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Greetings!
With heartbreak I've been watching the news of the devastating earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami and now nuclear disaster. When I first heard the news my thoughts flew to my sister Mari who was in Japan at the time, as a member of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation. Somehow her phone was able to get through the down lines and I learned very quickly she was safe. I thought you might be interested in hearing her experience of the earthquake:
"As we pulled into the hotel, the bus started to act weird, like it was running over something. The bus driver all of the sudden threw the bus in reverse and started to back away from the hotel. Then the bus started to really rock and roll and our Japanese guide said "earthquake". We all sat down and hung on to the arms of the seats, expecting it to last only a few seconds. But it got stronger and stronger. The bus was shaking and we could see the ground outside rolling up and down. People were pouring out of the hotel and into the street. Some could barely stand due to the shaking. After 4 surreal minutes the quake was finally over. We did go to our meeting and sat through many, many aftershocks - wow! Just business as normal as you sat in your shaking chair."
(This was of course prior to knowing that the tsunami was soon to follow.)
Mari's group was visiting Japan to meet with business and governmental officials and strengthen U.S. -
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Mari (in pink) and JALD members with Japanese women business leaders
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Japan relationships. Most of their appointments were already completed before the earthquake, but the day it happened they were scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Kan, and understandably it had to be canceled.
So how are you whethering the media storm and are your friends and family safe? I have found that I have an even greater respect for my ancestors home country and am in awe of their behavior in this disaster--calm; stoic; orderly; heroic service to the whole community (nuclear scientists, 1st responders etc); lack of looting; amazing patience and will to find their missing family. This is the honorable and refined behavior I have witnessed from my youth in my grandparents, parents, and my big extended family. I know that many of you share the same sentiment.
So it is in this spirit of appreciation that we are sharing the links to local Japanese cultural organizations who are providing the conduit to our Japanese neighbors in need. I hope you will join me. The idea is to give what you can and no contribution is too small. To those of you who have already been giving, a collective thank you to you for your compassion.
With spring coming this weekend, you can find our recipe for Asparagus Gomae (Asparagus with a light nutty sesame dressing) on our NuCulinary facebook page. We will be back next week to celebrate the cherry blossoms--a time for quiet reflection and enjoyment of the outdoors.
Building Community through Cuisine,
Naomi
Naomi Kakiuchi,
RD, CD, CCP
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