stranded on land
Jenni Yau updated her status
15 March 2011 at 18:10
"Japan, I am amazed. I live in the
sticks, and yet I have electricity, gas, phone and internet. Food
exists in some form or another, as does water and sanitation. AND the
postman came round this morning. I will never, ever, make fun of your
haircut again. In the words of a junior high school student,
みんなさん、ガンバッテ!!
And you guys at home, if that's what Japan can do, you can surely get
some Jaffa cakes in a jiffy bag!"
Inaccurate reports
Reports of inaccuracy
We wade through reportage.
Ring ring.
Jenni Yau updated her status
15 March 2011 at 18:27
Ok, so, as reliable as the BBC is, can
people please check reliable sources before they spiral into panic
mode: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
No modicum of tact left.
Dirty laundry left to dry.
七十パーセント。
七十パーセント。
What's nanajuu pasento?
Jenni Yau commented on your status
16 March 2011 at 09:21
This is the official line from the
Japan Meteorological Agency: Estimating from the occurrence of
aftershocks so far, the possibility of aftershocks with maximum JMA
Seismic Intensity of 5+ or higher is 40% for the 3-day period from
15:00 JST, 15 March, followed by 20% for the 3-day period from 15:00
JST, 18 March to 15:00 JST, 21 March.
Jenni Yau updated her status
16 March 2011 at 18:45
"just spoke to the British
consulate rep in Sendai. What a sweetheart. Too bad he was completely
useless to me. I wonder if he had jaffa cakes..."
Ring ring.
Jenni Yau updated her status
16 March 2011 at 21:07
after careful consideration and a long
chat with my kyoto sensei, i think i might stay to help. i'm not in
any immediate danger, apart from a hernia from worried family
members. i do not want to talk about the subject of me coming home or
leaving miyagi again, so please, you know who you are, do not speak
about it unless i bring it up.
Wing Yun Yau commented on your status
16 March 2011 at 03:40
Yep, good job airing your dirty laundry
in public. Be careful what you post publicly. We're not happy about
your conduct but respect your decision to stay. Drop the attitude,
don't forget the updates and take care of yourself and others out
there. Sis, Bro and mum X
Adam Matheson commented on your status
17 March 2011 at 10:52
To be fair Jenni I have been worried
about you too. But more in terms of running out of food, water and
heating than getting radiation poisoning. People hear nuclear and
forget the humanitarian crisis, which is a far bigger problem in
North East Japan right now.
.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
It never stops.
Guilt rises.
Jenni Yau updated her status
17 March 2011 at 16:51
“On my way out. I may be some time.”
Abandonner.
Jenni Yau updated her status
17 March 2011 at 22:42
“Stuck at home for now, will leave
tomorrow. In the meantime, it's a hot toddy and a green jumper for
me.”
Three.
We hit the back roads west.
Dodging tarmac
Torn from the ground.
Jenni Yau updated her status
18 March 2011 at 23:47
Tsuruoka, Yamagata. 200km from
Fukushima.
Neil Anderson updated his status
19 March 2011 at 02:08
Safely in Tokyo with Jenny Arnup.
Thank you to...
The Australian Embassy: For both paying
our $130 taxi from Shiroishi to Sendai and setting us up together
with a ride down to Tokyo with the Canadians.
The Canadian Embassy: For a
comfortable, free ride to Tokyo and a warm welcome by the Canadian
ambassador at the embassy followed by dinner and hotel reservations
for the night.
The American Embassy: For nothing...
Raymond Q Smuckles commented on your
status
19 March 2011 at 03:10
ha, madness. so what's the plan - is
that the program pretty much over for you, after kyoto?
Jenni Yau commented on her status
19 March 2011 at 09:57
No, i gotta go back to miyagi, i have a
job there still!
Brian 'Simba' Garvey posted a comment
19 March 2011 at 10:43
Sendai getting bleaker? Is it possible?
Christopher Nicholls posted a comment
19 March 2011 at 13:30
I think I saw a zombie earlier. And a
werewolf. And Lady Gaga.
Jenni Yau updated her status
19 March 2011 at 19:05
I was called up and offered iodine
tablets by my embassy, provided I could come to Sendai and get them.
I told them yesterday I was in Yamagata. I'm being put up by friends
of friends who are being amazing.
Jenni Yau updated her status
20 March 2011 at 18:29
"being very conscientiously looked
after by some lovely strangers. may not have slept in days, but am
fine."
Jenni Yau updated her status
21 March 2011 at 18:29
"Realising I haven't updated in a
few days - still alive, still being looked after in Tsuruoka. Have
been helping with a food drive for supplies for Miyagi."
Jenni Yau updated her status
22 March 2011 at 17:02
"I remember describing the nuclear
situation to you as being this exactly, and all I could think was -
FUCK, I've turned Japanese. "
Jenni Yau updated her status
23 March 2011 at 13:06
"Has a numb arse from train
hopping. in niigata, on my way to joetsu to visit the lovely adam
wilson. in other news, skipping town uses the remainder of my holiday
days and then will be considered unpaid leave beyond the remaining
days i had. that's the price of peace of mind for the family..."
Jonathan Borja posted on your wall
10 April 2011 at 10:36
Yea local trains were supposed to start
last week but got suspended cuz of the earthquake last week but I'm
watching it on the news now. Shink goes up to Fukushima starting
today n local trains from Fukushima to Sendai are running too.
Jenni Yau updated her status
12th April 2011 at 15:33
"Ta, ta, ただいま!
You know, it really doesn't look so bad... Extreme gas bill aside."
Jenni Yau updated her status
14 April 2011 at 18:50
"Dear toaster. I cannot comprehend
how you have survived being shaken off the fridge. Twice. I love you;
please, never ever change.
Brian 'Simba' Garvey posted on your
wall
15 April 2011 at 13:48
I love you so much right now
Some readers' responses to Roberto De
Vido's "Judge not, lest you be judged" (March 22), Darek
Gondor's " 'Fly-jin' face fallout from decision to go"
(April 5), and Darryl Magree's March 29 letter
Three months on...
A story;
An orphan
born of the whirlpool
just beyond the school
gates.
We listen.
We arrange ourselves
By flood depth
Proximity to glowing
spinach,
How long it took to flush
your loo, and
How many students you lost.
Judge not,
Lest ye judge yourself
cautious,
We suck slowly each word,
Knowing our place
by the weight of our heart.
You, who left,
Flood the room
with weighted air.
Humidity rises
An oil slick
Will not wash
But merely recedes.
Four months have passed,
No more.
Not a day passes
Where we don't
Tie our pulse
To the beat of the ground.
Don't forget, you can still
donate to Japan.
Before and After pictures on the BBC
