Japan

While I have not had the pleasure of welcoming any readers from Japan, I cannot let the week go by without acknowledging the heart breaking tragedies they have had this past week. I have switched my television provider from a satellite service in Malaysia, to a local cable company. I was both pleased and dismayed to find that I now get an English news television station from Japan (NHK). Pleased because I have an avid interest in news and like to have a wide range of news sources to see the world events through different regional eyes. The extent of my time in Japan was limited to a 12 hour lay-over and we took the train into Tokyo and wandered the streets and had the best sushi dishes we had ever eaten. It was an amazing 12 hours and whetted our appetite to go there again sometime when we could spend a few weeks traveling around. My dismay comes from the constant live broadcasting of the struggles and current living existences of so many thousands of people and for the thousands of dead and missing.

I offer my hopes and prayers for the people of Japan on overcoming this horrific series of catastrophes with the strong will and determination they have always shown.