Natural Disasters in Japan

This weekend, I did a little reflecting on the unique natural disasters that I experience here in Japan. This Sunday was the 6 month anniversary of the March 11th earthquake that rocked Japan. I must admit, after it first happened, I was reluctant to still come to Japan. However, I did my research and thought I could handle an earthquake or two. There are a couple of unique natural disasters that I will face during my time here in Japan. Some of these disasters are: earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, etc. I've only been here for two months and I have already experienced earthquakes and a typhoon.

I was actually looking forward to my first earthquake. Then, I slept through my first one XD It was only a week after I had moved here. I didn't have a phone yet so I woke up to a couple of facebook messages and wall posts from my co-workers checking in on me since it was a fairly large earthquake. Needless to say, I was disappointed. But, I had the opportunity to feel another quake just a week later. I have felt about 4 or 5 over the past couple of months. I'm used to them already. Honestly, they are not that big of a deal. Most of the time, I just kind of feel disoriented for a second. During a bigger one, it almost feels like I'm drunk for a second :P All in all, earthquakes I can handle.

Last week there came a natural disaster I was totally uninformed about. My manager made a casual comment about how it was typhoon season and there was a typhoon heading our way. She joked about how she hoped that school would be canceled. I slowly freaked out on the inside as I realized I had no idea what a typhoon would be like. I did some online research and nervously awaited the coming typhoon. We still had classes as the majority of the storm blew past us. It turned out to be just like a severe thunderstorm back home in Illinois. It was very windy so much so that the rain was slanting. The rain was coming down in small but powerful bursts. All in all, the typhoon turned out to be something else I can handle.
No matter where you go, there will always be natural disasters. The best thing I and anyone else can do is be prepared!