Ms. T (a woman in her 20’s) T さん （２０代）

June 8 and 14, 2016 I was 9th grade and it was my graduation day when the disaster happened. I played a saxophone in the school band. There was a seasonal concert planned three days later, so we all went home saying “see you in three days” to each other. When I got home, the earthquakes came. My father, who usually was out for fishing on a fishing boat, happened to be home and said “I know for sure a Tsunami is coming, let’s escape” and we escaped together to the second floor of a building. There were about 20 people there. There were some emergency food items stored and I was given some instant rice. I was too afraid to look outside from the window but knew the water level was getting higher. I panicked and was crying the whole time. I am still afraid of earthquakes and even with a slight shake, my heart starts to pound. We couldn’t get in touch with my sixth-grade sister which made us worried. We had tried to convince ourselves that she should been safe as she was at school. My sister later told us she felt safe because she was with her classmates. She also told us that she was not too worried about my father and me as we could swim, but she was for my mother who couldn’t. We wrapped our feet with plastic bags and walked home in the water the next day. The first floor of our house was damaged by the Tsunami, so we started our lives in the second floor. We ate snacks that were not soaked with water, and our neighborhood fish cake store gave us some fish cakes. When we visited the shelter on the fourth day, we were supplied with some bananas and fish cakes. We got our water bottles filled with some fresh water and on our way out, an older man yelled at my sister “you just get water from here and going home? Is that what you learned at school? Do you empathize with the people here at the shelter who have nowhere to go, to see how they are feeling?” On our way home, contrary to the earlier experience, a lady, a total stranger, gave us two rice balls which gave us a sigh of relief knowing that there were good people around, too. The media tends only to report stories of people helping each other. But, I learned that in a real life that it is not always the case. Things are glossed over on the surface. The announcement of the high school entrance exam results came out delayed and we started high school in May instead of April when normally is the start of the new school. Our relatives from Hokkaido came to clean our house which was helpful. I was shy and withdrawn from the 7th to 9th grade years having a negative way of thinking. When I was freshman in high school, I became too negative and pessimistic that I was isolated from my classmates. Everyone kept a distance from me. In my junior year, however, I made up my mind and told myself “I cannot keep being this way, I want to change”. As a first step, I cut off my long hair to change my appearance. I hoped to try many different things in college that were not limited to club activities. I want to meet many different people and to participate in variety of activities. When I was in kindergarten, my English teacher was a foreigner and I enjoyed the class very much. This gave me a desire to work using English. I would like to communicate with people from abroad in English and to introduce Japanese culture to them in English. I recently started to take lessons in martial arts. I want to do things that could only be possible while I am in college and not after being in the work forth. I want to experience as many things as possible in the next four years of college as I feel like there would be no other chances. I was able to travel to the United States last year thanks to the Taylor Anderson Foundation that was established by the parents of an American lady who was victimized by the Tsunami. It gave me an opportunity to tell my stories as a victim to the people in the US. It was a fun experience to attended American college classes, communicate with the American students, etc. Seeing American students actively participate in classes, I realized how little Japanese people express themselves. I was touched by the strength of the Andersons to invite us and welcoming us warmly to the United Sates after losing their daughter, which made me almost crying. I am very grateful. The 3/11 disaster brought many encounters and experiences to me. I learned that what I have been taken for granted were not always available. I became more thankful for everyday things and I appreciate people around me and the community. After the earthquakes, we had no bath, food, electricity nor water. As we were living in the second floor of our house, I was very happy when we finally were able to dine downstairs. The life is slowly getting back to normal. I now belong to a community orchestra and play the oboe. The reason I chose the local university was that I’ve always had some attachment towards my local community. By picking a brand-new major, I thought we can pave the way to create our own tradition. For better or for worse, I am a type of person who once determined, not easily being swayed. I am taking care of myself first emotionally and physically. I imagine many of us have some type of scars. However, things will work out as long as we are alive. Life could be painful, but it will always get better if you do not give up. Things improve, only for the better. I consider myself lucky. I am going to the United States again this year, so I would like to introduce the history of Ishinomaki and Japanese culture to them.