Konichiwa from Tokyo, my friends. What a crazy time to find myself here! Exactly a year ago I was also here but my, what a different experience that was.
I learned about the approaching Typhoon a few days before I was scheduled to depart for Tokyo from my Japanese alumni. I continued to monitor it but there was really nothing to be done; not only had this trip been planned for awhile, and I had several work events, but I also am supposed to continue on to Korea from here, so it wasn't like I could just cancel the Japan part. Plus, there was every opportunity this typhoon wouldn't materialize in this way; it's all speculation.
So, I successfully flew into Tokyo's Haneda airport on Thursday, October 10. At this point the typhoon was still pretty far south, so I have no idea if that was affecting the flight, but the turbulence was so bad... not just rocky turbulence but like swaying turbulence, for so long, that I got extremely motion sick. I was shaking and sweating and concentrating on my breathing and trying to keep mind over matter the whole time... and as soon as we landed, and pulled up the gate... I puked. I filled up like half the barf bag. Red wine and fruit. It's gross, but I did feel so much better afterwards.
So, the education fairs that I'm in town for are this weekend, which happens to be during the Rugby World Cup. This meant that hotels were few, and expensive. So I ended up right on Tokyo Bay. Wouldn't have thought twice about it until now... now that I'm here and a typhoon is on its way straight for Tokyo!
So, while I've been monitoring it, I have to say that everything I see online and in the media looks insanely more frightening and concerning than what is actually going on here. Not only is everything here so insanely business-as-usual, but the locals don't seem to care at all!! When I checked in to the hotel I asked if they thought the typhoon would be a problem. Their response was basically "yes, a typhoon is coming on Saturday. Anything else we can help you with?" I have a meeting on Monday and kept emailing the agency to ask them to update me if the typhoon will cancel anything or we should reschedule, and his response continues to be "It's on Monday, we'll be fine, it's no problem" and the education fair in Tokyo for Sunday the 13th is still on as scheduled. After breakfast in the hotel this morning, I passed the front desk on my way back to my room and I swear there were even people getting a map and directions from the staff to go out and about! I still see buses and cars out and everything is working fine.
They did cancel the fair in Nagoya today, but only because the Shinkansen between Nagoya and Tokyo was canceled so no one would be able to get up from there for the Tokyo fair, but otherwise everything's happening.
So, because the Nagoya fair was canceled, I'm here, in my Tokyo hotel with nothing to do and nowhere to go with the typhoon bearing down on us. It's currently about noon on Saturday. We're right on the water and as of now, it's rainy and windy. There are gusts that make the rain go sideways in sheets, and the street lights wobble, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. I do hope that the locals aren't being naive. When I went to Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina relief, one of the common threads the locals told us was how they heard it was a category 5 storm, but the media was always hyping it up and they wouldn't believe it, it was just going to be another overhyped storm. There's really nothing to do at this point but stay put and monitor it. It is a nice hotel to be in, I have a nice desk area to do some work and a really comfortable chaise longue by the window that overlooks the park and the sea, so it's been interesting to watch from. I do just hope that the power stays on.
And of course, having the day off is a nice, solemn time to reflect on and grieve for Uncle Bob. My mom texted me out here and I immediately emailed Cousin Bobby about it to see how he was doing. I did not realize that the procedure was so risky and I'm definitely still in shock. The last time I saw him was grandma's 100th birthday and I'm having a hard time processing it. My favorite memory of him was actually when he was in town a few years before that and staying with my mom and I remember hanging out there and talking awhile. My thoughts are with not only the Shaffer family, but especially Bobby, Carole, Phil and Karen and Mychele. Love you Uncle Bob. Miss you already.
Will keep everyone posted as the typhoon passes.
No comments:
Post a Comment