Vid nyår berättade hon att hon hade fått ett konstnärsstipendium till Japan och var i full färd med att lära sig japanska. Fem månader i Tokyo! Den 3 mars bar det äntligen av.
Här följer utdrag (med hennes tillstånd förstås) ur Shays "unedited Tokyo journal" för släkt och vänner för tiden 3-15 mars.
3 mars:
Konnichiwa Y'all,
My arrival in Tokyo was smooth. Once I crossed the international dateline I was in the future, 13 hours ahead of you on the East Coast. The weather was cool in the 40's and the skies were a bit grey like Paris, and the citizens just as fashionable, and chic. I got a big thrill passing the Imperial Palace in a taxi on the way to International-House where I stayed overnight. The manicured landscapes, the mix of modern and ancient side by side. Studying Japanese all those months helped med to manage my transportation by train and taxi without too much trouble.
It's 3:30 a.m. but I'm like a little kid, too excited to sleep. Looking forward to the 5 months of adventure ahead.
7 mars:
[A Japanese artist tells Shay:] "If you're worried about earthquakes, we have a helmet for you."
10 mars:
My first week in Tokyo has been a daily learning experience. I managed to find the noodle restaurant near my house and thought I would swoon from the healing aroma and soul satisfying taste of the noodles. A tiny place, so crowded I was unceremoniously directed to sit at a small table facing a gentleman noisily enjoying his bowl of steaming noodles. I grabbed my chopsticks and joined the slurp symphony.
Yesterday a Japanese friend took me to a very elegant Japanese inspired French restaurant, Hiramatsu, where we were delighted by the Chagall menu - 1st course: a thin green bean soup with a small scoop of ice cream in a huge white round bowl, 2nd course: two scallops topped with a ginger sauce, a diamond of salmon mousse topped with slivers of green beans and decorated with green leaves and edible flowers, 3rd course: a small tower of mushroom and duck slices, greens, small perfect squares of mushroom infused potatoes on a paper thin pancake surrounded by a whispery swirl of a delicious reduction sauce, and dessert: a narrow white rectangle plate with 3 different chocolates and a white homemade cloud of a marshmallow, a delight for the eyes. We were fussed over by several waiters practicing their French and English.
After a walk in Arisugawa Park, we went shopping in a large dept. store in Shinjuku, a neater, cleaner, better lit kind of Macy's. I swooned again, this time in the Ito-ya Stationery store.
We refreshed ourselves with iced glasses of Yuzu, a yummy citrus, lemonade like drink sweetened with honey. We talked about the project I'm working on here and she told me a wonderful story about growing up in a Buddhist household on the outskirts of Tokyo. (You'll have to read the book!)
The plum trees are blossoming but it's still quite chilly. Going to see Arundati Roy speak this weekend. She was an architecture student so I'm doubly excited to meet the writer of The God of Small Things, one of my all time favorite books.
Til next time,
I'm your Soul Sister in Tokyo
11 mars:
BIG SCARY earthquake this afternoon!!!!! I was eating wild strawberries when the building began to sway, then shake as if the earth gods had awakened. I dived under the dresser in my room. Five minutes later, it fell over. The building is still shaking with aftershocks. There is a parking lot nearby where we can stand in the open. I have CNN so I am getting some news in English. I'm shaken but not stirred. Japanese fruit is awesome! Met my neighbors and people are eager to help in emergencies and get acquainted. All good and well here.
On TV the prime minister Kano asks residents to be calm and not panic. Intense images of the tsunami hitting the northeast coast of the island of Honshu. Struck Sendai. Center only 230 miles in ocean from Tokyo. BBC and CNN my new source. Learning new words in a disaster: Tsunami, earthquake, stay calm, conserve electricity.
13 mars:
My earthquake detector, the glass of water on my altar, is busy. The news reports are that there have been almost 300 aftershocks or little earthquakes from low to strong intensity since the BIG ONE on Friday. About 5-6 aftershocks per hour. It's a bit unsettling.
Going out with the other local JUSCF grantee Greg in a few moments to stroll around on this gloriously beautiful day. People are a bit freaked out by the idea of a nuclear disaster but the Italian coffee shop down the street was packed with hipsters and expats and locals sitting in the sun sipping espressos looking calm and cool. Inside there are little tremors in us all.
14 mars:
Still in good spirits and calm after spending a few hours in the library and lugging home a stack of books on architecture. Maybe I'm being foolish to even consider staying with this threat of a nuclear disaster in the air. Tomorrow I'll don my face mask and go looking for potassium iodide and ask about a postponement of the grant.
15 mars:
This morning 5 a.m., just a few moments ago, I was jolted awake by a pretty strong aftershock/earthquake. It's just so unsettling not knowing when the next little - or stronger - tremor will happen. Feel pretty safe in my building in this part of town, on high ground, but skyped with Annette about the possiblilites of returning as the nuclear threat continues. Where I am in Tokyo it seems so far away. Greg, the other grantee, is leaving.
The Japanese people on the street look calm, act calm but judging by the conversations with contacts I've made, people are really a bit freaked out.
***********************
Shay, du som så glad i hågen reste in i "framtiden" för två veckor sen, vad tänker du göra nu? Ja, vad kan man göra i en sådan situation? Ingen vet ju vad som ska hända härnäst.
Alla dessa medmänniskor i Japan, alla dessa tragiska öden... Som alltid i sådana här situationer påminns jag om John Donnes dikt,
"No man is an island, entire of itself; /. . ./
Any man's death diminishes me, because I'm involved in mankind.
Therefore send not to ask for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee."
"Ingen människa är en ö, hel och fullständig i sig; /. . . /
Varje människas död förminskar mig, ty jag är innesluten i mänskligheten;
Sänd därför inget bud att fråga vem (begravnings)klockan klämtar för;
den klämtar för dig."
Any man's death diminishes me, because I'm involved in mankind.
Therefore send not to ask for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee."
"Ingen människa är en ö, hel och fullständig i sig; /. . . /
Varje människas död förminskar mig, ty jag är innesluten i mänskligheten;
Sänd därför inget bud att fråga vem (begravnings)klockan klämtar för;
den klämtar för dig."
Den japanske sångaren Chars tolkning av Eric Claptons "Tears in Heaven" har fått en ny innebörd.
Wed March 16, 2011 Texas
Home safe. Getting to the airport was smooth. I wore a cotton face mask like at least half of the people I saw moving through the city. I arrived 6 hours before my flight. 45 minutes to check in. 15 minutes to get through security. Three earthquakes at the airport this morning. The first quite strong, a 6.0 that had some people diving under chairs and benches. Others just looked around as if to ask "Is it happening again?" Then three smaller quakes followed within the hour. Unnerving.
My flight was choppy and felt like an 11 hour earthquake experience. At one point the plane shook so violently and dropped so suddenly I thought "I have survived the biggest earthquake in over 100 years in Japan to be lost at sea on my way home." Glad to be on solid ground.
The news from Japan by the time I landed had gotten even worse. As we exited the plane upon arrival there were armed officers with handheld meters checking each passenger and each piece of luggage for radiation. The officer I spoke with said we were ok, whatever that means. CNN's reports indicate that things are getting worse.
Leaving customs I was greeted by my Beloved and a camera crew. "Why did you decide to leave?" the cameraman asked. "After gentle and not so gentle pressure from family and friends who were watching the news. It was terrifying for them, although I didn't feel any immediate danger in Tokyo."
It was my new Facebook friend, a knowledgeable person in the field of nuclear plants and a consultant, who said it was getting really bad after the third explosion. It was in that moment that I felt fear and got booked on a flight the following day.
My heart is so heavy as I think of all the people I met in Tokyo who were so kind to me, and those who have friends and family near Fukushima and in Sendai, who are worrying about the next more devastating news as the radiation threat continues to spread south on the wind, traces of radiation found in the water in Fukushima and some in the air above Tokyo. The Japanese people I spoke with don't believe that they are getting the full story from the government and after seeing the latest, I'm in agreement. I continue to keep the people of Japan in my thoughts and prayers.
I left Tokyo Wednesday evening and after an 11-hour flight, I arrived in Texas Wednesday evening, back to my present with my beloved, and grateful for all the good thoughts that kept me positive.
I've been awake for 24 hours. Think I'll sleep for the next 24.
People can donate to Japan to help in relief efforts at the following link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help.
Love, Shay
******************
PS. Nu på morgonen den 17 mars fanns detta brevet från Shay i min mailbox:Wed March 16, 2011 Texas
Home safe. Getting to the airport was smooth. I wore a cotton face mask like at least half of the people I saw moving through the city. I arrived 6 hours before my flight. 45 minutes to check in. 15 minutes to get through security. Three earthquakes at the airport this morning. The first quite strong, a 6.0 that had some people diving under chairs and benches. Others just looked around as if to ask "Is it happening again?" Then three smaller quakes followed within the hour. Unnerving.
My flight was choppy and felt like an 11 hour earthquake experience. At one point the plane shook so violently and dropped so suddenly I thought "I have survived the biggest earthquake in over 100 years in Japan to be lost at sea on my way home." Glad to be on solid ground.
The news from Japan by the time I landed had gotten even worse. As we exited the plane upon arrival there were armed officers with handheld meters checking each passenger and each piece of luggage for radiation. The officer I spoke with said we were ok, whatever that means. CNN's reports indicate that things are getting worse.
Leaving customs I was greeted by my Beloved and a camera crew. "Why did you decide to leave?" the cameraman asked. "After gentle and not so gentle pressure from family and friends who were watching the news. It was terrifying for them, although I didn't feel any immediate danger in Tokyo."
It was my new Facebook friend, a knowledgeable person in the field of nuclear plants and a consultant, who said it was getting really bad after the third explosion. It was in that moment that I felt fear and got booked on a flight the following day.
My heart is so heavy as I think of all the people I met in Tokyo who were so kind to me, and those who have friends and family near Fukushima and in Sendai, who are worrying about the next more devastating news as the radiation threat continues to spread south on the wind, traces of radiation found in the water in Fukushima and some in the air above Tokyo. The Japanese people I spoke with don't believe that they are getting the full story from the government and after seeing the latest, I'm in agreement. I continue to keep the people of Japan in my thoughts and prayers.
I left Tokyo Wednesday evening and after an 11-hour flight, I arrived in Texas Wednesday evening, back to my present with my beloved, and grateful for all the good thoughts that kept me positive.
I've been awake for 24 hours. Think I'll sleep for the next 24.
People can donate to Japan to help in relief efforts at the following link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help.
Love, Shay
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