As a German I was educated in not being proud to be a German national or at least not to say it aloud because it is still strongly connected to bad things that happened in the past, but... I have to say, I'm quite proud that Germany is in the process of shutting down its atomic plants. This was a long process: starting in the 80s with huge public demonstrations, in the late 90s becoming an official plan of the government and despite struggling in the beginning of 2011 due to political change it got reinforced after the disaster happening in Japan.
I am a formal economic student and know about the advantages of atomic energy but I was never able to understand why nations would still go for it knowing about the horrible risks attached to it. There are two things which makes this energy source a total no-go. 1. The obvious risk of a meltdown and 2. the atomic waste lasting for nearly forever. In the 50s and 60s, atomic energy was considered a clean and efficient energy source but since 1986 we should know that it is highly dangerous not just for the country the plant is built in. After 60 years of use and research we should assume that it is unlikely that we find a solution to neutralize the left-overs and the pollution this "clean" energy source creates. It's a dead end and I can't understand why nations are still planning to build new plants instead of investing this billions of money in research to make renewable energy more efficient and longterm storable. In the long run it would be so much cheaper and so much safer. Can lobbyism be so much stronger than good human sense and judgement? How many human-made disasters we need to experience to make people in charge change their minds?
Montag, 20. Juni 2011
Cultural response
When it comes to creativity I am not one of the brightest lights but still this assignment was very important to me, so I hope my work transports at least a tiny message...
The words I borrowed from Kenji Miyazawa's poem "Be not Defeated by the Rain" (see entry before) and the pictures I found in the Internet on several pages (if you are interested I can send the links to you). Let's hope I don't violate some copyrights here...
The words I borrowed from Kenji Miyazawa's poem "Be not Defeated by the Rain" (see entry before) and the pictures I found in the Internet on several pages (if you are interested I can send the links to you). Let's hope I don't violate some copyrights here...
Sonntag, 19. Juni 2011
Diplomatic Reaction
Answers to the questions of the "Diplomatic Reaction group":
1. I am and always was a citizen of Germany. At the day the earthquake happened I was in Germany where I would stay until April 13th due to some trouble with my airline company. When the situation in Fukushima became obvious I tried to gather as much information as possible. I was very concerned and shocked about the chain-reaction triggered by the earthquake. Before returning to Japan, I had some serious talk with friends and my family wether to return or stay in Germany. At the day I left Germany I wasn't sure if the situation was as bad as shown in the German media or as controlled as shown in the Japanese media. To be honest I am still not sure but try to make the best out of it. I love Japan but I wouldn't be here if I would believe my life or health is in serious danger. But I can understand that other people don't want to take the risk.
2. Soon after 3.11, I saw in the news that the German embassy would try to contact the ca. 5000 Germans in Japan but I didn't receive any such tries. I hope it was because they knew that I had left Japan before the disaster. Because of visa issues etc, my email and home address as well as my address in Tokyo should be known to them, so that shouldn't be the reason. I hope it wasn't because they were busy moving the embassy from Tokyo to Osaka.
In the aftermath, I got all my information from somewhere else but these days the Internet page provides weekly information, which I (at least) find reliable. So I check in once in a while.
3. Since I was not in Japan at this time, I don't know much about any actions taken by the embassy. I know that they moved to Osaka to be out of the line and that they recommended to stay out or to leave Japan if possible. I was not there, so I won't judge this recommendation.
I am not sure if this list existed before but the embassy also strongly recommend citizens to register their contact information at the German embassy.
4. Well, it's easy to say out of the perspective of a person who was not in Japan when the things happened. But I would have wished that the embassy would have contacted people. I know from a Swiss friend that his embassy not just contacted him but also offered him a flight back to Switzerland. Of course their are less Swiss in Japan than Germans but therefore the German embassy could have employed more people.
5. I am sorry but I have no idea. I know that Japan and Germany always had good bilateral relations and I don't think that much will change in the future. I know that the German people are very touched by the things and that a lot of found-raising events etc have take place but I am not sure if this because of the dramatical situation itself or because we have tight relations. But this is not about official political relations.
6. I was surprised that Japan does not except much help from other countries. I think in times of crises they should swallow their pride and get all the help they can get. Who said they have to deal with this alone? Especially because the radioactivity could effect more countries besides Japan. And an underdeveloped country might not be able to send money but maybe people who can help with rebuilding houses etc. I wish they would see help separated from political context...
Be not defeated by the rain
In the bus on our way to Hanamaki, an older Japanese gentleman tried to convince another volunteer to read some of the works of Hanamaki's famous writer Kenji Miyazawa. I am not sure if he had much success with the volunteer but the name sucked in my head and I couldn't resist to look him up and read some of his works. In my next entry I will (mis)use one of his poems for one of my assignments but I would like to post it before, so you can see the whole and not just the parts I used. It's surprisingly matching for the current situation. Maybe some of the people in Rikuzen Takada or the other effected areas know and remember his words right now...
Be not defeated by the rain, Nor let the wind prove your better.
Succumb not to the snows of winter. Nor be bested by the heat of summer.
Be strong in body. Unfettered by desire. Not enticed to anger. Cultivate a quiet joy.
Count yourself last in everything. Put others before you.
Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.
A thatch-roof house, in a meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade.
A handful of rice, some miso, and a few vegetables to suffice for the day.
If, to the East, a child lies sick: Go forth and nurse him to health.
If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted: Go forth, and relieve her of burden.
If, to the South, a man lies dying: Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear.
If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues:
Go forth and beg them stop such a waste of effort and of spirit.
In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy.
In summers cold, walk in concern and empathy.
Stand aloof of the unknowing masses:
Better dismissed as useless than flattered as a "Great Man".
This is my goal, the person I strive to become.
Borrowed from: http://www.kenji-world.net/english/
Montag, 6. Juni 2011
Personal experience with media coverage of 3.11
At the day the disaster hit Japan I was on vacation in Germany. It was early morning when my mum called me and told me about the earthquake.
When I am in Germany, I get my information basically through radio and when I am in Japan I podcast a German news show. I use other sources sporadically without particularly looking for it. E.g. when I open my mail program it suggests me some online newspaper headlines and sometimes one grabs my attention.
What changed after 3.11 was that I would watch television a lot. Basically NTV Germany, which is a all-day new program, and when the topic became a little less popular I would switch to CNN and BBC.
When I returned to Japan I found myself lacking information because I don't have a television and I didn't feel enough informed by most international online newspapers. Japanese newspapers were out of range for me since my Japanese skills are not good enough to read articles without a lot of effort. One more problem is that I spend most time of my day outside. So I wanted something I can use for my iPhone and I actually found that NHK World has an app which allows you to certain programs in a live stream. The news are in English and cover Japanese matters but also important international news and the newslines are basically once an hour. I would strongly recommend to get it if you are in a similar situation.
As for the reliability... I wouldn't favor a certain media. I think there are newspapers which try to stay neutral and simply inform people but of course they are some others who just want to sell and dramatize the situation because obviously drama sells best. But this was always like this, not just for 3.11. And of course this applies to all media... there are those and others. What I found really bad was that the information coverage was not sufficient. The serious media wanted to report but there were not many news every day and the not serious media would just make something up to fill the gap because people were really worried and willing to listen.
I liked the use of facebook, twitter etc to easily connect with the people you are worried about and with a status update you can get a lot of people at once but I don't consider it as serious source of information. It's similar to Wikipedia. You can get a first idea of something but the proper research I prefer to do in the library...
Sonntag, 5. Juni 2011
Diary
My posts got a little mixed up... please start with reading Day 1 which is somewhere down there. The post "one week later" should be the last one to read. Yes, obviously... just wanted to make sure ;)
And a big thank you to Cecilia who helped me with the English <3
And a big thank you to Cecilia who helped me with the English <3
2011-05-27, Day 8
7:05
A lot of new people arrived and the bus is crowded. I'll miss my own two seats but next to Ruben it (at least) doesn't get cold ^^
And it's good that we are so many again, so we can clean a bigger area.
Yesterday night we had our own kind of bye-bye party since it is our last night here. After dinner we'll go on the bus.
Our last day promises to be cloudy...
A lot of new people arrived and the bus is crowded. I'll miss my own two seats but next to Ruben it (at least) doesn't get cold ^^
And it's good that we are so many again, so we can clean a bigger area.
Yesterday night we had our own kind of bye-bye party since it is our last night here. After dinner we'll go on the bus.
Our last day promises to be cloudy...
The guys seem to be in a happy mood. It’s the last day… There seems to be a something indefinable between the 12 of us who stayed over the week. I can’t describe it, maybe I can later…
9:15
For the last time we requested tools in the volunteer center. I really don’t want to leave…
16:30
Today we were assigned for rice fields again. It was strange. I really feel in charge of the new volunteers, like I should give everything to them I learnt during the past week. Already in the bus on our way to the assigned area, I tried to make the two Japanese girls in front of us feel better about what they would see soon. So I told them, that we are requested from survivors and the personal things we will find are not from dead people, they shouldn’t worry. Ruben was whispering later that this wouldn’t be true since the tsunami of course moved a lot of things to different places. But if my little lie makes the girls feel better then it was worth it. We had the same strange situation when we arrived. The new people would be silent and the others would try to cheer them up. I hope they were as thankful as I was on the first day… It’s really impossible to let those things come too close: I remember the first day and how horrible I felt… But those things have to be done by somebody and I am really happy that I could be one of them at least for a few days…
The work was good. The temperature decreased and even though the sun was shining a lot it wasn’t as hot as the days before. We tried to give the new people a kind of orientation since most of them were unsure of what to do and how to do the things. I was surprised how many of them were fluent in English, with the Japanese in our group it was mostly just possible to talk in Japanese.
The farmer we were helping out was really a tough guy, instead of putting burnable and not-burnable collections close to the street; we would burn the burnable things on the field. Finally we had our tent camp fire… even though it was quite different than I imagined :)
21:10
We just left the camp… OmG, I am really sad… I will miss them all so much. I would have never thought we would grow into such a strong community. I hope I’ll see them all again. The ones who were with us all the time but also the new ones. I don’t want to go… How can we just return to normal life after all this???
2011-05-26, Day 7
8:20
Ruben had a long talk with Kenji-san and Nakayama-san (the JAR stuff I was working with yesterday). I am not sure what exactly they were talking about since we hadn't much time in the morning but I think he made sure that they know about the bus driver and his polite demotivation. And in the morning Nakayama-san was talking to the driver. Let's see what it helped.
I'm quite happy to be working outside again. I like the change but of course I would have gone one more day to the office if it was needed but two Japanese girls go today. I find it a little inefficient to take four different people on two days since we know already what to do and could be more productive. But I'm the last to complain about this arrangement. I'm just wondering if the Japanese lady is ok with her knee.
Ruben had a long talk with Kenji-san and Nakayama-san (the JAR stuff I was working with yesterday). I am not sure what exactly they were talking about since we hadn't much time in the morning but I think he made sure that they know about the bus driver and his polite demotivation. And in the morning Nakayama-san was talking to the driver. Let's see what it helped.
I'm quite happy to be working outside again. I like the change but of course I would have gone one more day to the office if it was needed but two Japanese girls go today. I find it a little inefficient to take four different people on two days since we know already what to do and could be more productive. But I'm the last to complain about this arrangement. I'm just wondering if the Japanese lady is ok with her knee.
9:00
When we stopped at the convini, I had a small talk with the driver. Looks like Nakayama-san's talk was kind of effective. Gosh, my Japanese sucks, I really have to study again. A two years break is a way too long!!!
When we stopped at the convini, I had a small talk with the driver. Looks like Nakayama-san's talk was kind of effective. Gosh, my Japanese sucks, I really have to study again. A two years break is a way too long!!!
16:15
We were at the same site as two days before (the others were here yesterday too… so they were at the same site 3 days in a row). Since I wasn't there yesterday, it was ok for me but some in the group were a little bored with it. A team of students joined us and I think we did all we could have done,... The rest must be finished by a machine.
Nyun-san gave us an interview today. At the moment we started another team finished it's lunch break. I hope the noises are not too disturbing. Nyun-san is the old man from Myanmar. I could listen to him forever.
I would have liked to have interviewed Kenji-san too. Yesterday he explained a lot to me about the volunteer work. For example that most of the streets we can see now were not there before but were built to make orientation and transport easier. He also said that the volunteer workers get sent through requests from the owner while the military and state organizations clean up public areas or areas where nobody else takes care off...
At the volunteer center, the bus driver again talked to me. Something about history and if I didn’t know Japanese history a little bit, I guess I would have been lost. I'll try to stay away from the driver now. He is a little bit scary. First he doesn’t talk to me in a week and now twice in one day. Doesn’t he see that I can’t speak Japanese :(
I think I'll take a nap now. I'm suddenly quite sleepy...
We were at the same site as two days before (the others were here yesterday too… so they were at the same site 3 days in a row). Since I wasn't there yesterday, it was ok for me but some in the group were a little bored with it. A team of students joined us and I think we did all we could have done,... The rest must be finished by a machine.
Nyun-san gave us an interview today. At the moment we started another team finished it's lunch break. I hope the noises are not too disturbing. Nyun-san is the old man from Myanmar. I could listen to him forever.
I would have liked to have interviewed Kenji-san too. Yesterday he explained a lot to me about the volunteer work. For example that most of the streets we can see now were not there before but were built to make orientation and transport easier. He also said that the volunteer workers get sent through requests from the owner while the military and state organizations clean up public areas or areas where nobody else takes care off...
At the volunteer center, the bus driver again talked to me. Something about history and if I didn’t know Japanese history a little bit, I guess I would have been lost. I'll try to stay away from the driver now. He is a little bit scary. First he doesn’t talk to me in a week and now twice in one day. Doesn’t he see that I can’t speak Japanese :(
I think I'll take a nap now. I'm suddenly quite sleepy...
20:00
We had to move to another tent because we got ants. Couldn't they have waited one more day to move in?
I got a small cut on my knee today, so I couldn't stay long in the onsen. I had to hold my knee out of the water which must have looked a little strange to the other guests. It sounds silly but I think I'll get some knee protection for the next time I come... I spent nearly as many hours on my knees as on my feet I guess and having this little injury now doesn't feel good. And it was so stupid. I just ran into part of a corrugated iron roof. It was there the whole day. I stepped over it 100 times but the 101st time I just didn't lift my leg high enough. It is really just a small cut but it wouldn't stop bleeding until Mizue put some burning disinfectant liquid and a band aid. Normally I wouldn't mind it but with all this dirt. Better safe than sorry ne? Between all this routine I guess I forget that it is in a way dangerous if you don't concentrate on your work and even if it is sometimes really boring, it's better to be 100% with the things you do instead of getting seriously injured.
We had to move to another tent because we got ants. Couldn't they have waited one more day to move in?
I got a small cut on my knee today, so I couldn't stay long in the onsen. I had to hold my knee out of the water which must have looked a little strange to the other guests. It sounds silly but I think I'll get some knee protection for the next time I come... I spent nearly as many hours on my knees as on my feet I guess and having this little injury now doesn't feel good. And it was so stupid. I just ran into part of a corrugated iron roof. It was there the whole day. I stepped over it 100 times but the 101st time I just didn't lift my leg high enough. It is really just a small cut but it wouldn't stop bleeding until Mizue put some burning disinfectant liquid and a band aid. Normally I wouldn't mind it but with all this dirt. Better safe than sorry ne? Between all this routine I guess I forget that it is in a way dangerous if you don't concentrate on your work and even if it is sometimes really boring, it's better to be 100% with the things you do instead of getting seriously injured.
2011-05-25, Day 6
8:10
Today I'm assigned for a totally different kind of work. One Japanese lady and I are going to help packing care packets. I'm not sure what exactly we have to do, where it is and with whom. But I don't have to wear working clothes which makes it already interesting for me since it seems to become a really sunny day. I'm a little bit concerned about my Japanese skills since the lady can't speak English. My Japanese is enough to communicate in daily situations but is it enough for working? We'll see...
Today I'm assigned for a totally different kind of work. One Japanese lady and I are going to help packing care packets. I'm not sure what exactly we have to do, where it is and with whom. But I don't have to wear working clothes which makes it already interesting for me since it seems to become a really sunny day. I'm a little bit concerned about my Japanese skills since the lady can't speak English. My Japanese is enough to communicate in daily situations but is it enough for working? We'll see...
9:25
Maybe they forgot about us. The Japanese lady and I are still at the camp. Even though the sun is shining it is getting a little cold right now. Mizue (the group leader) tried to call the person who is supposed to pick us up but he doesn't have connection. It's really a problem to communicate in this area. If you get a signal, the person you want to call might not have one...
The Japanese lady got a small injury on her knee yesterday, so maybe she should go to a doctor just to make sure that it isn't something serious...
Maybe they forgot about us. The Japanese lady and I are still at the camp. Even though the sun is shining it is getting a little cold right now. Mizue (the group leader) tried to call the person who is supposed to pick us up but he doesn't have connection. It's really a problem to communicate in this area. If you get a signal, the person you want to call might not have one...
The Japanese lady got a small injury on her knee yesterday, so maybe she should go to a doctor just to make sure that it isn't something serious...
9:45
We finally left the camp. Nakayama-san tries to find a hospital. I'm not sure if we go there directly or if we go first to the working place. It's nearly 10am and I feel like working. At least it's not cold in the car...
(12:45 We just dropped her of at the hospital and she just came back. She is ok, nothing serious. Yokatta ^^)
We finally left the camp. Nakayama-san tries to find a hospital. I'm not sure if we go there directly or if we go first to the working place. It's nearly 10am and I feel like working. At least it's not cold in the car...
(12:45 We just dropped her of at the hospital and she just came back. She is ok, nothing serious. Yokatta ^^)
22:20
It was a good day. We packed sanitary packets for women. The office we went for it was packed with so many boxes and in the middle was a big table. There were three groups of bags to pack depending on the age of the women which were named after flowers. The content of the packets of each flower would change slightly and the color of the ribbon we put on the handle of each bag too. It was not a difficult job and after we divided the work it became routine quite quickly. There were a few things to consider like what color should the wash bag be (I'm sure the 80 years old lady would be as unhappy about a pink bag as the young girl about the brown-orange one) or which part to put first that everything fits even shape and size change but all over it was relaxing to do. Until the part where it becomes so much routine that you are not sure any longer whether you already did something or not. Then you'll have to double check which is quite annoying or you really concentrate on your work which makes it a little bit boring.
It was a good day. We packed sanitary packets for women. The office we went for it was packed with so many boxes and in the middle was a big table. There were three groups of bags to pack depending on the age of the women which were named after flowers. The content of the packets of each flower would change slightly and the color of the ribbon we put on the handle of each bag too. It was not a difficult job and after we divided the work it became routine quite quickly. There were a few things to consider like what color should the wash bag be (I'm sure the 80 years old lady would be as unhappy about a pink bag as the young girl about the brown-orange one) or which part to put first that everything fits even shape and size change but all over it was relaxing to do. Until the part where it becomes so much routine that you are not sure any longer whether you already did something or not. Then you'll have to double check which is quite annoying or you really concentrate on your work which makes it a little bit boring.
At the end of the day I was surprised that I was as exhausted as after working with the group outside just in a different way. My feet were hurting a lot and my back starts to complain right now. But since we didn't have the 4 hour bus trip, we could work nearly 3 hours longer.
Maybe I shouldn't have skipped the onsen today. But I didn't think about the pain, just about that I wasn't dirty and that it would be a chance to save 400¥ (that’s the price with the discount). After all I am still a poor student.
BUT that wasn't all about my day. I had tempura soba for lunch. Some of you might be surprised that this was such a big thing for me but I just said yesterday to Ruben that I so wish I could have soba in a real restaurant (or something else from this region) and that it is a little sad that we are here for 9 days and don't see anything from the area we are in besides the same bus route every day. Of course we are here for working but it would have been nice to have an evening outside of the camp and if it is just for having soba. So I was really happy that I got the chance to at least eat soba.
BUT that was again not the only exciting thing happened. Since we worked so long that we missed the others at the super market and because we decided not to go to onsen, Nakayama-san took us to a temple on a hill from which we had a beautiful view over the area. There are so many rice fields here. For sunrise it must be amazing when the light brakes in all that water... We just stayed a few minutes but it was really cool that Nakayama-san showed us this place. So I can say I did at least a little bit of sight seeing.
I wish there would be a chance that we could ask the driver to bring us all there one evening, it's just a few minutes from the camp. But since he is already so unmotivated to bring us to the onsen, I guess I don't even have to ask :(
BUT that wasn't all about my day. I had tempura soba for lunch. Some of you might be surprised that this was such a big thing for me but I just said yesterday to Ruben that I so wish I could have soba in a real restaurant (or something else from this region) and that it is a little sad that we are here for 9 days and don't see anything from the area we are in besides the same bus route every day. Of course we are here for working but it would have been nice to have an evening outside of the camp and if it is just for having soba. So I was really happy that I got the chance to at least eat soba.
BUT that was again not the only exciting thing happened. Since we worked so long that we missed the others at the super market and because we decided not to go to onsen, Nakayama-san took us to a temple on a hill from which we had a beautiful view over the area. There are so many rice fields here. For sunrise it must be amazing when the light brakes in all that water... We just stayed a few minutes but it was really cool that Nakayama-san showed us this place. So I can say I did at least a little bit of sight seeing.
I wish there would be a chance that we could ask the driver to bring us all there one evening, it's just a few minutes from the camp. But since he is already so unmotivated to bring us to the onsen, I guess I don't even have to ask :(
2011-05-24, Day 5
7:15
We went to bed quite late yesterday. It was already 11pm (isn't it funny to say late for 11pm??). But 7 hours sleep is still so much more than I get in Tokyo that I have really no problems to get up in the morning. In a way I wish I could sleep in the bus like everybody seems to do. The two hours bus ride every morning and afternoon is getting quite long. Unfortunately my iPhone is most of the time out of range, so I can't really watch something online or do fb etc. I mean I can but it takes forever and one bus ride consumes 60% of my battery (it's almost 2 years old. If you get ever an iPhone take the battery warranty too. It's worth it).
The weather looks good today. It's a little bit cloudy. Hope the clouds help against the intensity of the sun. The JAR people really have to do something about the jackets. They are really not appropriate for this weather any longer.
I'm hungry (yes that’s a surprise since I'm a non-breakfast person since I was 14) but one more hour before we stop at the Lawson. We stop every morning around 8:30 there and every evening around 5:30pm we stop at a country side shopping mall in Hanamaki. It's quite convenient this way. You can buy everything you need for a good dinner. They have a lot of cooking things in the camp but if you ever want to come here I would recommend you bring/buy your own set of dish/bowl/hashi because in the camp there are just a few pieces of convini disposable cutlery. I mean it works but if you have space left in your suitcase...
Ok, now I killed 35 minutes bus ride, what to do now? Maybe I take some funny pictures of Ruben sleeping... hmmm...
We went to bed quite late yesterday. It was already 11pm (isn't it funny to say late for 11pm??). But 7 hours sleep is still so much more than I get in Tokyo that I have really no problems to get up in the morning. In a way I wish I could sleep in the bus like everybody seems to do. The two hours bus ride every morning and afternoon is getting quite long. Unfortunately my iPhone is most of the time out of range, so I can't really watch something online or do fb etc. I mean I can but it takes forever and one bus ride consumes 60% of my battery (it's almost 2 years old. If you get ever an iPhone take the battery warranty too. It's worth it).
The weather looks good today. It's a little bit cloudy. Hope the clouds help against the intensity of the sun. The JAR people really have to do something about the jackets. They are really not appropriate for this weather any longer.
I'm hungry (yes that’s a surprise since I'm a non-breakfast person since I was 14) but one more hour before we stop at the Lawson. We stop every morning around 8:30 there and every evening around 5:30pm we stop at a country side shopping mall in Hanamaki. It's quite convenient this way. You can buy everything you need for a good dinner. They have a lot of cooking things in the camp but if you ever want to come here I would recommend you bring/buy your own set of dish/bowl/hashi because in the camp there are just a few pieces of convini disposable cutlery. I mean it works but if you have space left in your suitcase...
Ok, now I killed 35 minutes bus ride, what to do now? Maybe I take some funny pictures of Ruben sleeping... hmmm...
16:20
The driver said we had to hurry more because he has problems to get into the parking space of his company. That means our working time gets even shorter. It's not like I'm not exhausted enough after the day but I do think if we drive more than 4 hours per day and work less than those 4 hours it's kind of wasting time. And if we had more breaks it would be possible to work 1 or 2 hours longer. Just a thought... I'm also wondering what kind of bus contract JAR has that they really want us to finish our work early. It's not like we are in holidays and having so much fun. I mean when we need 20 more minutes to finish up the work it is total nonsense not to do it. It's not like we are coming back the next day, we'll get assigned to a new place each time (at least until now).
Today we interviewed Lotte for our project and she said something I tried to say here before but she found better words. It's a real satisfaction to look at the things you did at the day. As student I almost forgot about the feeling to actually see what I worked for. For a student there are so few times when you can see your progress, your achievements but with this work you get the 'satisfaction' right away. And that's good!
Today we had some difficulties to find our assigned place. It was on a hill and the bus couldn't stop there. So we had to bring everything up the hill.
The first target was to clean up a field but it was done before the lunch break, so we helped his neighbour to clean up his garden. That was a lot of work. There were so many trees and bamboo and we had to clear them away or climb in-between them to get the trash.
Again we had to collect a lot of glass and therefore I spent some beautiful hours searching in the mud the guys got out of a drainage. I know it is important, but to be on the ground all the time is really boring and hard for the feet and the back. I can't understand how Japanese can do squatting for hours. My feet are dead after an hour and I usually end up kneeling... And I'm the only one :(
The weather was good today, at least good for our work. Most of the time it was cloudy and windy, just around lunch break the sun was shining which was quite a good timing.
So, super market, onsen, eating and then bed... Routine :)
The driver said we had to hurry more because he has problems to get into the parking space of his company. That means our working time gets even shorter. It's not like I'm not exhausted enough after the day but I do think if we drive more than 4 hours per day and work less than those 4 hours it's kind of wasting time. And if we had more breaks it would be possible to work 1 or 2 hours longer. Just a thought... I'm also wondering what kind of bus contract JAR has that they really want us to finish our work early. It's not like we are in holidays and having so much fun. I mean when we need 20 more minutes to finish up the work it is total nonsense not to do it. It's not like we are coming back the next day, we'll get assigned to a new place each time (at least until now).
Today we interviewed Lotte for our project and she said something I tried to say here before but she found better words. It's a real satisfaction to look at the things you did at the day. As student I almost forgot about the feeling to actually see what I worked for. For a student there are so few times when you can see your progress, your achievements but with this work you get the 'satisfaction' right away. And that's good!
Today we had some difficulties to find our assigned place. It was on a hill and the bus couldn't stop there. So we had to bring everything up the hill.
The first target was to clean up a field but it was done before the lunch break, so we helped his neighbour to clean up his garden. That was a lot of work. There were so many trees and bamboo and we had to clear them away or climb in-between them to get the trash.
Again we had to collect a lot of glass and therefore I spent some beautiful hours searching in the mud the guys got out of a drainage. I know it is important, but to be on the ground all the time is really boring and hard for the feet and the back. I can't understand how Japanese can do squatting for hours. My feet are dead after an hour and I usually end up kneeling... And I'm the only one :(
The weather was good today, at least good for our work. Most of the time it was cloudy and windy, just around lunch break the sun was shining which was quite a good timing.
So, super market, onsen, eating and then bed... Routine :)
2011-05-23, Day 4
7:00
Tonight was so cold that I couldn't sleep much. I was sitting outside for quite a while and didn't realize how cold I had become and when I got into the sleeping bag there was just not enough energy left to warm it up. Even a second bag didn't help when they are all slightly wet. Yes, that didn't help to get my coughing better. But today is a beautiful sunny day... I'm sure in the middle of the day I'll find the night in better memories when I'm covered in dust and sweat ;)
Just 13 of us are left after the rest of our group left yesterday evening and there will be no new bus coming until Friday. I hope we can still work effectively.
Tonight was so cold that I couldn't sleep much. I was sitting outside for quite a while and didn't realize how cold I had become and when I got into the sleeping bag there was just not enough energy left to warm it up. Even a second bag didn't help when they are all slightly wet. Yes, that didn't help to get my coughing better. But today is a beautiful sunny day... I'm sure in the middle of the day I'll find the night in better memories when I'm covered in dust and sweat ;)
Just 13 of us are left after the rest of our group left yesterday evening and there will be no new bus coming until Friday. I hope we can still work effectively.
16:20
It's strange but now that we are half done with our stay, I wish we could stay longer. It's not like the work is much fun but it's a good feeling to go to bed in the night. I have the feeling it's the first time in my life that I'm doing something meaningful. I know it's ridiculous because we are basically cleaning up but... I really can't describe it. It makes you addicted... And it's difficult to imaging to come back and just continue life like it was before. Maybe it's a typical feeling and I'm really looking forward to talk to the other people who were here before or after...
Ok, but about the day. I think we are used to the system and become a lot more efficient than on the first day. The first half we were working on an area next to the sea which was a parking place before and is supposed to be one in the future again. It was really hard work to deal with all the stones. But they had to go and most are now gone (we just left the tiny ones and the really really big ones). Do you know those old movies when prisoners have to smash stones every day? Breaking them into small pieces... I felt a little bit like one but of course we were doing it because it has to be done. But I had to smile a little bit about this thought, maybe it was just the sun cooking my brain cells ^^
The second half, we spend cleaning up the rest of a house. The owners, (an older couple) and their dog visited us shortly and brought something to drink. Nice people and a cute Dachshund.
The work was interesting since we had to cut some broken trees and wires which we hadn't done (or not that much) before. We didn't have the equipment for such things but there was a team from Fukui which teamed up with us and the work went smooth and quickly. Hope we'll see them again...
Just one dead smelly fish today ;)
It's strange but now that we are half done with our stay, I wish we could stay longer. It's not like the work is much fun but it's a good feeling to go to bed in the night. I have the feeling it's the first time in my life that I'm doing something meaningful. I know it's ridiculous because we are basically cleaning up but... I really can't describe it. It makes you addicted... And it's difficult to imaging to come back and just continue life like it was before. Maybe it's a typical feeling and I'm really looking forward to talk to the other people who were here before or after...
Ok, but about the day. I think we are used to the system and become a lot more efficient than on the first day. The first half we were working on an area next to the sea which was a parking place before and is supposed to be one in the future again. It was really hard work to deal with all the stones. But they had to go and most are now gone (we just left the tiny ones and the really really big ones). Do you know those old movies when prisoners have to smash stones every day? Breaking them into small pieces... I felt a little bit like one but of course we were doing it because it has to be done. But I had to smile a little bit about this thought, maybe it was just the sun cooking my brain cells ^^
The second half, we spend cleaning up the rest of a house. The owners, (an older couple) and their dog visited us shortly and brought something to drink. Nice people and a cute Dachshund.
The work was interesting since we had to cut some broken trees and wires which we hadn't done (or not that much) before. We didn't have the equipment for such things but there was a team from Fukui which teamed up with us and the work went smooth and quickly. Hope we'll see them again...
Just one dead smelly fish today ;)
2011-05-22, Day 3
Today new people came to the camp. They quite looked like we did on the first morning... Totally sleepy and a little bit shocked about the accommodation. But today the camp looks especially bad. Even though the rain stopped yesterday during the day, it now looks like it will never end. I was freezing most of the night. Not because the sleeping bags aren’t good, it's because everything is wet and won't dry in this humidity...
This time they really should assign us for indoor work. There are more than 30 of us today and we could be really effective. But I guess since it's Sunday, there are a lot of volunteers in RT. I hope the weather gets better soon...
16:30
It was not that bad to work in the rain. I got a lot dirtier than the days before but it was nicely fresh and I enjoyed the short break from the sauna.
We were assigned to an area where not much work had been done before. The area seemed to be rice fields before but closer to the coast must have been houses. The trash mostly consisted of bigger things like wood (there was even a ship) etc. But in this way you could see better results than the days before. I really have the feeling we have done a lot today. The only thing which was really bad was the smell. There were a lot of shells, fishes and small animals and when the rain stopped it was really difficult for me not to be sick. The mud was a problem too, nearly lost my boots two-three times but still... It was a good day.
In the lunch break we talked to a 65 year old man from Myanmar... He told us so many things, it was really fun to listen to him. Maybe he could give us a speech in Sophia, he seems to be a full-time volunteer at the moment. Maybe we can ask him to give us an interview. I hope JAR allows this because they have a very strict policy about what we can publish... Some of the refugees left their countries because their life was in danger and I'm sure they wouldn’t be happy if we show their pictures around even if it is just to university students... We will see!
I think my coughing is getting worse, hope they have something in the super market which makes it better or my "tent mates" might be angry with me in the morning.
I'm so looking forward the onsen. I know I said it already yesterday but today it's even worse. Dirty AND frozen...
2011-05-21, Day 2
8:15
I slept like a baby. At the moment my head got on the pillow I fell asleep and I was the last one in my tent to wake up. Surprisingly two of the three women I share the tent with were already dressed. A miracle to me if you consider that the space of the tent gives us just enough room to unfold four sleeping bags. Good that we are all small and we can put our luggage on the end of the sleeping bag, otherwise there wouldn't be enough space in the tent for everything. I am wondering who Ruben and Patrick bribed to get their own tent ;)
When it became cloudy yesterday after the lunch break, I was kind of happy because it was amazingly hot in our working clothes and less sun and the refreshing wind really made working a lot more comfortable. But now I regret my thoughts because it started to rain in the night. Everything is slightly wet even inside and for sure we can't do the same thing like yesterday. It would be a way too dangerous. Let's see what the volunteer center assigns us to do...
16:40
Actually it stopped raining before we even arrived in RT. The sun came out and within short time most things got dry again. Today we helped at an older lady's house. She requested help from the center because all the things she could do by herself were already done. The house was on a hill and the lady said that it was always a safe place for her family and friends because no tsunami would go so far and high. Well, now the house has disappeared and just the basement is left. She said that her husband and son would spend the whole day in their assigned mini-flat but that she wasn’t the type for that. She has to go out and do things... She wants to move back as soon as possible.
The guys had to do some other things which made them pretty dirty at the end of the day but the women were assigned to collect all the glass in and around the house. There was sooo much of it everywhere and this is of course dangerous. So I spent the whole day collecting glass. Which was harder than it sounds because the glass was not just on the surface, we really had to grab for it. It was amazingly boring and dusty. Sun and light rain were changing frequently. The raindrops at least helped to make it less dusty. As soon as the sun shined, I was dying in my JAR jacket. They are really not good for summer, I hope JAR changes soon to vests or at least to jackets with other material.
After the lunch break, a few volunteers from Toyota who worked on this house already yesterday came. I didn't talk much to them but we had a big group photo session when it was time to say good bye.
The baibai from the lady was really emotional. She brought us something to drink because she wanted to give at least something back. Which was of course not necessary but I can understand that some people can't just accept help without giving something back but her happy face would have been totally enough for me...
I liked working in a place that you know for sure has still an owner. So I don't have to make up stories and can just ask what happened.
When we came back to the volunteer center, there was a sukiyaki party. Some person donated kilos of really good beef (sorry I forgot the name) and the center made a great sukiyaki out of it. We had to take some more pictures as little foreign curiosity but now we are back in the bus. A short stop at a supermarket and then quickly to the onsen. It's not a really nice onsen, quite small and costs nearly 500¥ (I heard something about a discount???) but nobody can make me sleep covered in dust and soil... I totally need a shower...
2011-05-20, Day 1
0:14
They just switched of the lights in the bus which is taking us to Hanamaki. Hanamaki is the place where our camp is around 2 hours away from Rikuzen Takada, the place where we will work. From what I saw in the Internet RT was completely whipped out by the tsunami but they have already made a lot of progress with cleaning up and want to start to build new houses in summer. I am wondering how a city looks which is built completely new in short time... I hope beautiful...
When we arrive in the morning, we will directly go to RT. They said that we will be assigned to whatever the city office needs us to do, so our work could be a variety of things but I guess they will mostly need us for cleaning up what the tsunami destroyed and left behind. That is fine for me. I'm willing to do what ever helps. I felt so helpless in Germany on 3-11 that I'm nearly over-motivated. I really wish to give something back to the country which is my home for more than 4 years. Even if it is so little..
I'm thankful that JAR offers us this possibility. In contrast to most other organizations, they provide work clothes, shelters, electricity, insurance AND we don't have to pay anything.
People around me start to sleep and I should do the same. I guess I will need the energy in the morning :)
I'm a little bit nervous... but I'll give my best tomorrow!!!
16:00
When we arrived in Hanamaki, we had a little bit of time to change our clothes before we went on a 2 hour bus ride to the volunteer center. I couldn't sleep much on the way up, so I fell asleep every 5 minutes. But from what I saw it looked pretty much like normal countryside with a high percentage of rice fields, no destruction.
In the volunteer center in Rikuzen Takada we got assigned to clean up a certain area maybe 2km from the coast.
I expected worse after seeing the pictures on the Internet. But of course they were taken directly after the catastrophe and since then a lot of cleaning has already happened. But there is still so much left to do...
When we entered the area of destruction I felt really shocked for some moments. To see something in a picture is so different than in reality... A whole area gone... Nothing left, not a tree and just a few half destroyed houses, the rest was covered by undefined trash or where it had been cleaned already, simply empty.
They just switched of the lights in the bus which is taking us to Hanamaki. Hanamaki is the place where our camp is around 2 hours away from Rikuzen Takada, the place where we will work. From what I saw in the Internet RT was completely whipped out by the tsunami but they have already made a lot of progress with cleaning up and want to start to build new houses in summer. I am wondering how a city looks which is built completely new in short time... I hope beautiful...
When we arrive in the morning, we will directly go to RT. They said that we will be assigned to whatever the city office needs us to do, so our work could be a variety of things but I guess they will mostly need us for cleaning up what the tsunami destroyed and left behind. That is fine for me. I'm willing to do what ever helps. I felt so helpless in Germany on 3-11 that I'm nearly over-motivated. I really wish to give something back to the country which is my home for more than 4 years. Even if it is so little..
I'm thankful that JAR offers us this possibility. In contrast to most other organizations, they provide work clothes, shelters, electricity, insurance AND we don't have to pay anything.
People around me start to sleep and I should do the same. I guess I will need the energy in the morning :)
I'm a little bit nervous... but I'll give my best tomorrow!!!
16:00
When we arrived in Hanamaki, we had a little bit of time to change our clothes before we went on a 2 hour bus ride to the volunteer center. I couldn't sleep much on the way up, so I fell asleep every 5 minutes. But from what I saw it looked pretty much like normal countryside with a high percentage of rice fields, no destruction.
In the volunteer center in Rikuzen Takada we got assigned to clean up a certain area maybe 2km from the coast.
I expected worse after seeing the pictures on the Internet. But of course they were taken directly after the catastrophe and since then a lot of cleaning has already happened. But there is still so much left to do...
When we entered the area of destruction I felt really shocked for some moments. To see something in a picture is so different than in reality... A whole area gone... Nothing left, not a tree and just a few half destroyed houses, the rest was covered by undefined trash or where it had been cleaned already, simply empty.
It was an overwhelmingly horrible view and I was kind of relieved hearing a group of girls behind me laughing. They had been here before and it was just a normal day of work for them but I guess all of the volunteers felt similar to me on their first day. The bus became noticeably silent.
We started to work as soon as we arrived. The area we were supposed to clean up was maybe as big as the ground for a one-family-house plus garden. We had to carry the things close to the street, and separate them into burnable and non-burnable.
Some pieces were really big and it took 8 of the volunteers to move them but most were small things. It's just logical to expect any kind of thing in this mess... Wood from trees, pieces of houses etc but there were also things like shoes, clothes, documents, post cards, photos, CDs and I saw even a tooth brush. I think all of us tried to not think about the people who owned those things but of course it is nearly impossible to do so if you suddenly hold a hello kitty writing practice note book of a child in your hands or a Teddy bear.
Some of the things were in surprisingly good shape and some were so destroyed that they formed a kind of mud with the other things and it was impossible to say what it was before.
In the lunch break we were sitting on the stump of a tree we couldn't move just next to a washed out car. We collected things we found important on the car like photos or documents... Simply things which might be in any kind valuable for the people who lived in this area. Of course the water could have brought it from far away but I guess if we find things in good shape the possibility is quite high that they are from close around.
Suddenly Patrick said that the key is still in the car... That was a horrible moment because it meant that somebody was in the car when the tsunami hit it. I guess it was a woman because of the things attached to the key... All the windows were destroyed and the metal was quite twisted. The damage was really bad and suddenly I had this movie in my head that a young woman tries to flee, the tsunami behind her but the tree (we were sitting on!) would break and hit her car, making it impossible to get further... But! in my story she gets out of the car and climbs up the near by hill before the tsunami reaches the area. Together with the young girl who's note book I found.
It was over when somebody made a joke and stopped me thinking. First I thought it's disrespectful to make jokes in such a situation but it's not, it's the only way to not let those things take you away because if you think more closely about this all, you'll cry instead of working and help.
We started to work as soon as we arrived. The area we were supposed to clean up was maybe as big as the ground for a one-family-house plus garden. We had to carry the things close to the street, and separate them into burnable and non-burnable.
Some pieces were really big and it took 8 of the volunteers to move them but most were small things. It's just logical to expect any kind of thing in this mess... Wood from trees, pieces of houses etc but there were also things like shoes, clothes, documents, post cards, photos, CDs and I saw even a tooth brush. I think all of us tried to not think about the people who owned those things but of course it is nearly impossible to do so if you suddenly hold a hello kitty writing practice note book of a child in your hands or a Teddy bear.
Some of the things were in surprisingly good shape and some were so destroyed that they formed a kind of mud with the other things and it was impossible to say what it was before.
In the lunch break we were sitting on the stump of a tree we couldn't move just next to a washed out car. We collected things we found important on the car like photos or documents... Simply things which might be in any kind valuable for the people who lived in this area. Of course the water could have brought it from far away but I guess if we find things in good shape the possibility is quite high that they are from close around.
Suddenly Patrick said that the key is still in the car... That was a horrible moment because it meant that somebody was in the car when the tsunami hit it. I guess it was a woman because of the things attached to the key... All the windows were destroyed and the metal was quite twisted. The damage was really bad and suddenly I had this movie in my head that a young woman tries to flee, the tsunami behind her but the tree (we were sitting on!) would break and hit her car, making it impossible to get further... But! in my story she gets out of the car and climbs up the near by hill before the tsunami reaches the area. Together with the young girl who's note book I found.
It was over when somebody made a joke and stopped me thinking. First I thought it's disrespectful to make jokes in such a situation but it's not, it's the only way to not let those things take you away because if you think more closely about this all, you'll cry instead of working and help.
A few minutes later two children passed us. They were really cute and greeted us several times. The unbelievable thing was that they seemed to come out of nowhere and go back to nowhere. In-between all this destruction and tragedy they were walking back home after going to school. Isn’t this amazing? Aren’t humans amazing? But of course life must go on… but if I think about what those children have to get through already in this young age... We really need to help those people get back a normal life as soon as possible!!!
After the break, we had to deal with all the cables which were a total mess and it was really hard work to get them separated and with them all the things which got into the mess too. The last hour we spent in the mud. First I used a spade but after a while I was so exhausted that I would just use my hands to throw the mud into the wheel barrow. It seemed like it would never end...
At 15.00 o'clock we were done with the work. I'm not sure if our work helped somebody... We basically just moved things from one place to the next... But if it makes the work of the people easier to collect the trash later, it would be great. I so hope that the people from this area made it...
22:00
We just finished dinner. Patrick and Ruben made hamburgers. It was really delicious but a lot too much :)
Now I'm so sleepy. Work, onsen, food, coma... I think I'm done for today. Where is my sleeping bag?
After the break, we had to deal with all the cables which were a total mess and it was really hard work to get them separated and with them all the things which got into the mess too. The last hour we spent in the mud. First I used a spade but after a while I was so exhausted that I would just use my hands to throw the mud into the wheel barrow. It seemed like it would never end...
At 15.00 o'clock we were done with the work. I'm not sure if our work helped somebody... We basically just moved things from one place to the next... But if it makes the work of the people easier to collect the trash later, it would be great. I so hope that the people from this area made it...
22:00
We just finished dinner. Patrick and Ruben made hamburgers. It was really delicious but a lot too much :)
Now I'm so sleepy. Work, onsen, food, coma... I think I'm done for today. Where is my sleeping bag?
Samstag, 4. Juni 2011
2011-06-04, one week later
Our "adventure" is now exactly a week ago. I haven’t had much time to think about it since the stress since arriving in Tokyo at 6am. I had to teach the whole day and was so sleepy at the end that I would just fall on my futon and sleep.
Fortunately I didn’t have any muscle pain but I felt quite weak on Sunday. The whole week I tried to catch up what I missed in school but I wasn't really doing well, so yesterday was the first time I could re-read what I wrote in RT and Hanamaki. I was quite impressed by how much my perspective changed over the days. All my emotions seemed to be a lot stronger than they are now... Already it's almost like reading what somebody else told me a few days ago again. But I guess it is because it was so different than anything else I had done before.
There were a lot of things I wanted to change because they were strange to read even for myself but then I thought that wasn't the goal of the whole diary project. When I wrote the things I felt this way. They seem messy and without structure but that was exactly how I felt. Then with the routine my entries got boring but that is what routine is right? And at the end I didn't want to go. Didn't want to leave the people and my new found purpose. But as strange as it sounds that was what I felt, a deep connection to people I barely knew a week and a kind of addiction to do something good.
And now I don't want to change a word of it any more.
There are a few things I would like to say to the people who plan to go up North or maybe are unsure whether they should go or not. After one week I'm of course not being an expert in volunteering but please let me give the following advice: The camp consists of tents which surround a big kitchen. There is just one toilet available for each gender and no shower. You have the option to take a shower/bath in the onsen 20 minutes away but it costs 400¥ every time. Don't budget on saving this money, every day you are out there you'll need a shower after it. The only other possibility is to wash yourself over a sink. There are no washing machines, so make sure that you have enough easy to wash clothes with you. In any case you should bring a towel (you can rent it in the onsen but that's again extra money) and anti-insect spray. When we were there there were just a few mosquitoes but since the camp is in the middle of a forest I would make sure to take some. You will need some kind of light for the tent and your way back from the onsen. Additionally I would recommend bringing robust but light clothes and a set of dish/bowls/chop sticks and maybe something like a cup. You can cook in the kitchen and all you need for this is available but besides this there are just plastic things in the kitchen which aren’t nice to use.
You'll get boots, working gloves (but at least for me they were too big, so if you have some at home, bring them), working glasses and face masks (mostly the once you get in every convenience stores). There are just a few possibilities to charge things like a cell phone but it's possible and even softbank signals are available but not everywhere and every time. So maybe it's best to tell your beloved that you are not available for the time you are in the north. You'll save yourself a lot of trouble telling everybody how you feel and what you are doing here. You'll better sleep in that time ;)
Ok, so far for the 'technical' things.
Emotionally... I'm in a way glad that I don't know how the area looked like before the tsunami because then you don't have the horrible feeling of what got lost. Lives, infrastructure, nature, houses... But still it doesn't matter how much you'll prepare yourself seeing this destruction. Finding your first photo will hit you badly. But don't try to close yourself. Write it down or talk to the other volunteers, find a way to deal with it and it will become better every day. One day I found a lot of things from a young boy. I know his name because it was written on his English study book. I know what he looks like and that he loves insects, pokemon and duel master. I found his sports bag with shoes and some of his clothes. And even it was at the end of our stay it was so difficult for me to not let this get me down. You will have movies in your head and you will find reasons why this boy must have survived. And that is just normal I think. I collected all those things for him, sure that he will get them back. And why not? The house was quite up the hill... Well, I start again... What I wanted to say is... It doesn't matter what helps you to feel better, just do it even you feel silly about it or even it means you make jokes in totally inappropriate situations etc. The same for your physical health. If you need a break, take it... You won't help anybody if you aren't totally fit mentally and physically. Sleep enough, drink 2 liters of water during work, eat to get strong and talk to the others to get mentally even stronger.
I know that all doesn't sound very tempting but what you get back for it... the satisfaction to do good and help, the sense of community you develop in the group... This is amazing. I touched things, smelled things and saw things I thought I would never have to experience in my life. The hygiene is a disaster and you will be so dirty every day but I would go back any minute if I get the next chance to do it (can't wait for the summer break).
I won't lie... it's a pretty tough job... but what is a few days of sweat and back pain if you can help people who have nothing left in life but a piece of ground full of mud and garbage?
Abonnieren
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