Radiation Leakage

Nuclear power plan in Fukushima,my home town, leaks radio active substance to the air. The government warns that the people in 30km radious need to evacuate the area.
I watched the TV weatherforecast and tomorrow it will rain.
I got an email from my friend in fukushima,she distributed blankets to those evacuated from Soma-city where Tsunami took away thousands of people. My friend is a high school teacher, but she helped giving out rations and stuffs since evacuees staying in her school. Now She is on the way home under the rain.
As you may be aware, the first rain after the nuclear power plant accident is the most contaminated with radiation like Chelnobyle. I am still worrysome. She mailed me that there is no gas and no lights on the streets. Just walk to home under the rain. Lord, please help good people like her.
Today I watched a nurse straggling to care for the elderlies in the shelter. It was obvious she has's sleep. Those in the situation had sleepless night with work. I wish I can join them. I hope at least road blockage in here and there are cleared so that goods and food can reach to the people. I really feel helplesss. Lord, please help us!

Earth Quake, Tsunami and aftermath

Scary Quake hit the easten Japan last Friday. I was in the classroom to sit for a doctor lecturing on the 4th floor of school building. Though I am quite used to quake but this quake is really long and big. Like roller coaster ride shake, as you know Magnitude was 9.0 revised yesterday.
My home town is Fukushima,and as you may know it holds the two biggest nuclear plants in the prefecture. My mom is still living there, running a small Japanese restaurant. Luckily she still survives, she is staying just next to the prefecture office but the office building can not bare with this big quake so that main operation has moved to the new building next to mom's restaurant.
I could't get through till last night, I finally talked to my mom on the phone. But I was able to exchange text messages on the day of the quake and I confirmed she's fine.
Last December I went home and visited my friend in Sendai by local train. I passed some of the points where this quake hit. I still cannot believe that these cities taken away by devasted Tsunami.
Friday was the day and I could not go home since all the train stopped and stations were closed. It was sort of emergency case. But people on the street didn't know what to do, and some of my friends walked through the night to get home. It was dark and chilly night. The power supply was stopped and even traffic lights were not working and police were here and there to clear the congestion. However, traffic accidents occured and my husband saw that some gave CPR on the spot. Everyone tried to get on buses and roads were choatic. Now even not much gas to buy.
I was lucky I was able to get through to Ellen(daugher)'s daycare from payphone.
Since the daycare is a part of civil service, the phone line wasn't cut off.
Right after I confirmed Ellen is OK, I decided to stay in my school. Nobody negociated but I would if I needed to. There were several students and teachers who did not have any means to go home. The school provide a room to stay and we had 4 folding chairs to lie down with a blunkets. I thank God for the safe and peaceful night I had.

Just forgot to tell you!

Forgot to tell you. I moved to the town by the beach this april. I hardly had taken this kind of clear photo with Mt.Fuji by the shore.
This day the sky was so clear and special, it was the day the national observatory announced the ending of reany season . The air is cleaner than the place where
we used to stay and seems like the pace here is a little slower to breathe well to me. Oh,yes! especially good for Ellen since she has asthma.

Kidzania Tokyo

This week I took my daughter for Kidzania Tokyo to join my friends from Hong Kong.
My daughter E really had fun there. She tried a flight attendant(this reminds me of Jetblue guy to me, though!), pizza cook and several other jobs. This time is the second time for us to go there, but this time we didn't lined up for a long time( last time we lined up for more than 2hrs for a job and ended up experience for only two jobs for USD 80!). The difference is they organize well and prepared the booking card to fill in and kids can try less popular jobs while waiting for popular jobs like flight attendant. As for me, half day session is enough but my friends from Hong Kong spent whole day there. Kids never get tired when they have fun time.
On the way back home, I asked my daughter E what was the best event of that day.
She answered that she played with Cherry(from Hong Kong) in a restaurant while having supper.Now E wants to learn English to talk to Cherry. What a good experience!

Uplifting!

Last 5 months I was busy(I guess any nursing students are!)and hardly have time to sit for blogging. Some of my friends tried to catch up with me in this blog, so I decided to try write a few words as a new start.
Last week I attended "schooling " of a corresponding course. I took two subjects, one in the morning and afternoon. The morning class was so exciting to me, because I felt so happy about the class and I fitted in there so well. The class was about intercultural communication and the teacher planned and facilitated the class so well that many of the students( actually many of them are teachers)were so free to speak up and discussion was so fruitful. I find that I still have life to live and I feel so free to be myself in English speaking backgrond. In the nursing school, I tend to conceal my outgoing character to get along with others. The school is so Japanese that I can hardly raise my hand and ask questions like I used to be. I have been a little suffocated. I understand that the school is the school should be, and the rigid social norms are there. But after attend the "schooling" last week, I regain the energy to live up, though I get my tonsill swollen by commuting 2hours morning and night each in the packed train. Besides, this summer in Japan is really hot. I need a little rest both for body and mind. I hope I can start freshly for the next semester !

My first diaper cakes

Today I attended my friend's gathering. My classmate in an airline induction will have a baby this spring. Though this wasn't formal wedding or baby shower,I wanted her party very special. Last night I made my first diaper cakes. I surfed web sites and I found quite a few websites showing how to make diaper cakes. In Japan, not many know about diaper cakes so some even make the profit out of selling them on the websites. But I thought making them by myself isn't difficult. I found it's fun, special and heartwarming, even inexpensive rather than buying one. I spent US$100 including some decorations for making two of those.
I wasn't sure how the people would react when they see my diaper cakes, because I wasn't able to prepare as much as I planned. My daughter E had high fever with vomiting since Friday night. I didn't have much decoration stuff, I made them while E was in bed to rest and I wasn't able to go out for decoration shopping. But I gave it try. Unexpectedly, many of my friends appreciated the diaper cakes(Most of them are moms).They even told me that they want to try making it when I showed these two. So happy to see their positive reactions!! It is always worrisome whenever you try out something new, but it's worth trying today's stuff.
Besides diaper cakes, it was such a joyful gathering which is so rare to attend these days.The majority of today's attendees are ex-airline crew who shared good time and hard time together in Hong Kong in the 90's. We appreciated today's gathering more than anything, after many of us heard the sad news of adorable Japanese colleagues in the late 30's and 40's departed by cancer last 10 year continueously. It is too early to go... And lately we are so busy and we almost contacted each other only notifying the sad news to share and not many chances to enjoy recreation like throwing a party like today.
Lord, thank you for your blessing. Please show me the right way to go.Thank you for letting me feel and appreciate things happening on me. Please guide me where I should go. I know you have planned to use me to change the world, but I still do not know how.

Chill out!

Yesterday I had an exam of Maternity nursing. But the results I know before the paper return, it was not good. Even multiple choice, there are so many misspelling and wrong word usage which the teacher meant to be right. None of our class said it was satisfactory. Anyway, so far I really haven't had any time for myself. This morning my shoulder hurts,my face swollen and didn't have feeling of having good sleep. So I decided to go for Aerobics class. I haven't exercese for last three month, simply no time like other nursing students. What a nice feeling after sweating a lot with music! The music played in the class was my favorite and my time's music. Olivia Newtonjohon etc. I was even singing and dancing. As a Japanese I look like a crazy woman. But I really don't care. I was in the studio for myself to feel good, besides the music was so loud and others could'nt hear me. Well, but my hip joints hurt and I often slow down the movement. I really did not admit my cells are aging. But...face the reality!