3.11

I was in 7th grade when I experienced the great earthquake in Tokyo, Japan. It was a Friday afternoon, and my friends and I were in band class, waiting eagerly for the weekend. Our band teacher was explaining about a particular instrument, and he was drawing it on the whiteboard, swaying his body like he usually does. It was then when I first thought a gigantic car or truck must have run past our school. I felt the ground shaking, but it wasn't a big shake. But the shake continued even after some gigantic vehicle must have traveled past the school building, so I turned around to my friend who was sitting next to me. "Earthquake?" I asked my friend in Japanese so that my teacher wouldn't understand what we were discussing about. "Earthquake it is" replied my friend. We were chuckling a little since we thought the earthquake would settle down, like it usually does. But the ground kept on shaking. My friend grabbed onto my arm that was holding on to a clarinet, and whispered, "OMG". Yes, that is what I felt as well. Our band teacher, swaying like he usually does, did not realize the earthquake until we all stared at him with shocking and fearful eyes. Our band teacher apparently did not realize the shake, since he had lived on boats and ships for his musical career in the past. We were told by him to duck under our chairs, but that didn't fit both our bodies and instruments. Some of us were too big to duck under the chairs, and insufficient protection was apparent. There were two lights that look like ones from a theater or movie set that hang down from the ceiling started to sway, and eventually, that became a threat. If that light fell on the ground and shattered, we would be injured. When the peak of the shake had passed, we ran to the Middle School field, leaving our instruments how they were. We were then told to evacuate to the High School Field, where we lined up as we practiced in the past. I still thought it wasn't a big deal, that it was just an earthquake that Japan usually has. But then people who had their iPhones with then started sharing their information about the earthquake. "The epicenter is... somewhere in northern Japan... where is it..." "The magnitude is 12.0? What!?" (corrected as 9.0 later on the media) The next time I saw my friend from band class, she had tears in her eyes. After hearing that the Tohoku region was where the epicenter was, she remembered about her sister going there for school. She cried quietly, whispering "お姉ちゃん", which means "sister" in Japanese. I became wary of my family's safety after she had started crying. But for some reason, I also thought, "Oh, I can't go to my cousin's performance today," which was totally unnecessary. Even at this point, I had not realized the severity and intensity of the earthquake, living in a relatively safe area, Tokyo. The sun had disappeared, and clouds were now visible. It wasn't raining, but it was too chilly to stay outside. Bus riders were sent to their buses while locals and train riders were told to proceed to the High School gym. I don't know why, but when I saw the familiar people who take the local bus, the train, and walk home, I started to cry. Droplets of tear started to fill my eyes, and before I knew it, I was crying. An 8th-grade friend who lived in the same station hugged and cuddled me to soothe me. My friends encircled me to calm me down as well. With their help, I was able to stop crying. Then, the computer technician from middle school called me over to email my parents if it made me feel any safer. I did, since I didn't own a smartphone, and after a while, my father called me on my phone from a telephone box. Apparently, none of the phones worked for calling, since everyone was one the phone. Texting worked, but I didn't own a device or an account for texting, which as problematic. I eventually also got contact with my mother as well, and I felt better. As night approached, the school made a decision to send the non-bus riders home by car. Two vans were used to send students home in the direction I lived, so I said my goodbyes and thank you's to my friends and left by shouting, "I'm going home!". However, going home wasn't easy as well. The road was a traffic jam, and it took so much longer than it usually does to get home. I was tired from all that crying and sobbing, that I fell asleep resting my head on my 8th-grade friend. I woke up when the teacher who was driving us home had troubles getting through a narrow turn. He tried to advance, but then retreated to re-angle the car, and he did it hundreds of times. When we finally got through, we all clapped and cheered for the driver. The ride after that was smoother, and before I knew it, we approached a very familiar street. My 8th-grade friend got off first, saying that her house is located nearby. We all said goodbye, and the rest of us continued on our journey home. Soon, we approached the street that bisects the street of my grandmother's house, and I exclaimed, "May I get off here, please? My grandmother's house is located never close by!". I walked in a rush to my grandmother's house. There, I saw that my cousin was already there, playing on the Wii. I asked my grandmother to call my mother and to tell her that I am safe and that I have already returned. School was canceled for a week, extending spring break from one week to two. But it wasn't after that notice that the news regarding the Fukushima Power Plant came into my conscience. I still remember every detail of the earthquake and how I spend my time until I returned to my grandmother's house. But I know that what I had experienced is nothing compared to the people, especially the children up in Tohoku.