Before coming to the US, I was raised in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. On March 11, 2011, there was a huge earthquake and tsunami in the northeast region of Japan. Miyagi Prefecture was one of the prefectures that suffered damages from the earthquake and tsunami. Luckily, the place where I lived was on a higher elevation so I only experienced the earthquake. But I still remember the time the earthquake hit. I was a kindergarten at that time so I only remember the sensation of the strong shake of the earthquake. I always wanted to ask about the situation me and my parents had to face during that time but I once heard my mother telling her sister that she doesn’t like talking about what happened. Because I heard her say that, I hesitated to ask my mother and tried to forget about the incident. But I saw the schedule of the study abroad program, the trip to Miyagi to learn about the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. I thought this was my chance to understand the situation back then and learn. I am so grateful for participating in this program. When visiting Okawa Elementary School, the school that was destroyed by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, I was purely sad. As I was looking around, I sometimes imagined what the students and the faculties had to experience, which made me sadder. While we were leaving the elementary school, I started to cry. Thinking back, so many people passed away from the earthquake and tsunami. I think I was lucky to be alive from the earthquake and tsunami. If the place I lived was different at the time it hit, maybe I would not be alive right now. I felt different emotions such as sadness, relief, and also fear from the thoughts that I could’ve died on March 11, 2011. The whole experience at the Okawa Elementary School was something I will cherish forever. But there is something I regret not doing while visiting the Okawa Elementary School. I wish I talked more with the person who gave us lectures on the incident at the school. His daughter was a student at Okawa Elementary School and sadly passed away. I wish I had spoken to him more as a person who experienced the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami at a young age and tell him that I would live strongly even for the children who lost their lives.
