We're still here.......

We're into our fourth year here in northern Japan, and we think we're turning Japanese (just a little).

OK, we only wish we were. Only one of us even understands the language very well (guess who?!?!) We hope to be returning to the states next spring, but in the meantime decided to go for what seems to be the requisite Japanese-dressed family portrait....Ta-dah!! It was kind of a joke at first but turned out to be very fun and educational. This is the only time I've worn traditional kimo in Japan, and probably the last! It was fascinating to watch the studio people go to work on Rick and Hannah Jane (who had a blast by the way -- she got a fan and a "sparkly purse"!) but when it was my turn, I became exhausted! And someone dressed me! A Japanese spouse in our squadron came to a Christmas party in Kimono and she told me then that they (Japanese women) may go to school to learn tie obi -- that's just the "belt" that goes around the kimono. While mine was being tied I was standing as still as I could, arms stretched out straight, for a good 10 minutes or so. When done I felt like I was wearing fifty pounds of fabric! At least I didn't have to sit in "mother's pose" for the whole photo shoot (which took maybe 10 minutes of the whole hour-long session). That's coming up on Saturday when we'll attend Hannah Jane's "winter play" at her school, a Japanese school traditional that involves the children performing random dances and plays and the parents sitting extremely close to one another--on the floor--for 4-5 hours, starting at (in true Japanese tradition) EIGHT IN THE MORNING (yes, on SATURDAY). Hannah Jane educated us tonight on the three "poses" we were allowed to sit in while watching the play -- needless to say, none of them involved a lazyboy (or even stretched legs!). Stay tuned....maybe I'll even get it together enough to post some photos!

Thanks for "watching" and stay tuned for news on when and where we'll live next...coming up soon!

Turning Japanese (or "You Know You've been in Japan too Long when....")

You know you've been in Japan too long when......

1) you think anything below a 7.0 earthquake is not a big deal
2) Your Japanese-schooled child wants to read her english books from right to left, back to front
3) the same child claims favorite foods are seaweed and squid (cooked or raw) -- but won't touch macaroni and cheese (and asks for green tea instead of apple juice)
4) You pay more attention to your socks and slippers than your shoes because they will get seen more often then not.
5) You start bowing while in the car to other drivers ....and to other Americans!
6) You sit on the floor in "mother's pose" automatically, and without pain (sitting on the floor with knees bent, legs tucked under you with feet underneath your butt)
7) You think spending $8 on a beer is cheap
8) You go back to the states and keep driving on the left side of the road
9) You automatically take off your shoes when you walk inside pretty much everywhere you go.
10) Your daughter asks to wear "her kimono" instead of her school uniform some days.

Post-tsunami Japan: Otsugi

This is a blog that I've put off writing but need to write. It's about a tsunami-effected town I visited in late June that has seen little recovery effort and is still greatly suffering.

I went with a group of women from the "Misawa Officer's Spouses Club" to deliver backpacks and school supplies to kids at an elementary school and bring what brief entertainment or distraction we could. We started out at 5am and drove a twisty-turny 5 hour route to a small town along the coast that should have been about 3 hours or less, if not for the damaged roads. We had to go through the mountains and back down to the coast. Shortly after we came out of the mountains, we saw this:
As we drove on the piles got bigger





And then we began seeing the remnants of buildings.....




Finally our caravan stopped at the meeting spot of our host, a Japanese professional flutist whom we were told is well-known and loved by his country, and his translator. He brought us to city hall:
This is the town of Otsugi, in Miyako prefecture. It has a beautiful view of the ocean which our host told us came roaring at them so high that survivors say from a distance, it look like a mountain. Half of the town's government officials, including the mayor, were swept away when the tsunami hit -- the clock on the building shows the exact time. There was a meeting going on on the top floor. A surviving town official we later met was able to get to the roof of the building where he clung all night as fires burned all around him. Down the road one of the elementary schools is black, all the windows broken and burned out. All this was relayed to us from the musican, whose house sits right across the road:









Here he is telling us he is sorry that he cannot make us all some tea......










He was able to joke with us like this, surrounded by the loss of his town-- along with his friends and family. The only thing that remained of his next door neighbor's house was the foundation -- three generations gone, from age five onward. And while he took time off to show us around his town that day, the body of what he hoped was his father was getting genetic testing. That day he was not at home but had driven back to his house in hopes of saving his neighbors...only to be turned around by the oncoming wave. Our host told us that the wave was over the tower-like structures here, in the background:As we're standing here, gawking and photographing, a Japanese photographer who'd accompanied our group stumbled across somebody's old photo album:






It's somebody's wedding album.


I'm standing there, trying to hold it together and not doing a good job, so I start walking back toward our car. It's hot -- really hot. And the hot wind is kicking up tons of dust and debris and we're all just covered in it, and something blows up against my leg:
So then I lose it.

In awhile, everyone gets back into their cars and we start heading toward the elementary school where we're going to drop off the backpacks and hang out with the children for awhile. Along the way, we pass this guy:

In the heat of the day, dressed in the uniform of the gas station, this guy is pumping gas by pedaling a "hand" pump, since there is still no electricity in town. By this point, it's been more than 100 days since the tsunami. There's not even shelter for him to sit under while he pumps all day. There are still no temporary homes for people to live in -- only the shelters that were set up right after the tsunami. We later visited one, but first we stopped off at the elementary school.




We drove onward through town, passing a sign directing us to five different schools in the area:









The school that we went to was high on a hill and now held the (surviving) students of more than three elementary schools. Three principals met us at the door smiling like we were celebrities, welcoming us inside. I did not bring my camera, but it was actually a happier setting than I expected. Students waved at us happily as they passed by, some practicing their english...."HELLOOOO!!" Things were orderly and "school-like" with cheery posters along the walls and colorful decorations here and there. But along one wall of the great center room were funtons and blankets, evidence that some students and even teachers were living there. A few dozen students had lost at least one parent and at least one dozen had lost both. But those stories were not told and we did not inquire but instead unloaded our donations we'd brought. As I watched the first of us bringing in the loaded backpacks and lay them in rows along the floor, I started to feel incredibly inadequate. What these students needed was a lot bigger than school supplies. Hopefully, I'm thinking, the government is working on it.
Turns out that's not quite the case.

Aaahhh...Vacation!

Hawaii!!!!

After a couple of weeks off and one base exercise (where oddly enough they practice preparing for something like a deployment which they just returned from, or say, a RARE NATURAL DISASTER), we were able to get away for a family vacation. Needless to say, it was very welcomed and truly wonderful. Here are a few highlights:Our rental house in Maui. Turns out visiting Hawaii AFTER a tsunami is a great time go! I guess people were a bit nervous to travel -- we got this house on "Vacation for Rent by Owner" for a nice discount. It came complete with pool and fruit trees! (see below).

Hannah Jane jumping into the pool at our rental house in Maui where we spent a week. Apparently all she needed to learn to swim after endless swim lessons and random afternoons in the base pool was a luxury house in Maui with her own pool to practice in! The house also came with a few acres of fruit trees including mango, avocado, fig and bananas. We ate well that week.







Daddy and Hannah Jane resting after a little boogie boarding in Maui (see video below!)




Above the clouds at sunset near the top of Mauna Kea where we went to look at the stars at the observatory. We picnicked in the car because it was so cold at the top!

Hannah Jane tries boogie boarding with Daddy -- success! (mostly......the first time went better but I didn't have the camera running then...)

Here is the balcony off the master bedroom with the "magic hammock" HJ loved. This overlooked the pool and further out, the ocean (see below)








And here's the view from the edge of the balcony (the vines growing along it and even through the hammock is passion fruit!)



From Maui we took a small (9-seater!) plane over to the Big Island where the airport is in the middle of a lava field. Here's the jeep we rented to handle wherever we might want to go (and for fun -- see goofy picture of HJ in back enjoying some chocolate from the rental car agency)




And here's the goofy picture of the monkey enjoying the open top ....and the chocolate...


















Our digs at the Hilton at Waikola Village.The place was so big (three separate hotels really) that there was a monorail and Disney-esque boat ride you could take to get to your property. Or the spa. Or the beach or waterpark or shopping or dolphin pool or lagoon (complete with sea turtles that swam in from this inlet -- Mary bumped into two of them while snorkeling!) or one of nine restaurants. While on this part of the island we used the jeep to climb Mauna Kea to see the stars one night and on one other dinner outing, but otherwise we were pretty happy to stay put!
Under a "waterfall" at the pool -- you swam under these after sliding down one of the slides to get to either the bar or one of the jacuzzis.


Hmmmm...looks like that's all we've downloaded so far -- stay tuned for more from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Oahu.............thanks for visiting!

Iraq and Back.....



He's BAaaacccckkk!!
After 230-some days, Rick finally arrived back in Misawa from Balad Air Base, Iraq. Hannah Jane and I went out to meet him....AT MIDNIGHT, on a Thursday night/Friday morning....IN THE POURING RAIN...only to be told their plane had been turned away due to the bad weather. This delay came after being told 3 days earlier that it would be this night...and before that being told it would be three days earlier, and before that being told it would be "just a little longer" due to the earthquake, and before that, "now 7 months instead of 6" and before that "6 instead of 4' and so on.... You can imagine how elated all the wives and sleepy children were to be told to go back home through the pouring rain and wait for word when the plane might indeed arrive. So home we went. And then the word did come with a phone call at 4am -- the plane was landing. Our guys were home. So back out into the pouring night we went with our signs, flags to wave, and the best smiles we had...at 4am. We did pretty well though -- here's Hannah Jane while we waited for Rick to come through the hangar door......












And here she is waiting patiently with her best friend Katie, whose Dad is one of the pilot's Rick sometimes flies with:












And finally, here she is with Daddy.....






She's telling him here, "Daddy, I'm four now!" (just in case he forgot.....)






After this, we grabbed Rick's bags and headed back home where at 5:45am we decided to skip trying to sleep and had a champagne breakfast instead. To plow through the day and stay awake as long as possible with the idea of getting to bed early, we unpacked a bit and later toured Misawa to see some of the post-clean-up earthquake damage. The waterfront is still in bad shape with roads wiped out and large equipment still turned over in the parking lots, but the trees and hillside built decades ago to guard against large tsunamis did their job. The trees were all leaning landward and you could see the waterline, but most of houses were saved (though some were indeed completely swept away) I unfortunately don't have pictures but I guess at this point you've seen so much footage -- it just seems like overkill...and like it's time to move onward. And that's what the Japanese are doing now. They've mobilized a lot of contract work through their own agencies giving a much need boost to the economy, and things just seem to be moving forward. Things here in Misawa are definitely more "normal" though the base is still on limited power and will be working to massively conserve energy for some time, but we have all we need in terms of food, fuel and decent energy supplies. Off-base we're even more "normal", not under the same energy constraints being on the economy, though we'll continue to do our part. We're just incredibly happy and lucky to all be together again and to have all that we do - including our health (more on that in another blog, another time....) I hope to post some more "post-deployment" photos soon to show you what we've been doing with Rick's two-week "reconstitution leave" which is only now ending. In the meantime, thanks for tuning in and as always, thanks for your support!
take care.......Mary

We're home and homebound!

Hey all, sorry again for the delay in posting -- we are now "home" in Japan! And happy to be so. But the bigger news tonight is....

Rick is homebound...right now!!!

As I type this, I wait at 10:45pm for the clock to reach 11:30pm when I'll head to the base to watch Rick land...at midnight! In true military form, they are sending our spouses back to us after nearly 8 months.....IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. Which is WILDLY convenient considering we are all currently single parents with no babysitter willing to sit until they clear customs at "o-dark-thirty." No kidding -- we're told they land somewhere around midnight and should be ready to pick-up by 1:45....in the morning. Hannah Jane is coming with me which means tomorrow will be so much fun....I can't wait.

In all seriousness though, I'm grateful to be getting Rick back after not seeing him for eight months, and grateful that we're now rested and pretty healthy, and that our house here in Japan is still here! It turns out Misawa did lose both property and people in the tsunami, but the loss and damage was greatly reduced apparently due to the building (or lack thereof) Misawa did after a giant tsunami decades ago that took most of it's coastal property. Houses (and people) here in town were swept away but we did not have nearly the destruction they had further down the coast...and for that I am extremely grateful. There are still a number of volunteer projects going on to help with the clean-up and I'm looking forward to jumping in. But first, I'm going to go get my husband and just enjoy having him home for awhile.

Rick gets 2 weeks reconstitution leave and then at the end of June we'll go on vacation to Hawaii. Turns out Hawaii's a GREAT place to go just after a tsunami! It did reach the islands though I don't think it was too major, but the scare probably ran people off because we got a really nice place in Maui at a greatly reduced price! So we'll head there for a week with a jaunt to Moloki and then onto the Big Island and finally Oahu (mostly because Rick needs to be in a big city after living in a trailer and tent in the desert). Then at the end of July we're signed up to climb Mt. Fuji -- that is if the travel restriction gets lifted! Right now Rick, the active duty member, can't travel within so many miles of the Fukushima power plant -- which we'd have to do on our way to Tokyo. Stay tuned....

I promise to post some pictures soon to show you, we really are OK...in the meantime, thanks for checking in!
take care, Mary

"Home to Nihon" ("Home" to Japan)

Today is Wednesday, May 4th, and we are still in Utah -- but we are heading "home" to Japan tomorrow. Looking back at the last entry I wrote I am sorry it's taken me this long to write! Now for a quick update.......

So the day after my last entry I had a broncoscopy at a hospital here in Ogden (the procedure couldn't be done on base so the base doctor there I saw referred me). My father-in-law went with me which was a good thing because I was pretty out of it when the procedure was done (still not sure how I was suppose to do this on my own in Okinawa unless they were going to keep me overnight...) The doctor told my father-in-law that he saw plenty of green goop basically which made for a good sample. Unfortunately -- almost six weeks later -- that sample has not produced anything. While in a follow-up letter the doctor sent afterwards he was leaning toward something called "MAI" -- a much-less infectious cousin of TB apparently--he now believes it is not. Such a disease would take normally 6-8 weeks to grow so it is still growing, but the preliminary diagnosis is that it's not MAI -- or anything for that matter. The doctor had me do some other tests including an esophogram in case there was a gastro-intestinal problem going on that was causing my lungs to get infected, and from that he's decided that there may be. While the esophogram showed I had no reflux I do have a "chronic swallowing problem" that may cause ineffective clearage or something or other which may be causing/contributing to the lung infections. Right now I am doing fine though I still have the cough, so the next step is to see a gastro-interologist (sp?) for a more definitive test. Fortunately, I can do this with Rick, back in Japan....where I am going....tomorrow!!!!

Yes, I am excited to return to Japan, as it's our home right now, and it's where Rick will be returning to in a matter of days. He should return a few days from a nearly 8-month deployment just after we get back. And we can't wait!!! From what I hear on email chatter and the base website, things are pretty well back to normal -- for us, anyway. It sounds like the nuclear power plant situation is not resolved but from what I've read, the danger goes down with time and distance -- two things we have on our side in Misawa. The poor Japanese people are still suffering greatly, as I think there have been delays in trying to get people temporary housing. They are still searching for bodies. They are still short on supplies. And the roads and (until today I think) the trains have been down. So it's not a great situation for those folks. I'm just hoping it's not too late to join in on some of the volunteer efforts conducted by the base the last two months. They were sending busloads of people out daily but I think that's been cut back and now they may have even cut off official support of the efforts. But I know there will be plenty of work to done still so I hope to be able to join in. We have much to be grateful for. And now -- I have my health!

While in the states we were lucky enough to get in visits with family and to be cared for greatly, so we return rested and healthy. Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and phone calls. We'll be back in a year "for good", hopefully, and we'll look forward to connecting with you then. I still maintain however that if you want a fun adventure, then come on over to Japan! We'll try and keep it still for you......................ha!!

Take care and "arigato",
Mary

Safe and sound.....

In 1990-something, Hurricane Bertha hit the southeastern coast of the United States where my parents and I were vacationing. The state performed a mandatory evacuation of the area we were staying, about the same time I was to fly home. I did manage to get on a flight out, but my parents were to stay another few days longer -- which they did--despite the many efforts of the local authorities to clear the area. First the police came around with bullhorns telling everyone they must leave or face an uncertain future. Then the rental agencies contacted each tenant--including my folks--to tell them they must get out NOW. Finally, the sheriff's department came around, door-to-door, asking for people's next-of-kin in case they later found the bodies of those wishing to stay behind. My parents locked the door, and shut off the light. Because they would rather have died in the hurricane, than to face the unruly process of a mandatory evacuation.

And now I know why.

We are safe and sound, settled into Ogden, Utah with Rick's parents, and we are grateful to be here. Let's just say that if Rick and I hadn't already decided that Hannah Jane was to be an only child, that the "women-with-2-or-3-screaming-children-each" flight over would have settled that question for me. Don't get me wrong, I am really, really happy to have been safely delivered here --any way it had to happen. And I have to say the military and USO did a fabulous job of stream-lining the otherwise logistically-nightmarish process. I mean there was personnel all along the way to help us with baggage, childcare while we processed, food, and getting us to our overnight lodging in Seattle. I was impressed. And grateful. And now I'm hopefully on my way to health.

As soon as I landed, I called the doctor that Rick had connected with at Hill Air Force base here in Ogden, and was able to get in to see him the same day I landed. He in turn was able to quickly refer me to a pulmonologist that will be performing a brocoscopy tomorrow (Friday), that will hopefully reveal what I have and what I need to be cured. We've got Grandma and Grandpa here to help us, not to mention our Aunt and Uncle and cousin as well, so you see we're in good hands. Will hopefully have an answer before long about my lung infection -- will be sure to write an update once we know more.

Thanks again for all your notes, thoughts and prayers for us!
All for now, Mary

Departure

It's Tuesday, March 22nd, and we're still here.....But now, at least, it seems we're really going!

Got a call at 9 last night that I was on something that sounded like "chalk 1" which I took to mean the first flight. And that I was to final process at 10am. A check to the right facebook page revealed it was actually "no later than 10am", and so I went straight to bed to get up for an early start (final processing actually started at 7am). So we made it out the door on time and went through all the right lines, and then were handed a "ticket" and told to go home -- that the plane was late. So now we're having lunch in the comfort of our own home, doing a few last minute things (like this) and then we'll head back at the door. They still haven't told us when our actual departure time is but one rumor I heard while processing was around 8pm. Which is fine for sleeping (if that happens!)

Update on the nuclear power plants: The last I heard the Japanese government is saying things seem to be stablizing but that work's far from over. The big news to us came this morning from the base commander who addressed us by radio to tell us that the Dept. of Defense is now distributing iodine tablets (distributing, not having people take them) to all DoD/Americans within a 200 mile radius of the plant. Misawa is 232 miles -- so they are not distributing to us. Small comfort for people staying behind maybe. Even less comfort is the fact that they slowly and carefully measured us, and all our luggage, for radiation levels, prior to letting us in the processing line. The fact I'd had 2 Cat scans and 3 X-rays in the last few months (cat scans only 2 weeks ago) worried me a bit, but apparently I did not set the thing off, so we're good!! (From what I've read, the amount of radiation they're currently finding in the water /produce/milk from the region is so miniscule that you'd have to supposedly drink 1 glass of radiation-contaminated milk a day to get the same amount of radiation in just one cat scan. So I should be well stocked for awhile!)

So that's where we're standing on things. We're getting out today, and then we'll just wait and see. Thanks so much for all your notes and thoughts. I'll try and update once we're stateside.

Take care, Mary
P.S. Stillllllllll shakin'................

Processed to leave....

Hi all, just a quick update.....
Got a call from the med group folks this morning that I was a "high priority" status for departure and was to get over to the processing center with bags packed. Turns out the info was bad -- I didn't need my bags because there still is no plane-- but I am now processed and somewhat ready to go. Actually, I've been driving around with my suitcase in the back for two days now and I'm still not gone, but at least I have green wristbands with our passenger numbers (17 and 18!) to show for it! We've been told to go home and wait until we're notified it's time to leave. Hopefully that call won't come at midnight tonight, but hey, if it does, we're ready! For some odd reason, they've paired what they consider the two highest priority groups together on the same plane -- pregnant people, and sick people (??!!) When I pointed this out to Rick, worried that I'm in an infectious state right now (with a still yet unknown lung infection that's pummeled me for the last 6 months) he replied, "try not to cough" (sorry, hon, but it is a 10 or so hour plane ride!) Oh well...will don a mask and hope for the best....

So stay tuned, for word from myself or hopefully Rick that I am on my way. We were told today that they are hoping (planning?) to send flights to Seattle/Tacoma airport where we'll then join a processing line to figure out where we're going from there. I listed my desired destination as Hill Air Base/Salt Lake City hoping to open up some opportunities for us to get there faster. Then, once stateside, we'll somehow be notified that the State Department's given the "all clear" signal, and we're to make our way back somehow (using a paid-for plane ticket) to SeaTac, where will hop another chartered flight back to Misawa. The order right now is for "no more than 30 days"--which sounds good to me. It's a logistical nightmare and I can't believe they've done all this in such a short time. They really have done an incredible job, and I have confidence that we'll be taken care of.

So that's all for now -- going to go try and catch a little sleep before the big trip. Wish me luck!

Still here....

We're still here and still fine, awaiting our departure information. When we got the word, given in a briefing from the base commander over the radio which the entire base had been directed to listen to by their squadrons, I was sitting in the base terminal parking lot, bags packed, documents in order. I had missed the boat on getting to the commissary in time (got there only after a few hundred people had crammed in, in the dark, grabbing for the last can of green beans), and missed getting to the gas station in time (I didn't go at first 'cause I had "enough" and then there were 3-4 hour waits for rationed gas), and I was not going to miss the boat on catching the plane! Turns out the plane wasn't there -- and it still isn't. The "voluntary departure" the Dept. of Defense/State Dept. has authorized will take place over the next days and even weeks. From what I understand, our travels home might even take that long! (hopefully not weeks). We've been told to expect long lines and waits and layovers of maybe days, and to bring pillows, blankets, toiletries and "high energy foods" for each person traveling, for FIVE DAYS. I hope we're not sleeping on floors eating Power Bars and beef jerky for five days, but it gets us home and me medical care, we can do it. And I just can't stop thinking about the Japanese right now, with how much they've lost and how much their suffering. It's really quite cold now (in the 20s again tonight) and there are so many people living outside or in flimsy shelters. And then there's those still waiting help. We went to base tonight for provisions and pizza and saw groups of the rescue workers as they were coming off their shifts. The base is hosting several teams of search-and-rescuers, and they all just looked so exhausted and worn. There was a team from Paris even. The base has launch its own full-scale relief efforts consisting of helping to dig out/clean up our own fishing port and much of our neighboring town of Hachinohe which suffered far more damage. We're sending out a bus load of volunteers and equipment every day now and the pictures I've seen (probably visible now on the various Misawa facebook pages) almost make me want to stay and help. If I weren't so sick again and in the middle of a med-evac I would be tempted. But I have a feeling the work will still be here when I get back, so maybe we can spend our last year trying to help the Japanese in any way we can.

So I spent the day finalizing the 10 pounds of paperwork I need for this "non-evacuation departure" and re-packing, and am now just awaiting the word. We filed requests with our squadron contact and since I'm a med-evac case, it looks like I'll go out with the first travel group. Which unfortunately is the "women with lots of screaming babies" group which should be REALLY fun when we're sleeping on the terminal floor in Korea for a few days, but that's OK!!! I'm grateful to be going - any way we get there. I'm not nervous for us here in Misawa regarding the nuclear situation, so I'm fine now just to sit and wait for the word. Everyone (here at least) keeps saying we're too far north (230 miles) and "too upwind" basically to really be effected by any fallout. As a matter of fact, many of the women in our squadron (even those with small childres) have chosen to stay -- I think they've (wisely?!?!) chosen to risk nuclear fallout rather than to face a long plane ride with dozens of screaming babies!

My plan -- and I have NO idea if the military will actually be able to follow through with this (I don't even think those in charge now even know) -- is to make my way to Hill Air Force base in Utah. If I'm on/near a base I can be treated for the lung infection, and I get the added bonus of getting in/out easier. My records are visible from there and Rick's got a call into the their clinic to get me to the right doctor. The big benefit here too is that Rick's parents are right by Hill, and can help with childcare while I sleep for 30 or so days and try to heal. Yay!!! Then when I get the "all clear" signal to return, it shouldn't be a problem making my way back -- I can return on a military "hop" or by commercial airline at nearby Salt Lake airport.

Right now it's been (wildly guessed) that we'll be gone about 30 days. I'm sure that number just came out of the air but who knows. Anyway, that's all we know, and now that's all you know. Will let you know, when I know more....you know?

Ugh, I'm so tired I'm getting punchy...time for bed. Gotta get up at the crack of dawn for 'Saturday school" (nothing stops the Japanese!) and for the first "Town Meeting" about all this. Hope there will be some answers ...will keep you posted! (or maybe next, you'll be hearing from Rick!)

Take care, and thanks for tuning in!
Mary

Buggin' out

We got the word tonight that we are allowed to voluntarily evacuate, and given my pending medical evacuation, I'm taking the offer. The base/our government still maintains that we are in no danger of being radiated, but want to offer the chance to leave given the energy shortage. For those of you just joining us, we've been told that we have finite resources to heat our houses, water, cook with, and fuel our cars....all which could get pretty old, pretty quick. Because I was being processed for a medical evacuation when the earthquake hit, I hope to get some priority -- and this way I get to take Hannah Jane with me. There is not a rush to get people out because they believe there is no danger to us, so they have to take time to work out all the details on how this is all going to work. It's a logistical nightmare, and I wouldn't want to be active duty personnel right now! (As I type this at 10pm, they've in the middle of all-night meetings trying to work this all out). There's a town hall meeting at 8:30am tomorrow which I hope to attend after I drop Hannah Jane off a school (yes, the Japanese kindergarten presses on!). When I hear the details and know when/where I'm going I'll be sure to post (or get Rick too).

I'm heading to bed for now. More big aftershocks today and I'm just plain (sick) and tired....
Thanks for listening...stay tuned!
Mary (aaaannnnddd we're still shaking...........)

Happy St. Patty's! (...and shakin' ...and shakin'...)

It's March 17th here and I'm sitting here listening to our American Forces Network (AFN Misawa) play Irish music in between announcements about the pending nuclear disaster, supply shortages and energy conservation mandates. Just par for the course of this whole semi-surreal situation.

Still feeling lucky, though the news is still not good concerning all of the above. To ease people's minds regarding the nuclear crisis, know that our government seems confident that we are in no danger up here in Misawa. For up-to-the-minute information we are receiving, we're directed to direct YOU to the facebook pages for both Misawa Emergency Management and AFN Misawa. There was a question & answer session between the American community and our Bioenvironmental Engineer Manager that was posted at 11:59pm on March 16 that answered a lot of question you may have and will hopefully ease your mind (I also know the guy and trust him). I do think it's true that "crisis sells" and that's why there's all the gloom and doom scenarios on the television right now. Know that we're fine, but that I'm (hopefully now) prepared for anything! (Hey, I lived through 9/11 in downtown DC when our government instructed us residents of the District to duct tape our windows and doors shut!) We're fine, and we'll be fine.

No word on my medi-vac yet but Rick feels confident that we should just stay put where we are and I should go when they are ready to send me. The plan is still for Hannah Jane to stay behind with our friends but I am leaving her passport and all critical documents behind with her (possibly along with a "power of attorney" for the friends, just in case). I'll be sure to keep folks posted.

Our phone lines are up but please keep in mind the time difference -- with daylight savings time, we are now 14 hours ahead of you (of the east coast, I should have said). I'm heading to bed early these days (around 9-ish) but you might have luck reaching me in the morning. Or you can just email or (now) facebook -- I might even get the message!!

I'm heading to base now to get my "Disaster Preparedness Kit" from the Red Cross. Hope it contains some more duct tape and iodine...(just kidding!)

Many thanks for everything, Mary (aaaaannnddd we're still shaking.......)

Still shakin' but we're here....

Ohio Goziamus! On this day 5 after the quake we've awoken to about a half foot of snow and are once again extremely thankful for all we have. We had another strongish aftershock in the middle of the night, but we're still here. We are running on limited resources now, but we're still currently powered and we have heat and water. They are conducting rolling blackouts but they are a minor inconvenience compared to not having any heat for 2 full days. Since our port and the neighboring bigger port was wiped out, we apparently have no kerosene to heat our (off-base) houses for awhile, so what we've got (just under 3 quarters a tank) is what we'll get for awhile. The great news is that I've figured out how to make my AC unit produce heat instead (I found the right button and kanji character!) and was able to snag one of the few space heaters left at the BX yesterday. As long as we keep electricity, we should be fine. We're also on finite propane for our stove and hot water but we have the microwave and gas and charcoal grills for food, and Hannah Jane's thrilled to be showering with mommy once again to save water.

And the house is shaking again....and shaking.....aaaannnnnddd ...it's stopped.

Where was I? So we're living out of two rooms (sleeping together with -- thank you, Rick!-- an electric mattress pad) and doing just fine. We've been told to send our kids back to school tomorrow but I'm not sure who's going to show up giving there's also finite car gas. There have been long lines on base which I've not yet joined because they asked us not to fill up until we were at a half a tank or less. So now I'm there, and just this morning they've changed it to "a quarter tank or less." There are no plans for an evacuation at this time, the base commander said this morning on a briefing on the radio. The Japanese AND American government both state there is no danger to any American military base (including us) at this time given the nuclear reactor situation. Still there are small mumblings about more concern with the shortages of supplies, so Rick has just now forwarded me the "NEO" packet which has all the information and suggested "take with you" items, JUST IN CASE. Again, there's no talk of evacuation at this point, but we're preparing just in case.

So I'm heading back out to the commissary to help a friend out before the black-out, and then we'll probably hang out on base to get some socializing and maybe even some exercise before coming home (the indoor play areas are closed of course with the base running on now 40%, so we'll take our snow stuff and maybe play outside for a bit). Will keep you posted.....

And we're now shaking again......but we're doing fine!!
Love and thanks, Mary

Returning to normal

Today is Tuesday, March 15th (Happy Birthday, Jerry!) and we're doing fine (the blog always posts the date as one day behind and I haven't figured out how to fix it without the page turning to Japanese!) Our colds are getting better and we're now almost completely back to "normal." We're in a critical conservation stage for energy and gas, but we have heat and power and are just doing our part to conserve. But as I'm reading the base's mandates for us to conserve energy, there's a Japanese worker from the gas company out changing out our gas tank -- so who knows. The request is basically to try and light a maximum of two rooms at night with no lights in the daytime, and heat as few rooms as possible (there's no central heating in Japan which I believe is for the very reason that there are so many earthquakes. So (most) rooms have their own kerosene heaters which unfortunately require electricity to run. We're currently running ours somewhere around 64 F. When I get done here our plan for the day (since we're still out of school -- I was suppose to teach today too) is to carpool with the neighbors to base and get a few things done. We're dropping off clothing donations to the base highschool to distribute in the community, and then probably head to the BX and commissary for provisions. We're suppose to hand dry our clothes to conserve energy -- so I need some drying racks (if they're not sold out!). The Japanese already do this in their everyday lives -- on the balconies of the even the more affluent neighborhoods in Tokyo, you'll see clothes drying on racks. I was told by Japanese friends that this is two-fold-- because they don't have space in their tiny housing for a dryer, and to conserve energy... which the Japanese do much more naturally than us. We'll also get in line for gas for the car which they're rationing to 10 gallons per vehicle at a time. They've told us they don't think gas will be a problem for us either, and if it follows what I saw at the commissary yesterday, we'll be fine. We went for more provisions like water (limited to one case per family per day -- much more than we need but good to stock some in case...) and not only were the lights on, but the shelves were restocked. And they'd been pretty much wiped out the day before as I understand (they had the MPs in there making sure order was maintained, which it was...) You still couldn't find a shopping cart (one mother gave me hers in the parking lot) and the lines wound through the aisles, but people were civil and calm, and buying more than just canned goods (I bought asparagus, eggplant and broccoli for instance, if that gives you any idea!) So "normal" is really coming back to us -- hopefully we can be of more help to our Japanese community now.

Several of you have asked about both our possibly returning home and the pending nuclear power plant crisis. Basically, we have no plans to return back to the states unless we were evacuated -- which their has been zero talk about. The base officials tell us our government (not just the Japanese) believe there is no danger to our area at all. And I haven't even heard any rumors -- but that hasn't stopped me from getting my "grab-and-go" folder together in case there was a knock on the door again (after the earthquake, all communication/accountability checks came door-to-door, mostly in the middle of the dark of night!) So our passports and all vital docs are gathered and I might pack a bag just in case -- because if I DON'T do all that, then Murphy's Law tells us we might need to! So we're comfortably staying put, just trying to return to normal (with one medi-vac pending that is! [see below for more info])

On that note, for any that don't know, we thought we would be PSC-ing (leaving permanently) this spring -- but now we're here for another year at least. Rick applied for a competitive emergency medicine residency and was awarded one -- but it was in the civilian world, so we turned it down. Not only would that have meant a big reduction in pay and many complications with leaving the military, but he wasn't really eligible for the slot because he wasn't allowed to leave what's essentially a combat zone deployment to go for an interview. So we'll try again next year. In the meantime, we're settled nicely into a life here in Misawa with my teaching and Hannah Jane's school where she has many friends, and are now planning more trips to make use of our time on this side of the planet. So if you'd like an adventure (a truly exciting one!) come on over! But you might wait until the tremors stop and the possible radioactive cloud clears...(just kidding!!)

Thanks again for all your emails and thoughts. Will try and post more later and maybe even a few photos -- mostly goofy ones, to show you that we really are OK!
much thanks and love, Mary
P.S. still shaking......and shaking......aaaaaaannnddd shaking.......

Post-earthquake update

Just wanted to fill in a bit more about the whole earthquake experience, my health, and where we stand on things. First, we're absolutely fine. I do have some sort of lung infection which I've had since September (began the day Rick deployed to Iraq to be exact!) Right now I'm fine, though I'm coughing quite a bit more given the cold air I've been breathing the past couple of days. They were in the process of setting up a medi-vac for me when the earthquake hit, and I've just now gotten the call that they are proceeding with the paperwork. I will probably go out next week if not sooner, and Hannah Jane will stay here happy and safe with a family we've become friends with. They need to do a "lung wash" to get a good sample of the stuff growing in my lungs which they could see on a Catscan they did at the japanese hospital just last Tuesday. It's not cancer, and it's not something that 'will kill me tomorrow" as Rick says -- so I'm OK. But they just need to find out what it is so they can figure out the right solution (three courses of different antibiotics didn't work). They are sending me to a military hospital in Okinawa (not sure which one) that can do the procedure which involves conscious sedation. I'll be gone 1-3 days maybe and then back here to wait for results. I asked the doctor if I could wait until Rick gets back from deployment (a month or so off) but he thought we'd better not. I'm OK though, and will keep you posted on what they find. I'm really fine though. And I have my next door neighbors (and basically all Air Force wives as Tara said) to help out if need be.

We're still a bit in disaster mode in trying to prepare for anything (black outs, food/gas shortages, etc) but we're doing great right now. Looking at the coverage on CNN though, I just can't believe how bad things are. We (Misawa Air Base) are going to act as the relief operation for this area as we are almost fully up and running. USAID already flew in on our flightline this morning and we expect to be housing/feeding Japanese locals as the japanese grocery stores are dependent on the (down) train and road systems. I was shopping in the commissary in the dark a day after the quake and managed to get all the supplies we needed before they ran out (batteries, water, charcoal, etc) Am returning as soon as I finish up here to get a few more things if available. Our power is up though so we've got everything we need.

As for what happened in this area, it just doesn't compare to what I've seen on CNN. We are located on the northeast coast, about a 2.5 hour drive from Sendai. We shook, and hard, and our beach/port area is indeed wiped out (see photos on facebook if you can), but my house is fine, and more importantly, everybody is fine! When they quake hit, I was thankfully home, with Hannah Jane, doing a little project at her little table with her. The house started shaking (as it had pretty well on her birthday) and we didn't think much of it, thinking it would stop in a few seconds as most of our earthquakes do. (Yes, Hannah Jane is so accustomed to earthquakes that when they happen she just yells out, "Earthquake, mommy!" and goes back to whatever she was doing). Then the house started shaking harder and things stared falling off shelves and walls, and I picked her up and moved to a doorway. We stayed a few moments there where we were safe but Hannah Jane was getting scared now with more things falling and breaking, so we moved outside. I walked with her in my arms to the field out in front of our house, and watched as the telephone poles moved from about 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock, with their wires waving and snapping against the houses and each other. I worried a bit that we should have stayed in the house away from the wires but at that point it was getting harder to stand. I kind of braced my legs the way you would ride a surf board, and held Hannah Jane tight on my hip. The house was shaking in front of us and I could hear more things falling inside, but really, it was nothing like the images you see of the areas closest to the quake. I did worry later about a tsunami as with the power/phones out, there was no way for me to know if one was coming other than to strain my ear listening to the urgent messages coming over the town's loud speakers -- in Japanese-- for the word "Tsunami" (which of course, fortunately, is a Japanese word in itself, so we know it!) (Our radio, AFN, which I could get on the car radio, was only broadcasting a message about 100% recall at that point which meant they were asking for everyone to check on everyone else). So we went back inside and I settled HJ into a movie on the portable DVD player and I went upstairs to hang my head out the window and listen. And I watched. Seriously. This is what we Americans living off-base do when there's potential tsunami -- we watch to see what the Japanese are doing. I see some walking dogs and riding bikes, and no one is running, and I can visibly see the ocean from my upstairs floor (we're about 3 miles from shore), so I'm thinking we're fine. Our port did get washed over and the swimming beach wiped out, but nothing like our nearest big town just 8 miles down the road from us which got much much more damage. So we just stayed put, until my neighbor arrived an hour or so later to check on us. I was trying to clean up but the aftershocks were so strong that as I'm sweeping up glass and straightening picture frames, more things are falling. (Hannah Jane would look up from her movie now and then and say, "Mommy! The Earf-quake is still moving!" And go back to munching and movie-watching) Darkness came and we eventually got warm in bed with every blanket in the house piled on, and tried to sleep. Hannah Jane's been sleeping pretty well though the first night was hard given the no power thing made it not only in the 30's in the house at night, but it was completely pitch black with no moonlight (it was snowing turns out), and the bed was still shaking pretty heavily throughout the night. She'd wake up scared, but go back to sleep; I stayed awake most night wondering if I'd need to run us back out into the field again. The second night was better and last night was better still given that we got power back on in the afternoon -- less than 48 hours after the quake.

I can't say enough how well we are doing and lucky we are, as you can imagine given the coverage you've seen. We have the Japanese to thank for our lives really, as they built our base and our houses, and they are all still standing, with little or no damage. Much of the base housing is contained in "tower" apartment buildings which swayed violently, but remained upright given the rollers and shocks everything's standing on. I can't find a crack in my house, except where the panels come together (where there's already a crack). Those telephone poles I watched swaying are now standing completely upright, with no (apparent) danger of falling. One day after the quake Hannah Jane's sensei (teacher) and principal of her school knocked on our door to see if we were OK. Another friend's Japanese neighbor stood in line at her japanese grocery store to get her (the American friend) food for her children, not realizing we're better off than they are. I am so grateful to the Japanese and am going to see how I can do my part to help them right now. I think a number of agencies are setting up donation sites now if you want to help as well (I'll let you know if I hear of a better one or have suggestions)

Many thanks for all your thoughts and for reaching out. For more information on our area (to see that we really are OK) you can check the Stars and Stripes online for coverage on our base, or check the base's website or on facebook (I am a non-facebooker as many of you know, but you probably won't be surprised to find out the military is currently conducting most of its emergency information/updates on facebook!)

That's all for now -- much thanks and love, Mary

"We're fine!"

Hello all, and thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I'm not ignoring you -- I have had no outside connection until recently. My earlier facebook status update (my first ever!) was from a base computer which I had a timed 10 minutes to make (which I spent most trying to edit and figure out how to make a "status update"!) We're back home now with -- just this afternoon -- electricity and heat. I'm typing from our an awkward position in the house as our router bit the dust in the earthquake so I'm plugged in manually (thanks to instructions from my helpful hubby in Iraq). I will not be getting online regularly probably until we get the router fixed up which Rick is going to send in the mail once he finds the one he likes. So be patient with any messages you might send. We're still trying to get up and running because we're not in the clear yet. Things are still in question as to how long we might have power, whether the nuclear power plant meltdown's going to be an issue (shouldn't be), and so I'm still in 'disaster" mode working on trying to get things done and be prepared for whatever. We're absolutely fine though with the exception of developing bad colds from being frozen for two days. I'm not kidding -- their was no place to go for warmth other than your car, though they did eventually get a building or two on base heated with generators. A few hours after the earthquake it was in freezing in my house, and it stayed that way until just this afternoon. We could see our breath! To add insult to injury, we awoke to snow the morning after the quake (and they're calling for more tonight). At least our refrigerator and freezer goods were fine! We bbq-d last night with the neighbors whom I've teamed up with, for who I'm very thankful. Then this morning we headed to the base chow hall for breakfast and MREs and then to the base gym for a shower. We're trying to conserve gas though so we're carpooling and not making any unnecessary trips. We live far enough off base that a bike ride for groceries would really just suck! But if need be....

Anyway, I'll try to write more later about the actual experience (like riding a boat) once we get through some things and these aftershocks stop (only about one every hour or so now, maybe even less). I'll try and post some photos too. I'm -- we're -- just very exhausted from all this, and just hoping to get some rest. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers, and know that we are very grateful. (While I'm thinking about it, a BIG thank you to Jan Luger for my extremely warm jammies that got me through the icy nights, and to Kathy (and Jan) Luger for all the many candles you sent for Christmas and birthdays. Candles were and are a commodity here because a) the military won't move them with your household goods so no one had any when they arrived in Japan, and b) the Japanese reality companies insist on a "no candle" rule in the houses. So there just aren't any candles to be had and I was grateful to have some and shared them with my neighbors. They really saved us!)

OK, all for now, thanks again, and....."we're A-OK!!"

Earthquake update

As you all know, Japan experienced an 8.9 magnitude earthquake yesterday, March 11, 2011. The quake was centered approximately 200 miles southeast of Misawa Air Base. Mary and Hannah were at home just south of the base when the quake hit. Things started shaking - I mean really shaking. Mary got Hannah bundled up, and they headed outside and across the road, waiting for the quake to subside. After a couple minutes, they returned to the house to find some of the pictures, much of the glassware, and a few other odds/ends destroyed. They're both doing fine, no injuries. They have, however, been spending the last 24 hours bundled up as the temperature has been hovering between 20 and 30 degrees F. While the heaters run on fuel oil, their control untis are electronic and need wall power to operate. They've been eating cold food with plans to fire up the BBQ tonight. The base had minimal damage with no major injuries and has a couple locations in which they can get a hot shower as well as a hot meal. Hannah's school is closed for the weekend. We'er not sure when it will open. Until then, she's enjoying the life of a 4 year old in N Japan. I'll be back in Japan sometime around the end of April/beginning of May. Until then, I'll be missing them. Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers. I'm sure Mary would love to hear from you once the power is back up.