From Pennies To Yennies

On one of my last days in Ishinomaki, I found myself biking through the streets back to base camp. I saw a boy pumping air into a girl’s bike tire. I saw a man repainting a short wall in front of his home. I saw another couple attaching shiny new letters to the front of their home. And I knew Ishinomaki was going to be ok. A very tragic disaster hit them, but we were picking up the pieces. A lot of progress has been made since 3/11. These small glimpses of hope made me very happy.

While volunteering we had several opportunities to extend deployment. I almost did it twice, but ultimately came home once my week was up. I wasn’t equipped to stay longer than a week- lack of food and clothes. 2 days after my return was my birthday and Dan and I were going to celebrate.

But I did decide to return, and so did my team mate Aska.

On July 29th I will return to Ishinomaki, and I did not list a return date. I will most likely stay about a month or so. What is interesting is that this time I won’t be staying at the gutted textile factory- international volunteers will be sleeping 5 to a tent near the university. The work is different. I’m not sure how I feel about that, until I remember that I knew nothing about my first trip, and this change in lodging and work will keep the experience new and different.

Ishinomaki has made a place forever in my heart. It reminded me that I can get dirty and work hard. I can make friends with people and form bonds. We worked hard, but we also had a great time. I have volunteered my whole life- coaching sports teams, collecting cans and donations, organizing fun runs- but I’ve never done such hard physical labor. It made me feel great about myself.

Anxiously awaiting my July 29th deployment, in which I’ve been promoted to co lead a new team with my team mate Aska.

Until next time!