My Journey to Japan
”Finally!“ I said, heaving a sigh of relief as I finished packing my bags for Japan.
I had mixed feelings. I was happy and proud to join my husband, who was serving his orders in Japan, yet I felt uncertain and sad leaving part of me behind – my family, my projects and my baby company. It would mean starting all over again in Japan, but I was ready for the challenge and was confident about the opportunities there.
The journey was long. I flew 19 hours from Ghana to Egypt to Japan. My cultural shock started in the airplane. I was the only African female in the aircraft. The other African was a man. It was my first time flying in an aircraft that had only two Africans including myself. We looked different from the other passengers, and the Japanese looked different from any other race I had seen. They were very polite and cute.
Upon arriving at Narita Airport, I was greeted with Japanese kanji, or characters, that I could not read nor understand. I was saved by the English version of the immigration forms and customs personnel who spoke some English.
We lived in Atsugi, a city that is an hour and a half from Tokyo, the capital. I loved it. It’s a very quiet and calm city.
With time, I became used to bowing to people I met as a way of being polite and showing respect. I started learning some Japanese and tried to write some kanji. I started tasting Japanese food. My favorite was sushi. I also made a few friends who spoke some English. We were settling down well, and I was happy finding my feet again.
Earthquake, tsunami, nuclear plant crisis
Then, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami and another 5.8-magnitude earthquake and then another 7.4 earthquake yesterday caused a wave of panic and nuclear crisis in Japan. Earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear plant crises have never occurred in my homeland but have claimed the lives of thousands in the last two weeks in Miyagi, about 350 kilometers north of Atsugi, and hundreds more are still missing. Survivors have little or no water, electricity or cell phone reception. Many still live in constant fear daily as they worry about what will happen.
My experience in Atsugi
It was a normal sunny Friday afternoon in Atsugi. Normal daily activities were going on. The cars moved. My favorite sushi restaurant was full.
As I walked home from the restaurant clutching my sushi in my right hand, I started feeling uneasy.
”What is happening?“ I asked myself as my mind searched for answers. “Maybe it’s because I am tired. Maybe it is because I have been feeling feverish lately. Maybe … maybe … maybe ...”
I felt dizzy so I stopped in my tracks, but I could not stand well. I moved, but I couldn’t walk well. I could feel the earth moving and then my body moving in a haphazard direction. I felt like screaming, “Help!”
”What is this, LORD?” I asked myself again.
I could not walk nor stand well. I felt like falling down when I stood or walked. I had mixed feelings. I felt confused, scared and helpless.
All of a sudden, I saw a man running very fast past me. I heard the alarm of a packed 2001 Nissan Presage car. I turned around. I saw another three youngsters standing together giggling and another group standing facing the opposite direction and looking up. There was also a man in uniform ahead of me. He stood on the green grass.
”What’s going on?” I finally asked the man.
”Earthquake,” he said.
Earthquake? I repeated the word in a shocked, sad tone, wondering for the next few minutes what that would mean. Will the earth open? Will the buildings fall?
I turned and there was Ivy, a Puerto Rican by birth but married to an American and living in Japan. Fear was written all over her face.
”I am going to pick [up] my two children from the Child Development Centre,” she said in her Spanish accent. ”I feel so scared. My neighbors started shouting when our buildings started [shaking].”
For a moment, I felt it was a dream I was having or a book I was reading. Is this real?
My other friend Elisa’s house was closer. I managed to walk into her abode.
”What is this that happened few minutes ago?” I asked her. “I feel so scared.”
She carried fear, shock and anxiety in her eyes as well.
”I saw our television shaking, and our bulbs threatened to fall,” said Elisa, a mother of two children. “I was torn between either going out or staying inside. I am scared for my children. I have been in Japan for the past three years, but this is the first time I am experiencing this.”
It was not long before Miho, my 36-year-old Japanese friend, called to check on me.
”I was so scared at that moment,” Miho said. ”I was home alone with my two boys. I was actually preparing to go to the office when our building started shaking. Only God knows what will have happened to my 7- and 2-year-old boys if this happened in my absence. We have been told that another one will come again, a bigger one.”
The aftermath
The next few days were filled with fright, worry and a growing uncertainty as news of the number of dead and missing residents in Miyagi was announced on television. Many more were yet to be accounted for, the reporters said. The nuclear plant was also melting, and reactions were being detected.
At the Sagamino train station, where I tried to take a train to Tokyo, I saw a number of people standing and looking desperate. It was 5 a.m.
”Sotestu Line is not working today,” a station employee announced.
I read the anguish and disappointment in the eyes of my fellow stranded comrades.
”I had to be in Tokyo – what do I do?’ I asked myself.
We finally decided to drive to Tokyo. There was so much traffic. A journey that usually takes about an hour and a half took four hours.
As if the transportation challenge was not enough, there were reports of a shortage of food, gas and basic amenities as many people starting buying and hoarding food. At some shops and stores in Tokyo and Atsugi, there were long queues and prices of items had shot up overnight.
It was somewhat of a relief when it was announced that dependents of diplomats should be evacuated. Amidst shock and fret, I started to pack.
*Gifty Pearl was evacuated to the United States with her husband. She is staying in Ohio until they can return to Japan.
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