it was about 4 pm when i was underwater here in palau. i come up to take a breath and i hear cathy, junior, fonz, and KB yelling at us to get back to the boat. what? shark again? i look back down for fish and i hear them calling us again. the pull the boat up and cathy says “big earthquake in japan! tsunami coming!!!” what? the tsunami was predicted to hit palau at 7:25 pm and we were out in the middle of the ocean at 4:30. we got everybody on the boat, and head in full speed as we were 1.5 hours out to sea. so many things racing in my mind as we had limited information. as soon as we got in, i asked our driver eri-chan and all she said is “japan taihen,” which pretty means “oh my gosh!” i will never forget that feeling in my stomach, heart, and soul….
after being glued to the tv last night while checking emails, i learned that the worst isn’t over yet. the nuclear plant is dangerous, aftershocks are still happening, and gas and food is at a shortage. people are running away from chiba to get away, my friends i talked to seem confused, and there are many unanswered questions. i’m sure it will be a while to get more information and news. one good thing that happened was they found a man 9 miles out to see floating on his roof of his house for 2 days. it’s stories that those that keep the faith alive. let’s all work together to overcome this natural disaster….
photo by james oshiro.
as for the surf reports from hawaii, not now. let’s just pray for japan and its people….

good evening. just got back home from a mixed emotional trip. yes, traveling is fun. but when something happens to a country you love, it hits you hard. i don’t think anybody in this world knows how i was feeling. helpless? guilty? lonely? sad? all of the above. watching the news from palau was hard for me. i couldn’t stop thinking about my family and friends in japan. are they ok? where are they? i couldn’t check my email and couldn’t get through to japan as i was calling and calling. the slow internet connection in palau wasn’t helping. i’m still speechless as most of the japanese living in palau are too. emi-chan was our driver and when we came back in off the boat that evening, i could tell she was hurting. she’s from ibaraki and we were talking about it just as the tsunami hit japan. i felt so sorry for her. then our japanese neighbors at our condo were feeling it too. i could just tell by the blank look on their face watching CNN news all day and night. it was sad and lonely being so far away…. i want to say sorry to the crew i was with on this trip. i was trying to be myself, but my heart was somewhere else. the fish, the waves, and the experience didn’t matter anymore. i felt like my hometown got wiped out…

now that i have internet, i’ll probably be on it for the next week trying to find answers. so far, i didn’t loose anyone but i’m prepared for the worst news. thank you to all of you who sent me emails, texts, and messages. i just got it and i can feel the love. all we can do now is HOPE. hope for the best, hope for nothing worst, and hope for recovery.
just a message to my japanese friends. “keep your heads up, keep thinking positive, keep on striving for the best! never give up! i’m on your side and if there is anything i can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask. my heart is with you and the beautiful country of japan!”

Glad to be back.