Since Friday

I had not left my apartment since I got back to it Friday night (it is now technically Tuesday morning, about a quarter after 5).

Enough TUJ students were complaining about the way TUJ staff & faculty handled things before and after the earthquake, so now there is an "event" on facebook organized by the TUJ student government.

Classes are canceled today and tomorrow, students will not be penalized for attendance or academics for a while. TUJ still hasn't admitted they fucked up Friday night.

Everyone keeps getting mixed information.

Power companies & the government want to have controlled blackouts to help the Tohoku region. Tokyo's scheduled blackout was postponed because so many homes & businesses right now are using less power than normal.

Even though there are food, water, gas, and other shortages are starting to happen, nobody is rioting. Everyone is still calm.

Trying to sift through the news- what's real and what's not, or exaggerated. Foreign media I think is sensationalizing everything and making our parents and families panic unnecessarily. Due to this, many people are fleeing Tokyo and Japan altogether. Some stupid assholes on twitter are making claims on little or no evidence.

Tokyo is 99% fine! Tohoku is the area in trouble. Please look at a map. Tokyo is in the Kanto region.

Ryo has been so amazing, staying calm and strong, reading/watching the Japanese news sources and translating.

Global rescue teams have arrived in Japan. Many charities are donating and new ones have been set up. Rock stars and other famous people here have starting auctioning off items with the proceeds to go to the Tohoku region and the people there.

These are recent news bits from The Japan Times, Asahi Shumbun English, and NHK WORLD English:

"Japan upgrades magnitude of quake to 9.0"

"A hydrogen explosion occurred Monday morning at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's troubled No. 3 reactor, injuring 11 people, but the reactor's containment vessel was not damaged, the government's nuclear safety agency and the plant's operator said."

"The utility had been pouring seawater into the plant's No. 1 and No. 3 reactors to help cool their cores, which are believed to have partially melted after part of the fuel rods were no longer covered by coolant water when levels fell following the quake."

"Japanese police official in Miyagi says another 1,000 bodies have been found in quake-hit coastal areas."

"SDF in full disaster deployment; U.S. military pitches in"

"Seabed split; quake tilted Earth's axis 10 cm"

"Experts estimate the impact of the world's fifth-largest quake caused a displacement of about 20 meters and a fault a few hundred kilometers long."

"Japan's seismic risk map indicates there was a 99 percent risk of a magnitude 7.5 or larger earthquake hitting the region in the next 30 years."

"Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called on the public to reduce electricity consumption to prevent a massive power outage."

"Toyota, Nissan to suspend all domestic production"

"Region's industries, distribution networks grind to a halt"

"Tokyo stocks fall, yen rises after disaster"

"Seawater trapped inland after tsunami"

"Tremors shift to central, inland Japan"

"Half of coastal town's residents are missing" (in reference to Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture)

"Edano's statement matches what many nuclear experts are saying. Fukushima, while serious, doesn't appear to be Chernobyl-like situation."

"2,000 more added to death toll in Miyagi; dead and missing top 5,000; 450,000 evacuated"

"Lessons learned in Kobe aid relief effort" (in reference to the really bad Hanshin Earthquake in which the government fucked up bad in their reaction.)

These news sources are more reliable at the moment than say, TIME. Maura and I have been continuously tweeting and watching news (much to Ryo's irritation), and I think we have a pretty good factual account going on.

UCHIKO IS OKAY! We had heard from her after the initial quake, but we heard from her again today. She's okay, her family is okay, she finally has access to electric power in her part of Miyagi Prefecture.

In Tokyo, we're still getting aftershocks or small(ish) earthquakes. Yesterday (the 14th), both Nagano and Ibaraki had earthquakes.

So I actually left the apartment for the first time since Friday night. Maura, Ryo and I went to Donki in search of board games. Other than food supplies being low, you'd think it was just another day in Tokyo. Maura bought a small TV with a built-in DVD player, so now we can watch the news and occasionally break and watch movies. We also ate at Saizeriya (think Japan's version of Olive Garden).

Other people can do what they want, but I don't want to leave. I've worked too goddamn hard to get here and fought too damn hard for my apartment against racist assholes and find a way to stay at my shit school. I'm not alone in this, my boyfriend and roommate and many friends are with me. I know my family is worried and I miss and love them, but my life is here now. I've wanted my future to be here for a long time. I've sacrificed too much to get here. I'm not leaving unless I have no choice.

Still safe and sound (for now). Keep checking my twitter for speedier updates.