Japan Earthquake/Tsunami: Day 11

A UNTIE EIKO CALLED YESTERDAY! ! !  She is OK and so is hubby, Tomio. Eiko said she used to get mad at Tomio because when he needed one barrel of kerosene, he bought three. She said it was dangerous if there was a fire. When he needed one bottle of shoyu (soy sauce), he bought three; when he drove for miles to get real spring water flowing down the mountainside, he would fill his car to capacity with jugs of water. During the earthquake, the ground shook so hard that Eiko and Tomio couldn't even hold on to each other. After the earthquake, he said "you cannot yell at me anymore (for having too much water, food, fuel)." Hmm. Wonder what he knew that the rest of us didn't?

Tomio also said it was a good thing they were together at home during the earthquake and tsunami. From now on, he says they must stay together at all times. Hmm. I don't know if Eiko's going to like that.

Soccer Boy (Eiko's younger son) and family are OK. She has not heard from Handsome Boy (her older son), but believes he is fine.

All of Eiko's relatives survived, except for Tomio's cousin's 80 year old father, who refused to leave his home.

Bachan is very close to Eiko. Whenever we go to Japan, Bachan and Eiko spend days together just sitting around, drinking tea and talking about old times. By the end of the phone call, Bachan was yelling, "BANZAI! BANZAI! BANZAI!"

Uh, that's "banzai" which literally means "ten thousand years" and is part of the phrase, "ten thousand years to the Emperor." It's usually said loudly three times while raising both arms in the air to express enthusiasm, to celebrate a victory, or to applaud and show favor on a happy occasion. Loosely translated, it means "long life" or "hurray."  It's not "bonsai," the art of growing teeny tiny trees in itsy bitsy containers.

OBSERVATION. I've been thinking that clean water is and will be a growing issue for Japan. Auntie Eiko confirmed this.

She has enough drinking water for now because Tomio routinely collects jugs of spring water from the mountains. She has started to gather snow to let it melt in a bucket so she can wash vegetables. This will soon not be necessary because she is running out of fresh produce. She puts another bucket outside to collect rain water for tea.

Eiko said she is cooking the ham (yes, the dreaded ham; see "Damn Ham" post of 12/20/10) Bachan sent her. I thought Bachan sent Eiko a little ham months ago. She must have put the bone in the freezer and is cooking that, not the ham. Eiko is making soup with it. She told Bachan to make sure she has dry food, like beans, for times such as this. And canned food. They're starting to eat out of cans.

There is no running water or electricity. She hasn't bathed in 11 days. They are stranded on the hill over looking the devasted and flooded town. She cannot get to a store.

I know many international water charities dig wells, but that's not what's needed in Japan right now. I seem to remember one group that donated small water filtration systems to families. I'll have to search the internet some more to find it. I'll keep you posted.

May all your needs be met,


Catherine