I have had a very busy two days. The day before yesterday, Wednesday, I got up at 4 a.m. and left home around 5:30. After walking to the Yaotome Subway station I took a train to the Kita Sendai Station, where I met Ian for a walk around Shinrin Koen, the park that we have been walking in for a few years. After returning to Kita Sendai, we stopped at our favorite Mr Donuts for coffee and donuts. Ian had to leave earlier than usual and, as we were saying goodby on the sidewalk outside, I noticed that the destination of the bus standing at the bus stop was Miyagi Gakuin University. So, I quickly hopped on and went to school, getting there before 9 a.m. This was a bit of a problem because my class did not start until 2:10 in the afternoon. However, I found good ways to spend the day. Much of the time was used trying to figure out the solution to a problem we are having with the computerized listening program. I had lunch with one of the Japanese teachers and used most of the remaining time to listen to a recording of The Odyssey. My classes were over at 5 and I got home about 6:15, a more than 12 hour day.
I have a first period class on Thursday so I leave about 6:45. The Rainy Season has started and they were forecasting very heavy rain so I decided to stay at school, leaving for my evening class late in the afternoon. A very enjoyable discussion with my friend John, followed by lunch together, occupied the morning and early afternoon. I spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in the air conditioned teachers' lounge reading a Japanese children's book about Walt Disney. About 4 I took a bus and subway to Tohoku Gakuin U's Tsuchitoi campus and again sat in the teachers' lounge, where I ate the fried chicken, rice, and vegetable box lunch, bento in Japanese, that I had bought in a local supermarket. Class was over at 7:30 and a very tired I got home a little after 8.
On my way to school in the morning there was an earthquake which, although it was large in terms of magnitude, was far enough away that I barely felt it. I was walking along the riverside at the time and was not even sure that it was a quake. Unless a quake is very strong they are not particularly noticeable if you are moving. On my way home from my last class, there was another quake. I was in the underground Tsuchitoi Subway station and again barely felt it. I was sure it was a quake because a sign that was securely attached to the ceiling started moving. Both quakes were quite large in terms of magnitude, but nothing special in terms of the Japanese Shindo system that quantifies the actually movement at each spot on the ground. They were both Shindo 4 on a scale of 1 to 7 (no decimals). This is the strongest quake that does not cause damage, although a few objects may fall over.
This is outside my condo. The ground used to be completely level here. Now, the entire area above the drain has sunk, some of it more than 50 centimeters. I took the picture as I was leaving for a short walk in the park that is next to my building and along the river.
I showed this before. The slanted portion of the facing along the river bank slide down toward the river during the quakes. I noticed that since the major quakes this section has slide even farther toward the river, opening up a large gap between the path and the siding.
This area is a popular fishing spot and the man on the other side of the river was fishing. The river supports populations of various species of fish at different times of year, so I do not know what he was hoping to catch.
On the other side of the river there is a large section that collapsed during the tremors. Very quickly it had been covered with blue tarps, but now there are sandbags neatly placed to keep the tarps from blowing away.
A house on the other side of the river was having the roof replaced.
In the large flat area of the park, some of the local boys were having a baseball game.
One common feature of Sendai parks, one that makes baseball and other games difficult, is that the grass is usually mowed on twice a year or at most three times. You can see in this picture that it looks more like an empty lot than a nicely trimmed park.
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