Earthquake and Update

Just over a month ago exactly, Japan experienced the biggest earthquake in their history. On March 11, around 2:45 pm, I had just read Sophie a few books and put her down for a nap and went into my bedroom to do email while Jim's parents were in the living room talking and reading. I sat down on the bed and felt the 9.0 earthquake begin, just a little shaking. I figured it would stop quickly, as they all did, and went out to talk to them. The shaking grew into swaying, as we were on the 32nd floor in our building in Shinjuku, a village right outside of Tokyo. The floor just kept moving, back and forth. The walls were creaking and the doors kept opening and closing on their own. I ran into Sophie's room to stay with her, in case she fell out of bed. There was nothing on the walls and no danger of anything falling on her. I crouched above her, watching her face the entire time. I tried to smile and act like I wasn't scared. She clearly wasn't, as she was laughing and saying it was fun. It must have swayed a few feet, back and forth, for what felt like a lifetime. We didn't wait for it to stop. I ran out into the hall to my neighbor (another Cirque Mom) to see if we should evacuate. We decided yes, and the announcement came on over the loudspeaker, first in Japanese, to take the stairs down to the ground floor. I got Sophie out of bed to get her shoes on, and she fell and giggled (while announcing it, of course! HA!). I grabbed her coat and diaper bag and we made our way to the stairs. We made our way down. I think the building stopped moving, but I was too shaken and shaking to remember or notice. It was a long way down. Sophie wanted desperately to walk herself. People had their kids and dogs in tow. Jim's parents were amazing, carrying Sophie for me and helping us all stay together and safe. Once outside, we made our way to the park across the street, where we met a lot of the other Cirque families. The earth was still moving. Someone on site likened it to "cement surfing." There was no one screaming or freaking out. In fact, it was very methodical and orderly. The streetlights were still working and being obeyed. There were, however, a lot of video cameras. I'm sure you've seen a lot of the videos. Jim's dad shot one inside our apartment. The movement you see is not him moving the camera, it's because of the quake. Also notice the curtains, it shows just how much we were swaying.



There are a few more interesting earthquake videos, like this one (outside the buildings in Tokyo) and this one (walking in a park, watch the cement). And here is a really cool before and after picture site from the resulting tsunami. Toggle over the pics, it's really amazing and just plain devastating.

Once in the park, Jim and I were trying to contact each other. Of course the cell phones were not working, but Skype was! We finally got each other on the phone, and figured out where we were going to meet. Jim was waiting for the train to arrive when it happened. Thank goodness he was not on it yet. He made his way to the park where we were reunited. Saying I was happy is a vast understatement. He called Cirque to see what was going on, and they were adamant that he return to site for a rehearsal. I think they figured that everyone was there already, they might as well do it. I don't know, but I'm guessing they think that was a silly decision now. Hindsight is always 20/20, yes? Jim left again, walking the two miles to site with another musician, and we waited some more for things to calm down. Taxis were not an option, nor were the trains obviously. We went back to our apartment building, but the elevators weren't working. With the aftershocks still going, we didn't really want to be back up there anyway. We waited a few hours until Jim got home and walked up about 20 flights of stairs. While ascending, we heard an announcement that one of the elevators was back on. We ran to it (as much as our fatigued muscles could do) and squeezed in.
We heard about the tsunami, but were so far inland that it didn't affect us. We didn't know about the nuclear reactor situation until later. We went to bed, me in my clothes in case there was another emergency evacuation.

Fast forward a few days. Cirque sent an email telling us to watch our email at a certain time. That time came and the email we received said they were finalizing things and to wait for another email. This was a huge red flag to me, and Jim's parents too. They packed up and got on the phone to get a flight out. I also packed my and Sophie's things, and Jim packed his. We got the call around 3:00 that we would be evacuated to Macau, and that our flight was in 4 hours, and to go to the airport now. Thank goodness we packed and were ready to go. A two-hour taxi to Narita, a five hour flight to Hong Kong, a shuttle bus to the high-speed ferry, a one hour ferry ride to Macau and a half hour shuttle bus ended our trip. It was 4:00 am when we checked in. Sophie, by the way, was amazing. Here's a picture of her and Iris having fun on the ferry.














We stayed at the Venetian Hotel and Casino, which is where another Cirque du Soleil show Zaia is. Zaia and the hotel was very accommodating, allowing us to have access to the employee cafeteria to eat for free. There was also an amazing food court, which we frequented often. Sophie's favorite was Boost, the smoothie counter. Sophie was a ROCK STAR! At least a few random people would take her picture every day we were there. Even the children were taken with her!














We ended up staying there for two weeks, when it was announced that Cirque would be sending us home, which is where I am right now. It was decided that KOOZA would be resumed April 9, and all artists were to return to Japan. Not one wife with small children returned. Not one. It has been very difficult without Jim here, and Sophie is quite a handful. Even her worst is better than others, so I'm not complaining. Ok, I am, but I probably shouldn't be. And our parents have been amazing as well, allowing us to stay at their homes, eat their food, etc., while they bond with Sophie. It is definitely a good thing, as they hardly ever see her with us living on the road. The plan is for Jim to fly home on their May break, and we would all fly back together about a month from now. This is all depending on the nuclear situation, of course. So far, Jim and Cirque are taking all precautions and everything and everyone is safe. He is enjoying the cherry blossoms and beef bowls of Yoshinoya, while I am in the cold and rain of a Michigan spring. But my feet are firmly on the ground.