Dear All, 友達の皆さん、
I arrived in Japan two days ago, so I am very alert now at 5:35 in the morning. Although I am starting a blog, besides being in Japan I don't really have a theme. I'm the kind of person who writes crazy rough drafts and fixes them later, so any blog by me is likely to be just that, a crazy rough draft. Nevertheless, I wanted to blog (never done it before) for a few important reasons. First, I want to make sure Americans (that I know) continue to think about the earthquake in northern Japan, even if it's no longer in the news. Second, I wanted to blog about volunteering for a disaster, which I've never done before. I also wanted to ask myself some big questions about the act of volunteering for a disaster: Is it really useful for a 42 year old woman with no special talents to volunteer? Do the people in the area really want volunteers, or do they just want money? Why do I have this strong impluse to volunteer? Is there such a thing as altruism at all? Is all volunteering selfish from beginning to end?
Anyway, here I am in calm, pastoral Nishinomiya, hundreds of miles from northern Japan, preparing to find out. Meanwhile, I will be indirectly doing a little bit to help out by replacing an English teacher at Kobe College High School who left because of fears of radiation. Unlike the disaster area, Nishinomiya is perfectly calm, flowerful, and on vacation this week. I snapped a picture of an elderly man walking his dog by the river:
Flowers already! I love it! Thanks for sharing your journey.
ReplyDeleteI heard about your blog from Yoko Breckenridge. I applaud your efforts and look forward to reading your blog. I think that we are kindred spirits. I also feel compelled to do what I can for Japan, so I will be heading for the Tokyo area next week. I will be there for three weeks, offering workshops and presentations on healing through the arts and working with intense dreams and nightmares after a crisis. I look forward to reading about your experiences. I too will be posting mine on my blog. You can find it at http://monkeybridgearts.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteSweet dreams,
Sheila
Hi Marnie - I am so glad to have found your blog just now - I had Googled KCHS + English teacher and voilà! your blog came up!You see, I am the new eigo no sensei coming on board at KCHS in September once all of the official paperwork, etc. is completed. I am so relieved and grateful to know that an experienced, "old hand" is in place right now - your being there will make my coming in second term so much easier and the transition much smoother, I hope. I'd love to share private emails with you if you are able and interested - sctaber56@gmail.com - once the Board of Trustees officially approves my contract later this month.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I will be returning to teach English in Japan after a 30 year absence. I was pre-JET in Nara-ken for 2 years and have always dreamed of returning. I've also lived nearly all of my life in earthquake-prone California so hopefully have a more realistic attitude about living in Japan these days than others might. And I am very interested to follow your volunteer work in Tohoku over these next several months as its what I hope to do, too, once AI am settled in Nishinomiya but only if I can be of valuable assistance.I just read about the special discount shinkansen fares being offered to those volunteers traveling to Tohoku.
Anyway, I am very thrilled to connect with you via your blog - it's so serendipitous!
Ja mata ne,
shane from Northern California