I know that I've been neglecting my English blog. I am still alive and life goes on.
This has been a very cold winter for us here in Japan and everyone is eagerly awaiting the spring to come.
I found one single plum flower in bloom yesterday which is a sign that spring is nearly here.

Although I guess it is not headline news anymore abroad, Japan is still very much damaged by last year's March 11.It will soon be the first anniversary and everyone is bracing for it. I just saw on the news how they've reinforced people to find those whom are still missing. There are still people missing in the thousands.

In the past year I have visited Kamaishi three times to do volunteer work. It is one of the towns which was hard hit by the tsunami. I first visited there in June and although much of the damage was still left untouched with buildings and roads still full of debris and the huge tanker ashore on the port,there was a sense of unity and optimism to try and get over this terrible disaster together.

The second time I went was in November. It was amazing to see how quick so much of the debris had been cleared and already new buildings - shops and places to eat - had appeared. When I went to the base camp and visited the temporary homes though I could sense that mental fatigue and depression was wide spread. The days were becoming shorter and seasonally we were heading for winter so spirits were very low. I got very much caught up in it myself ( how can you not?) and it mad me realize how serious and complicated the future for these places will be.

The third time was just last month. Although it was bitterly cold,I think because the New Year had come and that we are heading for spring now, there was a sense of new hope and optimism again. Of course every individual is different but the feeling of the places and people that I had been in contact with were definitely more positive than when I had visited in November. It felt very promising.

Everyday life where I live here in Kamakura is totally back to normal. It is so easy to forget that this is still an ongoing thing and that it will take years for those people whom have been robbed of their lives to find some kind of "normality".

It's really been a life-changing experience for so many of us here in Japan,but I hope that we will not forget what we had felt and seen and continue to be compassionate towards those whom have been affected by it. I really feel that every moment that we have shouldn't be taken for granted and that the way we live each moment must not be wasted.

P.S. Seems like I haven't written about music for quite a long time! It's all interconnected but I'll try to write something which might be more relevant to this website next time!!!