[Fredslist] Email about life in Sendai, Japan

[Teri Bloom]

Dear Gotham,

Here is an email from an American living in Sendai, she's lived there  
for ten years teaching English.
Its a beautiful and very touching view of daily life in the earthquake  
zone.

all the best, Teri
Teri Bloom Photography Inc.
www.teribloom.com


>>>
>>>
>>> First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I  
>>> am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to  
>>> you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message  
>>> to you.
>>>
>>> Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very  
>>> blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since  
>>> my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a  
>>> friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene  
>>> heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share  
>>> stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
>>>
>>> During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes.  
>>> People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation  
>>> screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open.  
>>> If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so  
>>> people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
>>>
>>> Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing  
>>> in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when  
>>> an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it  
>>> used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."
>>>
>>> Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes.  
>>> Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
>>>
>>> We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it  
>>> is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not  
>>> yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these  
>>> things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel  
>>> grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that  
>>> for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living  
>>> fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what  
>>> is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.
>>>
>>> There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in  
>>> some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in  
>>> the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people  
>>> out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.
>>>
>>> Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at  
>>> night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at  
>>> night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but  
>>> now the whole sky is filled. The mountains of Sendai are solid and  
>>> with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky  
>>> magnificently.
>>>
>>> And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my  
>>> shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the  
>>> electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my  
>>> entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in  
>>> green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK.  
>>> People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see  
>>> no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.
>>>
>>> They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major  
>>> quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant  
>>> tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in  
>>> a part of
>>>
>>> Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts.  
>>> So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my  
>>> friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and  
>>> water. Blessed again.
>>>
>>> Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there  
>>> is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring  
>>> all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I  
>>> experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart  
>>> opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because  
>>> of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of  
>>> something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of  
>>> birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
>>>
>>> Thank you again for your care and Love of me,
>>>
>>> With Love in return, to you all, Anne
>>>
>

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