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Friday, July 13, 2012

Lili

I wasn't planning on writing a follow up to "7 Days", but there have been so many nice emails coming in from friends and strangers... and I guess people should hear what the general attitude in the city is now past the initial excitement of the quake, so here is an excerpt of an email I wrote to a friend:

"I just came back to Tokyo last night. It was so nice to get out of there for a little while for a mental and emotional vacation, but nothing was developing with the nuclear plant and we kept wondering about how to proceed. In a way, my roommates and I were even almost hoping that it would finally blow up… so at least we would have something concrete to make a decision based off of. I think like most people, we just have to continue life like we have already been living it even with the fear of radiation because we can't leave our homes, works, friends, etc.... If things are this unclear, there are only three options to choose from: run away (like most foreigners have done since they don't have any real investment in this country besides boning girls*); lock yourself up at home while avoiding taking a bath or drinking tap water in case it’s contaminated with radiation; or just keep living your life. I think Japanese people are really strong. After I had left, so many of my friends stayed, and were keeping it cool, and doing their normal routine. I don't know if it was the safe thing to do, but their bravery (or was it just stubbornness?) left me embarrassed that I had taken off.



As for another big earthquake coming, I think we are in the clear. The only thing that’s really scary is radiation, but we cannot see it. It's been raining for the past three days, and there are rumors going around that it's radioactive, but like I said before, you have to choose, whether to stay or go.... Basically what it all boils down is what is important for you. Is staying in Tokyo (or wherever you live) important to you even though you might have health risks in the future, or is it alright if you drop everything and start over somewhere else? It depends on the person...

There is no right answer."

*sorry, guys, for the stereotype.

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