The official death toll from the earthquake that devastated Japan on March 11 now exceeds 9,000, according to Reuters. This tragedy sparked emotional reactions both across the world and throughout campus, but some students from Conn were more directly affected than others. Three students, Naomi Hoffman ’12, Becca Cheney ’12 and Kelly Parlin ’12 are currently studying abroad in Japan, and Lindsay Woodville ’12 was unable to participate in her study abroad program as a result of the earthquake.
Hoffman was at work when the earthquake hit in Tokyo and felt its effects directly. Since her office was only on the second floor of a building, the earthquake didn’t cause much destruction. However, her apartment in Tokyo on the 14 floor suffered much more damage and she felt the aftershocks very strongly. “It is a very unsettling feeling!” said Hoffman. “The earth is moving underneath your feet, and you feel like you ars on a boat.”
“People were unusually calm when the earthquake first hit,” she continued. “It wasn’t until we heard about the tsunami and the nuclear danger that people started worrying and panicking.”
Evacuations were well orchestrated and institutions in the city made necessary accommodations to assure individuals’ safety. For example, as public transportation services were brought to a halt, many offices stayed open through the night so that employees could sleep there without risking a potentially dangerous and long walk home.
Hoffman’s university delayed its starting date, and she returned to the United States temporarily, after discussing the situation with her parents. She intends to return on April 8 for the start of school.
“It is important for me to return, as I am half Japanese and feel a strong connection with the culture. I want to support the country in its recovery.” She expects to experience slight inconveniences in daily life, such as more precautions about produce and food, rolling blackouts and infrequent train services, but doesn’t think it will affect much. “People will be getting back to their lives. Their spirits will not have changed—the Japanese people are very strong-willed, determined, and are eager to get past this unfortunate situation.”
Cheney and Parlin, who are currently studying in Kyoto, were much more fortunate and did not personally feel the earthquake, because Kyoto is much farther from the epicenter than Tokyo. Cheney noted that only people in certain hilly towns or very high buildings in or around Kyoto could feel the earthquake, and that these people reported it to be short and not very strong. She remembered being shocked and curious but was never concerned for her own safety. “I was mostly concerned for friends living in affected areas, especially those who I could not contact,” she said.
Parlin did not even know about the earthquake until someone informed her. She also did not feel the aftershocks because her neighborhood in Kyoto is surrounded by small mountains. While some larger programs and universities were closed or delayed, both Cheney and Parlin will continue study abroad as the Associated Kyoto Program remains unchanged.
Both Cheney and Parlin are very disappointed by the role of the American media in covering the earthquake. Cheney said, “I have become even more skeptical of American media, that’s for sure. I witnessed the spreading of entirely false information by a number of different broadcasting companies.”
Parlin thinks that the international news is partially responsible for perpetuating a global feeling of panic regarding the Fukushima plant. “I am absolutely disgusted by the international news, especially the news in America, that make it seem that a nuclear meltdown is imminent— this information is not true and it’s making people panic unnecessarily.” She believes that the experts who are being consulted to discuss the situation are unqualified to do so, as they are not in Japan and cannot see firsthand what is happening. Both students note that the presentation of these events by the American media have interfered with their abilities to assure their parents of their safety, and Woodville has elected to postpone her trip to Japan until this summer as a result of worry about the nuclear situation.
Despite the negative effects of the earthquake, Cheney and Parlin have been inspired by the humanitarian efforts they are witnessing. The two have seen donation collections all around Kyoto, and Parlin noted that many celebrities have become involved in the effort. Cheney’s own host family, like many other families in safe parts of Japan, is making a personal effort to accommodate people that they know who are evacuating from affected areas. •
