日本 Japan

Last week, our globe was struck by one of the worst naural disasters is all of history. One country, however, was found the main target for destruction. Japan was hit hard with a lethal 8.9 earthquake. The tsunami that soon followed wiped away much of the Sendai region. The result was deadly. As of right now, the official death toll is nearing 5,000 people, however, there are thousands more missing. The projected death toll is nearly 15,000.

As many in the office know, I was expected to move to Japan in early August for a study abroad term. After speaking with the Office of Study Abroad, no changes have been made to my travels just yet. The university I chose to attend in Japan is in the Nagoya area of Japan. Nagoya is just south of Tokyo, slightly further inland as well. Now the earthquake occured off the coast of Northern Japan, creating a tsunami that hit the northern coast the hardest. My university was not nearly as affected as other places in Japan.

Yesterday, I went to Japanese class for the first time since the earthquake. My professor walked in with a forced smile on her face. She calmly told us that she had just found out that the tsunami hit her hometown in Japan. She said that she had not heard from her family yet. Everyone in my class saw she was holding back her tears as she handed us a studyguide for our upcoming test and let us go. It's experiences like these that make me feel helpless to the world. I texted my friend Ayako, who is an exchange student from Japan, and she said that many of her friends lived in the Sendai area and had not heard from them either. The sad truth is that she may never hear from them again. Sendai was hit hard. All the footage you see on the news is footage of Sendai. I put myself in her shoes, being away in a foreign country as disaster hits my home and I can't help but feel unbearable regret and sadness. All I can do for her, my teacher and the rest of Japan is pray that God will take care of them.

The Japanese are a people of strict social order and incredible discipline. Even in times of disaster, they keep their composure; refraining from all theft and instead helping eachother. My teacher taught us a word that sums up the Japanese reaction to something like this. The word is がまん (or Gaman). Although there is no translation for the word in English, it means to persever; to help one another even when you yourself needs help. 日本人にがまんある.

If you live in Las Cruces or attend NMSU, please donate whatever you can to J.A.P.A.N. club in Corbett Center. They are giving all donations to the Red Cross for relief effort in Japan. Keep these people in your prayers and hope that tomorrow will bring more survivors.

-Chavo