Naoko Kurata is a second-year marine biology student. She loves salsa dancing, scuba diving, and travel and is a member of NSU International Student Association (NISA).
I will never forget March 11. Early in the morning, I lay in bed, preparing for what seemed like any other day in the life of a student, until my roommate ran into my room looking alarmed.
“There’s been a huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan!” she said. I rushed into the living room and my gaze focused on images of familiar places distorted by utter catastrophe playing on the television screen. I could not believe my eyes.
As my mind sorted through the situation, and as nightmare became reality, my stomach clenched, and I’m sure my heart stopped beating. “My family!” I grabbed my phone and called my mother, but could not get through. I sent text messages, but got no answer. The news coverage in the early hours following the tragedy was not very complete, and I couldn’t determine the extent of the disaster or if it had affected my family. I searched online frantically for more information. I was unable to find much. My body felt hollow, and my brain went completely numb.
Earthquakes are a fact of life in Japan, and it has been predicted for some time now there would be a massive earthquake in the northern part of the country. In a marine geology class I took this semester, we even discussed how Japan is subject to the complex tectonic motion of three plates and how earthquakes and tsunamis are induced by these forces.
But somehow, as I sat in the classroom back then, the vague seismic threats of the future didn’t have the claws that the scenes that I faced, barely able to comprehend them, were wielding. I was suddenly confronted by very real evidence that my country and my people were now overwhelmed by the destruction that this disaster, no longer an intangible hypothesis, had unleashed upon them.
After a couple of hours I was finally able to get through to my mother. She told me that everyone was fine. I felt some relief, but the worrisome aftershocks continued, and I remained in a state of shock for a long time. I felt restless, and I felt frustrated about being completely powerless in the face of this massive natural disaster.
However, all of my respons-ibilities and obligations remained intact, and although time was still nearly standing still for me, due dates, classes and meetings marched relentlessly forward. I was swamped with class assignments and work. I didn’t think I was going to make it. I was studying for a final exam, unable to focus; I kept checking Japanese news online for new developments. I felt as though I was floundering as a student, a daughter and a citizen all at the same time. It then occurred to me that I could take action to help the victims, and from the instant this thought crystallized in my mind I felt much better.
I wrote an email to Anthony DeNapoli, Ed.D., executive director of the Office of International Affairs, to ask for suggestions for starting a fundraiser. He recommended I speak with Nhee Vang, an adviser for NISA, who informed me that efforts to organize a fundraiser or charity event were already underway. The emptiness that I had been consumed by was suddenly filled with friends from countries all over the world working together to help Japan.
NISA is collecting donations in the form of cash or by check payable to NSU. We need your help. If you would like to be a part of the relief effort, please bring your donation to:
Nhee Vang, in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, Rosenthal Student Center, Room 203.
