How exactly would you react if you see a 15 meter wall of water coming toward you? In the moment after realizing that no matter how fast you turn and run, the water will catch up to you, what would you feel? Is it simply fear? Or is it something so intense that one those who had experienced it first-hand could understand? How helpless and small must you feel in the world after witnessing the sheer power rampant on earth?
I have to admit that I have no idea. The closest first-hand experience I had to this kind of disaster is being dumped into the Wenatchee River in Washington and needing to ride out the next ½ mile of rapids. Obviously this isn’t a comparable experience but it is all I have right now to give me some perspective. In any case, we spent the day learning about the disaster and our mission. After this orientation our groups rallied around different focal points. Sushi Berry cooking up ways to make the city of Rikuzentakata more attractive. The Dwarves mining for inspiring stories and tales to share from the people of Rikuzentakata. And the Coffee Beans brewing up methods to make the story of and visits to Rikuzentakata more memorable. Once these directions had been decided, we made preparations for our trip to the city itself the next day.
I have to admit that I have no idea. The closest first-hand experience I had to this kind of disaster is being dumped into the Wenatchee River in Washington and needing to ride out the next ½ mile of rapids. Obviously this isn’t a comparable experience but it is all I have right now to give me some perspective. In any case, we spent the day learning about the disaster and our mission. After this orientation our groups rallied around different focal points. Sushi Berry cooking up ways to make the city of Rikuzentakata more attractive. The Dwarves mining for inspiring stories and tales to share from the people of Rikuzentakata. And the Coffee Beans brewing up methods to make the story of and visits to Rikuzentakata more memorable. Once these directions had been decided, we made preparations for our trip to the city itself the next day.
All in all, it was a fairly uneventful day. However, it was interesting seeing the stark contrast between the fun that we were having in our groups and the serious mission that each of our groups were to focus on. I am still not sure whether or not this contrast is a good thing but it will certainly make the trip over the next few days interesting. I truly do hope that we are able to help this city in some regard.
Signing off,
Zane Zook