Help me get back to Japan

Hello!

I'm not sure where I should start with this... Probably I should begin writing where everything started!

The beginning

I was nine years old when my uncle brought his japanese exchange student over. She showed me beautiful photos of Japan and things I have never seen before.

Since then I wanted to visit that country! My parents were against it because...you know, it's pretty expensive and they would never let me go alone. But I never let go of my dream..never.

...and my dream came true

Until I was 16 I dreamt on. I started to get more brave and try to find a way to Japan. I searched the Internet and found a nice organisation in my city which offers an exchange year to three students every year. To keep it short: My dedication and passion for Japan brought me the one and only place in Japan for the year 2010-2011. The day it was announcend that I could go to Japan was one of the best days (it probably was the best!) in my life. Since that day my parents started to support me in every single way possible, although we weren't that wealthy to begin with.

Good days...

In July 2010 I finally went to Japan. I was so nervous and happy the same time. I arrived and a new world welcomed me. I had a wonderful time there. I went to an amazing japanese high school with wonderful and talented people. I made friends for life. I fell in love, expierenced Hanabi (japanese fireworks).. ..and much more. I didn't speak japanese in the beginning but was almost fluent by the end of the year. I felt accepted and loved.

..and bad days

Everything went well....until that day in March. I'm sure that you've heard of the big earthquake on 11th March 2011. I'm really sad to say that I have witnessed this horrible day.

I remember it good. It was a beautiful, warm morning. I held a speech about german culture, about my normal life. After that I went to Shibuya, which was 2 hours away from my host family, to go shopping with a fellow exchange student. And then the earthquake hit us. At first I didn't even realise that it was an earthquake. I thought I would get unconcious or something but when I saw the buildings shaking and the people (silently!) running out of them it hit me: this was an earthquake. It was so silent. It was really, really scary. The people were standing on the streets without any information about what just happened. No mobile phone connections, no trains. Everything stood still. Me and my friend decided to break up to find a way home, which was a terrible idea, because no trains were driving anymore or anything else. I didn't find my friend again. I found a good building for shelter, because the weather wasn't that beautiful anymore. It was so windy and cold.

The japanese people were motivating each other. I heard people saying "Don't worry. It will be better soon!" and they even gave me their food (the stores were suddenly closed too) ... I was there for almost 8 hours, without knowing anything. I heard people talking about a "tsunami" and some other people were praying.

Suddenly a member of my organisation found me! And with him was my friend Mary, who spent the day with me. We went to his home and watched the news all night long. The man and his family were so ...so...calming. They calmed us down, made us food like it was just an ordinary dinner. It was like it never happend. My hostfamily picked me up late at night and we stayed up to watch the news until early morning. We couldn't sleep anyway because many earthquakes hit us that night. The next day was horrible.

My family called me and said that I should come back immediatly! They booked the ticket and said "The day after tomorrow you are flying back home!" I was angry. I said to them that it's ok. "It was just an earthquake. I'm ok. Why should I go home? I have 4 months left in this country! I can't leave them just because of this. They can't leave, why should I?"

Even my hostfamily said I should not worry. In TV everyone said that it's ok. Fukushima is no big deal. (They didn't talk about Fukushima that much at all. They were and are really secretive about that thing) so I believed them. I was so angry and cried the whole day while I was packing. My last day in Japan....I spent it in my school with my beloved friends. Although the school was closed that day, everyone came to say goodbye (even the teachers!). I was so sad that I had to leave these people alone that I cried in front of them. I've got a lot of presents and letters which said "Please come back soon! We will miss you!"

Well, then I went back to Germany. And then I saw the "truth". I heard about the extend of the destruction. I felt horrible. And I still do. These people gave me so much and I couldn't give them anything back. I feel horrible for leaving them so suddenly. And I feel horrible for not helping.

Why do I want to go back?

But now that I've finished my school in Germany I want to go back and help.

I want to see Sendai, the place where the earthquake hit the most and help these people who lost everything. It's the least I could do for them. 

Also I want to see my friends and host families again. I want to make sure that they are ok and doing well.
I just want my 4 months back that I could have spent there.

Please donate

I'm very sorry for this long story and my english mistakes. I just wanted to let you know everything.

I'm thankful for every little donation that makes my trip to Japan possible, because me and my parents can't afford this trip.

And when I can do the trip I will make sure to post a lot of pictures for you to see!

If you want more informations please feel free to contact me!

 

Thank you for reading and God bless,

Jessica