Fact Vs. Fiction - Vacation Vs. Evacuation

The power outages prevented me from posting details sooner but later will do... I hope you're still reading because I still have much to tell you and even more to come when I reach U.S. soil....

My health is almost completely recovered  now and I've spent the last 29 hours in 2 major meetings addressing "Voluntary Early Departure", Spending time with my neighbor and our children in the dark during 2 Blackouts - 4 hours each, scrambling to make many phone calls, forced to make an on the spot Evacuation decision with little time to discuss it, hugging my crying neighbors who leaving on their own from the country , I also slept a few hours somewhere in that mess...

You have likely heard in the news about the evacuation of American citizens from Japan. In fact, most of you saw it on the news only 20 minutes after I found out...it came out of the blue and we immediately set off to attend a unit meeting with other families. It started off sort of jittery then sobering as I talked with a friend who is a Japanese national married to an American solider. She spoke of how she was unsure of whether to follow in this because of her mother and sister who would be left behind. Loyalty, honor, family: all are amazing qualities possessed by the Japanese. Like a noble captain ready to go down with his ship...Then an Officer comes in to officially address what we all know is coming, "Do not Panic, you are in no immediate danger." ...He gives us these facts:
-There are 278,000 U.S. citizens in Japan and 150,000 are Dod/Military/families
-Aircrafts already inroute to Atsugi Naval Air Base
-Want everyone within approx. 200 miles from Fukushima Nuclear Plants moved. We are 201-SHA to 206-Zama .

Then he continues to explain that this is called "Voluntary Early Departure" and not really an evacuation but a move to a safety zone. Although it is "volunteer" they encourage us to go...

I go to sleep that night after a few phone calls and talking with my husband but we are still unsure.

So this morning we leave early to attend a mass town hall base meeting with the Command General.

On the way, my husband and I discuss the reality of what we are finally about to encounter with this meeting. The separation, the safety, the danger, and the chaos but when we finally arrive on Zama, I am overcome with the beauty of the mountains that surround us...normally there are always misty clouds blocking this view and not since our arrival over a year and a half ago have I seen the mountains in such a clear beautiful way, the same way I saw them our very first morning here which gave me my first taste of the love and awe I would ultimately have for our host country....we waited outside with everyone, laughing off the tension we all felt, together, keeping our eyes on the sky as helicopters buzzed over us so frequently...I began to survey others on their current standing with the situation and most where on the fence like us, about whether to join this "voluntary leave" and even more interesting, was the opinion of soldiers who thought it better to send their families straight to the states in comparison to accommodations so far proposed by this "voluntary leave"...

The meeting began surprising lite-hearted despite the anxious silence and restless children among the mass. The General began  stating that this was no doom and gloom session and then continued on to information we might have received from the news. Telling us the news is grossly over exaggerated for monetary purposes and that he had the facts from reputable sources...he did little to explain the nuclear situation represented by the news and then moved on to command philosophy about being a team, following the golden rule, and character quality...the asked his attorney if he was getting carried away...???...I found this somewhat uncomfortable because even though I  do realize he has a script to follow and the attorney is there to protect the military, I still found it strange for him to so openly rely on the attorney after he made a statement to be honest, frank, and candid. He discussed the mission for the relief effort of Sendai and then led into the circumstances of why we were attending this late notice mass meeting....

Because of continued aftershocks and tsunami risks and well as the unstable nuclear situation (which he said was turning favorable ??) , they we're starting a "voluntary departure" which he called a "vacation" somewhere in a holding area...but there were no official plans yet and the were still expecting more answers and detailed plans to come within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Let me break down the implied "Voluntary Departure": we are broken down into orderly groups and bused to an air-base. Given a seat and upon take off they would then reveal where they would send us. (the states would not be an option at this point) in fact we would be sent to Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan, Guam, and etc and then placed in a large gym, hanger, or warehouse with a 100 or more other spouses and kids, sleeping on cots and dependent on whatever supllies and services the host can offer us all. Also we have no clue how long we would live like that, weeks to months....with no guarantee of communication with the outside world... someone did ask during the question session that if they were sent to a place where they had family (i.e.: another American base in Korea or by chance Hawaii) could they stay with them, The General then asked "could your family take in all the people here?" to which this person replied with "well no of course not". He said "then there is your answer" (NO).... VOLUNTARY departure. We are asked to take this opportunity to leave but not required. Because the Army has made this voluntary, we are at their whim of place and accommodation type. To save money, making it voluntary takes away our options...If they followed normal evacuation protocol, they would then have to send us to our home of record and provide us lodging for displacement if we are unable to stay with family....Cost$$ Vs. Risk.... For the record: once we arrive at whatever safe destination they would send us to, we still have the option of trying to buy a ticket home to the states from there on our own dime.

Strange Fact: The other bases around us are already in the process of evacuating their people, the same bases that our base accused of overreacting, while our base is so behind that they are scrambling with plans to get started with a voluntary leave...

We left the meeting feeling more confused about our situation and unsure of their vague answers for the future.

Barely two hours later my husband called suddenly telling me his command wanted to know our decsion on whether we would go on this "Voluntary Departure". I told him I would like to wait untill he got home so we could actually have time to talk it over but he said he couldn't because they were forcing him to get an instant decision from me. I was flustered and angry to be bullied into a corner so that I could fall into their ranks, so I declined and decided I had to find my own way out of this mess....but come to find out many of the upper ranking were sending their own families through to the states so we are doing the same. At first I worried If I had made the right decision for my son, to risk getting out by expensive commericial means to be safe and comfortable with family Vs. getting on a free flight to an unknown destination with a possible camp like living space shared with possibly 100's of people for a very long time......And the pressure of that choice made me finally break and cry after keeping my focus and resolve the entire week since the Earthquake...I know I've been scared but as a mother I've done my best to keep a clear head about what I facing here....

With perfect dramatic timing, we lost power here and thanks to some resources I was connected with an aunt in the states who helped me find tickets home...hopefully someday they will reimburse the lost savings we have spent to get to the comfort and freedom that we feel they have cheated from us with idea of  "Volunteering" to leave. It's weird to think that just 3 days ago they practically laughed at those who were thinking of evacuation happening anytime soon...

Regardless of all this, we have managed to secured a flight within the next 3 days to the states :). My son and I will have a 3 part journey through the U.S. and are very very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and family to accommodate us along the way and help make it possible for us to accomplish a safe and happy trip back home.

I will continue to update on things here and reach out to those choosing "voluntary leave" to check on their conditions and etc...please continue to pray for the people of Japan and for all the soldiers who are saying goodbye to their families so that they may carry out humanitarian missions here.

Remember That We Are Only Human

To those of you who have been faithfully following my blog, I am sorry for the belated update but unfortunately I have have discovered that I am not invincible haha... Last night I went to bed late because I was still preoccupied by a very large aftershock we had just had, so naturally my nerves were a little frazzled...I woke in the middle of the night with a 103.1 temperature after experiencing an hour of excessive chills before I actually fell asleep in the first place. Upon awaking this morning I was dizzy, aching all over, and battling a headache with my fatigue as well as nausea...My wonderful neighbor watched my son so I could continue to sleep and I was ok until later in the afternoon when my fever spiked again to 103.6...Yes, I did call the doctor but could not get an appointment because there was no power on Camp Zama...Luckily, My fever has seemed to die off and I am only left with a very strong headache and fatigue.. I was so angry to be sick at a time like this. To be weak and powerless in an already stressful situation but I am only human afterall and not even I can stop mother nature from taking her course in these crazy times we live in...

Please note that of course I do not have radiation sickness. They've said although there is a "negligible" amount of radiation here, that it would not be enough to impact our health. I realize there is a great debate right now over whether other bases are overreacting compared to us, and there are some bells that can not be unrung but for all the basic precautions they've gave us, not once has anyone explained what exactly we are protecting ourselves from and as we all know, the nuclear crisis continues to get worse. I get it if you think there's nothing to worry about, but, it is better to explain and reassure if you want to avoid panic. Wikipedia will likely give you the most neutral information on symptoms and etc, So I've included the link to help educate on the possibilities anyone of us can face here.

**side note: The Fukushima nuclear plants are 170 miles from Tokyo and we are approximately 30 miles sw of  Tokyo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_poisoning

Many have reassured us that things are "fine" here and that we are "safe"...And we very well may be but I am no expert nor do I like trusting so much conflicting information. I feel like the military's instincts when it comes to families relies too heavily on their Cost vs. Risk Assessment of our lives and hate feeling like I'm on a waiting list for survival...and some believe this is all a big overreaction but there is NO overreacting when you're a mother but even I fear that I could be overreacting lol. It's a cycle of fear and instinct. I hear that most (on our base) are deciding to stay because the Army has no plans to evacuate but many soldiers have said that if their spouse wants to leave with their children then they will not stop them...I believe we may do the same very shortly...

To those who do not know: An hour before the earthquake hit last friday, I had received news from John that we were being reassigned  to Guam and that we were to leave May 10th...Originally I was very upset that our tour was being cut short here because we are so in love with Japan, it's people, and culture. Who would honestly want to leave such a beautiful and peaceful place...I love the comforting thought that people can send their 6 or 7 year old child to school by themselves on a train with hundreds of other strangers and never fear for their safety...

A link to better explain the order and harmony here, both the article and short news video are wonderful proof of Japan's incredible spirit: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/japan-victims-show-resilience-earthquake-tsunami-sign-sense/story?id=13135355

So very soon I will be starting life again somewhere else overseas for 3 years. I know Guam is paradise for most but I'm the palest person I know and I haven't worn shorts in four years so living on a small island with year round temps ranging from 75-89 plus 80% humidity is not my idea of paradise lol....but it's a chance to start off fresh after this chaos...

We are overwhelmed with love and support from family and friends in the states and I must continue to express our endless gratitude to you all. As much as we are on the fence of leaving very soon, I must let my health recover first but of course I will continue to update everyone :).

The Battle Rages On

My world just got a little crazier...at 11:30am local time, I was informed that theYokosuka (an hour and a half from us) naval base commander told people over the louder speakers that "they had discovered radiation there but that it was a small amount and nothing to worry about"...... and the fall out begins....A 3rd reactor had a hydrogen explosion this morning around dawn and a 4th is on it's way to melttdown,  adding even more fear to the possibility of even more exposure for us. Atsugi Naval base (just 25 minutes southwest of us) has taken serious procautions by instructing people to not leave their house and keep the children in school. I talked to a neighbor who just happen to arrive home and he inofrmed me that some "higher up" people are upset that this has become public knowledge, and that because of his civilian position and the fact that his wife is a soldier, prevents them from leaving but they were immediately calling family so that they could send their two small children back to the states....I don't want to overreact to this but it's not hard as a mother and woman to always feel so stongly about the precautions and protection of your child from whatever the world exposes to him. I'm so scared, honestly, of the invisible threat that is radiation. The Army here has spoke nothing of evacuation which makes me even more worried of what they are willing to put us through.

I don't know, I really don't know anymore....I'm already looking for tickets out of the country but the expense of flying Riordan and I on a day or two's notice internationally is ridiculously expensive and will most likely consume most, if not all, of our savings...Some very wonderful people in my family have touched our hearts with their offers of places to stay through friends they have accumulated on the US coast and Hawaii...Bless their hearts because I cannot express how much it means to me...and yet there are no signs of evacuation here...just a decision we will likely have to make as a family. Just to be bluntly obvious though, How dare the military keep as at risk and then expect low paid soldiers who mostly live on one income overseas to find their own way out....but don't blame Obama lol, It's a local command decision.

I am only one voice in this. People like one of my neighbor's, whose husband is deployed to Iraq, is forced to go at this on her own with one toddler and one baby on the way. I cannot imagine the isolation and fear that she feels.

How do I fight this battle? Overreaction is for those judging but winning this fight could be as simple as heading for the hills of safety on our own terms?! and Though only aftershocks remind us of the major earthquake that has past, we have our children to remind us of the further trials and fears we face from the aftermath....

I am so grateful for your continued prayers! and even more grateful that you can hear my voice from so far away.

On The Edge Of Reality

Every few hours the chimes of a xylophone can be heard throughout the city, then begins the echoing voice of a Japanese man giving public notification of power outages and recovery plans, because he only speaks in Japanese, the goose bumps rise as you strain to listen in on something/anything within his foreign words but then chimes start again and he is finished for now...I can only wonder if he speaks of calm or panic for the growing fears about food, water, and fuel...we are afterall, on the outskirts of Tokyo, so it is only natural  for us to be on the edge both figuratively and literally. I do not fear the panic, Japan is extremely orderly and harmonious, even with scarce supplies, they remain fairly calm and collected...I am amazed that if this had happened in a America that panic would inevitably consume us with looting and violence...We as American's see ourselves so high above the rest of the world but infact a very sophisticated Asian culture has many life lessons to teach us...As always though, I am very proud to be an American and blessed to have such a gracious host country.

Some of the bases have been hit with a lack of water, heat, and fuel but we all will have to take on our share of the rolling blackouts to conserve energy. In less than an hour , my neighbor with bring her little girl over here to eat dinner by candle light  while we wait for the power to be restored. Of  course dwindling resources can be overcome but the progressing nuclear problems are not something we can run from. I was alerted this morning that a blast had occured at the Fukushima Daiichi's plant's No. 3 reactor building and this would bring the total nuclear blasts to two. As a mother, I refuse to let my son outside, to protect him from any exposure possibilities. It's fine if you call me paranoid, but I won't take chances with his life....besides any major nuclear threat, there is the 70% likelihood of a 7.0 or greater earthquake striking us within the next 3 days (issued by the Japan meteorlogical agency)....everything has just become a waiting game.

We have also been advised not to go out into the rain/snow tomorrow for fear of chemical particles being carried by the weather from the oil fires up north.

Currently we are stocked in the house with the essentials and we are catching as much sleep as possible to keep all the stress at bay. Things are continuing as normal as possible with the ocassional hiccup of events or warnings but the days have started to blur together and I'm doing my best to stay grounded in reality.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family, who constantly give us support through the internet and phone calls! I'm so grateful for that kind of love and friendship from across the globe, it really does keep our spirits up to know so many people pray and care for our family as well as for people of Japan. :) Thank you so much!!!! It's also amazing to see that so many people are reading this blog and hearing me voice all of this from within the isolation of disaster and far away life.

By the way, my mom is still planning to come to Japan the first week of April!!! Let's hope things will get a little better by then.

The Aftermath

It's been 2 days since an 8.9 earthquake struck Japan, as well as, a 25 foot tsunami that created even more devastation...There are many fires still raging in Japan, including one massive fire consuming a Tokyo Oil refinery...Nuclear fears are a continuous plague on our recovery efforts...There is somwhere between 6 to 2.5 million without power...people are lining up to collect groceries,water, and fuel which is starting to become very scarce...The death toll hovers around 801 with tens of thousands unaccounted for....We are still experiencing many aftershocks every few hours...and in all of this the pictures of destruction and stories of stranded people keep of us clinging to the news for hope and progress...

Being  on an American base makes me fortunate but still effected. My worst fear is for the current nuclear situation. We are in danger of mass expossure to radiation if the reactors continue to fail and meltdown....I have no idea how bad it has to be before the military evacuates us but I'm not willing to wager too much of a gamble with my sons health in effect with this....At the same time I feel so conflicted because I want to volunteer in some way to help with the recovery but the risk has validated any paranoia that I might have. So we pray, watch, and wait for anything and everything to happen... 

I have posted some video links in connection to the earthquake and myself...as well as something humorous to lighten the mood.


Video I took of Japanese News covering the nuclear fears here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk1QSlZuY9o



     A brief video taken during the earthquake at Camp Zama PX, 15 minutes from my house in Sagamihara.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bujeSHlpp24

My sister Tab, in Oklahoma, typed in the driving directions to Japan and it told her to kayak across the pacific ocean LOL. It would take 35 days!


                                                          Please continue to pray for Japan.

Outside the Safe Zone

Today started like a normal day....coffee and cartoons with Riordan at 8am. Then on to reading the News online and making breakfast. Got a phone call from friends in the states and talked for awhile before John called from work to share big news so I called my mother. I stayed in constant motion chasing my son, juggling conversation and planning my Friday afternoon...At about 2:45pm local time(11:45pm Missouri time) I was laughing with my mother when I noticed the couching moving and assumed it was the usual Japan tremor that happens every few weeks and just rattles our door knobs for 20 secs...but then I was shaking hard enough to rattle my entire body, so I made my way to get Riordan from his nap upstairs and all the while my mother in Kansas City can hear the glass and blinds rattle on the other line. Riordan was fine besides whining a bit in confusion and I ended up dropping the phone to keep my balance to get back down the stairs...I can not explain the surreal awe of stepping outside on to solid ground and feeling like your drunk/sea sick as you grapple with the fact , that outside the heavy sway of your house, the earth will continue to move beneath you, moving a two ton excavator across the lot as if it were the branches of a tree swaying in a hurricane...We made it fine to the middle of our lawn with other neighbors and then commenced making sense of what just happened before I realized I need to call John on Camp Zama 10 minutes away. The silence, the still, and calm was short lived as another aftershock hit but passed quickly. Minimal damage in my house just fallen items throughout but I was more concerned that my cell phone could not call out and after 10 minutes Johnathon finally reached me from base with news that the cell phones were down except for emergency communication throughout Japan and during our brief conversation the aftershocks continued to shake the house....Watching the news cover the source of all of this made me sick to my stomach. Watching the devastation consume my beautiful and gracious host country was heart-breaking in so many ways.

All my life I watched from the safety of my home, the very middle of America, while the world's tragedies progressed around me and of course I felt a great sadness and said prayers for those effected but still remained mostly unaffected because of distance and lack of relation. You watch devastation and death tolls rise from your T.V. and then you go about your lives while discussing amongnst friends, who will on occasion donate aid....and suddenly I'm on the very edge of it all. I'm so very thankful that we were only physically shaken up but viewing the disaster when I'm only 30 miles from Tokyo and seeing so many places I've visited on fire, demolished, and being swept away is gut wrenching...reminds you of God's power and how merciless mother nature can be...

I know you've all been watching as you awoke this morning and finding out what we've been living through all day, I must say I was touched in so many way by my friends and family. The incredible power of social media has been proven to be even more beneficial to modern communication, In my case, Facebook. I began to reassure and share my status and instantly had so very many well wishes that it eased my stress in such an amazing way. To be so connected instantly, to even those with which you rarely speaking with , is strangely comforting and wonderful. I feel blessed and loved and grateful!!!!!

As of right now we are fine buit exhausted from feeling, watching, and worrying. The warnings right now are to be prepared large aftershocks or another possible earthquake around Tokyo. I'm sure all your generous prayers will keep us safe though...

Pray for Japan as well. Pray for the US soldiers headed out to do rescue. And pray for all others in the path of the tsunami.

The Quirks and Quotes Between Us

I've been prompted by Facebook to display my blood type with my general information at the top of my page! It's even more interesting because American Facebook does not ask for this. I honestly don't know the true point of interest but I'm speculating it has to do with bloodlines and blood ties in Japan. I'm going to pick my Japanese friends brains because it's fascinating to think about why it's socially important to display something I would think is private or irrelevant outside medical needs. Such an intriguing quirk actually makes me want to participate in sharing such genetic qualities but I have no idea of the actual social implications it has on my Japanese peers....Did you know of all the countries in the world, Japan is the hardest to adopt from as a foreigner?! On average there are only 33 adoptions a year internationally from Japan. They have a strong belief in bloodlines and family connection that leaves most "orphaned" children with the inability to be adopted because their parents refuse to relinquish their rights in connection, as well as the fact that they assume outside of being blood related, you could only want to adopt for "evil" reasons. Now, modern Japanese people of  the new generation do not all opperate on this belief but it is the older generation still affecting this....

The spreading revolution in the Middle East has had quite a ripple effect upon the world...mainly the skyrocketing gas prices to which we all moan about....or as a friend's recent status update says "$3.40 a gallon?! I believe it's time to invade another oil producing country" lol, it's obvious as American's we are hit hardest by this because of dependence on cars for basic transportation. Even here on an American base gas is $3.32 and I recently saw in San Fransico that gas prices were as high as $3.99! ....Yay for Japan's mass train transit!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure I walk 3/4 of a mile to get a train but the train takes me anywhere in a fraction of the time and I get a little exercise in return..not to mention saving the enviroment from CO2 emissions :)...But seriously we are so connected as a world, even in a bad economy and questionable politics, we should be open to the idea that they are fighting for their own peace there ,Their families in line of fire to build a better world. As Americans we take for granted that our military fights for us, not against us and we never have to pay that ultimate price because they do it for you. Be thankful you only have to pay higher gas prices for a fraction of world peace to prevail and possibly prevent our own nation for getting over involved and costing you more in the long run...don't be so spoiled America :(

And when all else fails, hit up GROUPON! They have group discounts for everything these days inluding Teacher's Union Rights, Muammar Qaddafi Philosophy Classes, and Charlie Sheen's Dignity!