My memory of the Great East Earthquake.

My memory of the Great East Earthquake.

Homework7 

     When the Great East Earthquake hit Japan on April 11th of 2011, I was in Korea. I first got the news from the internet. I saw a huge tsunami striking the city, many people losing their homes, friends and families and becoming refugees. But since I was not in Japan, and had never experienced an earthquake before, I could not even guess what it would be like to experience such magnitude earthquake. Hence, although I felt very sympathetic for the people, I was not able to relate to them. Also, since I was not planning to apply for a Japanese university back then, I never thought that story was relevant to my life.

     After the earthquake, one of the big problems that Japan faced was the nuclear power plant. Because of the huge earthquake, the nuclear power plant in Hiroshima broke down and as a result, large part of Japan’s soil got polluted with radiation. During the holiday seasons, many Koreans visit Japan for travelling, since Japan is one of the closest countries. But as many Korean and international media revealed that Japan’s radiation level can be dangerous, I saw many Koreans cancelling their trip to Japan.

     As years passed, I considered applying for a Japanese University. At first I was worried about the radiation. But as I talked with my mentors and Japanese friends, I realized that I was just overwhelmed by the media’s exaggeration. Also, as 3 years had passed already since the earthquake, nearly everything were backed to the normal. Hence, I decided to follow my plan and applied to the Japanese University.

     I got accepted by the University of Tsukuba and came to Japan last year. Since then, I experienced numerous earthquakes and now I have little guess of what it would have been like for those who experienced the Great East Earthquake. Also, my senpai told me that they got so scared that they decided to quicken their conscription date. Additionally, those who were to start their first year in 2011 were recommended to enter the university in the year after. After hearing such stories from the people around me, I was able to rethink about the situation and felt great empathy for the victims.