Retour                                                                                      ( Extrait de "La Voix - Le Bocage"  17 mars 2011

News from Saori,

Yonezawa, Japan

Hello everyone!

 Thank you for your warm mails.

 I read the mail through epals today.

 I'm glad that you all spoke about us on TV!

 I'm sorry I couldn't write back soon.

 Well, my school is in spring vacation and the new school year's going to start in April

 so I can't ask my students.

 Also I'll show my students your letters then!

 I really want to share my delight with my students reading your beautiful and pretty letters.

 I'm going to tell you about Yamagata in my private view although I can't tell my students' feeling.

 I hope that you'll tell my feeling to your students and the local newspapers

 and many people will have a concern for the earthquake disaster and help the people in need there

 if it's possible.

 In Yamagata the earthquake registered 5 on March 11th.

 Yonezawa city was safe but some area in Iide,my town, or other towns had 1 or 2 days blackout.

 My school, students' houses and other buildings didn't have damages in Yonezawa.

 I haven't heard of serious damages about buildings here but rails were serious, especially the Pacific prefectures in east Japan. 

 The area suffered a great loss, as you know.

 You can know the flooded area if you go to the below ( I hope you can read Japanese with your computer)

 http://www.gsi.go.jp/kikaku/kikaku60003.html

 Unbelievably, the Ojika Peninsula in Miyagi prefecture moved 5.3 meters!

 I'm not sure some students have lost relatives or friends...

 Well, my father's hometown is Ishinomaki city in Miyagi prefecture that suffered seriously.

 I visited there with my family every summer when I was a child and we could see the sea from the house.

 I heard the house washed away and my cousin went missing.

 My uncle and aunt are fine and live in a big gym opened as a harbor now.

 A lot of lives lost...

 After the earthquake it has been cold and it snowed for some days.

 Many people still live in the area that has no water, gas and electricity.

 The newspaper and TV said many parents have still looked for their children.

 It was very sad to see them and there were no houses or buildings but a lot of debris behind them.

 In Yonezawa we don't have to wear masks and

 We can go to school as usual and many students can do club activities again now.

 But everyone worries about Fukushima nuclear station.

 The city checked a dose of radioactivity every hour.

 Whether it's safe or not must be depends on wind. 

 And 3293 people came to Yamagata from Fukushima and 509 in 3293 poeple came to Yonezawa.

 ( examined by Yamagata prefectural office on 26th at am10:00) 

 So some students will move to our school from Fukushima schools.

 Now we can't buy petrol easily.

 We have to queue for it for hours now.

 Many petrol station closed last week and

 my husband's father went to Niigata prefecture to get it last weekend.

 I went shopping at a supermarket in Yonezawa last Friday

 I can buy milk, vegetables, meat, eggs, water and so on...

 and the prices were a little bit high

 but I didn't make a choice

 because there were only one or two kinds and there were some empty shelves.

 Well, this is a part of the present condition I can tell you.

 I'm sorry to take time to write this.

 I lay by the side of my son after the chatting with you.

 And I hope I could make myself understood in poor English.

 If you have a question please let me know.

 I don't to go school tomorrow.

 Thank you for your apprehension again.

 I really hope that our area, east Japan, can revive as soon as possible!

 See you!

        Saori