I was on my way home from school on the day the earthquake struck the North East of Japan. After the totally unexpected disaster, the very first thoughts that pop up into your head are about the people you love. You immediately try and get in touch with them to hear their voices or get an email from them letting you know that they are safe. I was very fortunate to be with my family that day. However, a lot of people were not able to be with their families. Some of my friends spent the restless night at the school in the cold and darkness, not hearing a word from their families. Some of my other friends walked all the way home for many hours to see their families.

My views on life have changed ever since. I used to believe in the saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” (I was taught so in American education.) But now I don’t. There is no reason for all those tens of thousands of innocent people to have lost their lives or their families or houses. Many of my friends lost their houses. Many of them were forced to live in the evacuation centers. I don’t understand how some people were perfectly fine, but others not. There is no reason. Now I understand that in this world unreasonable things exist that we can do nothing about.

However, I came to believe that there are things that the people who didn’t lose as much can do to help the others. I personally helped a family that had lost everything on the first floor of their house. That family had a high school daughter, so I gathered up some of my clothes for her to wear. It didn’t matter to me that they were the clothes I still wore. All I wanted to do was to help and send my love out to them. I also went to the beach with my American teacher and a couple of people to help clean around. I was shocked at the sight around me. It was hard to imagine how the tsunami could do so much damage and tear apart the whole town. It was painful to see items people used every day buried under the sand and debris.

It has only been a year since I moved to Japan, and I haven’t fully adapted to the Japanese culture. What surprised me was the ways the Japanese reacted after the earthquake. While I was living in the United States, there would be a disaster much like March 11. I would watch the news and see people pushing each other, breaking into stores, and fighting for food and water. I was expecting similar chaotic scenes to break out here in Japan too, but it was the absolute opposite. What I saw with my own eyes were people waiting calmly in long lines to get food and water. I heard not one person complain and people would still refrain even though everyone was in the same situation. I would have thought people would only think about themselves and their families, but everyone was supporting each other. Helping each other during a long period of time brought all of us together. We all became a family. I myself stayed in an evacuation center for a while and I’ve become friends with people I’d never met before.

Our lives may never be the same again, but I believe that after the disaster like this all of us have grown closer to our family and friends. Now that I have seen Japanese people’s courage and dignity, I’m even prouder of living here.

Things started out bumpy when I arrived in Australia. I had trouble with the host family during my home-stay. The host mother was very kind, and I got along with my host sister. But my host father was always grumpy and would often fight with his family. I was afraid to stay there and one day I told my homeroom teacher about this situation.

Later that day my teacher took me to a new host family. She assured me that the mother, Mrs. Springett, was very nice, but still I was really nervous when I met her. What would I do if things didn’t work out with her? But before I could even say, “Nice to meet…,” she startled me with a great big hug.

I was mortified at first. “She’s hugging me in front of everybody!” I thought. But as Mrs. Springett hugged me, I finally felt everything in Australia was going to be all right. She was so nice. Every day she always sent me off to school with a smile and paid me such kind compliments. But it was always her hugs that made me feel safe and secure and gave me the energy to do my best each day. “Is there anything better than a hug?” I thought. And how little effort it took to make someone feel so good.

Now back in Japan I instinctively hug my friends and family whenever I am happy or sad. At first I noticed how hesitant people are to hug each other here in Japan. It came as quite a surprise, like reverse culture shock. But I think that maybe the father of my first host family wouldn’t have been so cranky if he had had more hugs in his life. And I think everyone in Japan would appreciate each other more if we hugged each other more often. Whenever I see my friends looking sad or upset, I hug them as my host mother in Australia would to help them understand the true magic of a hug.

For the magic of a hug makes us realize that for every one bad experience we might have, there are far more happy experiences awaiting us. And most people are like Mrs. Springett who will help you out and make you feel better about yourself. After the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami and the crisis in Fukushima, we Japanese are now facing a lot of serious problems. Many of us might be feeling sad or unsure about the future. But I am sure we will get over these tough times by coming together and helping each other out. And maybe the easiest way to begin doing this, I think, is with a great big hug.

During my summer vacation last year, I visited my grandparents. Then I found a letter in the letter box of their house. I took it out and handed it to my grandmother. When I asked her who it was from, she answered it was from an old friend of hers. She began to read it happily. She seemed to have been looking forward to it. On the night of the day, I saw her writing the reply immediately. I talked with her about the letter, sitting next to her. Just then I got an e-mail on my cell phone. I replied to it in an instant. She said, “It is very useful, isn’t it? But it seems too difficult for me to use.” It is true a cell phone is useful, but seeing her answering the letter happily, I began to think a letter has something an e-mail doesn’t have. What she was doing was writing by hand heartily, and what I did was just pushing the buttons mechanically. I took it for granted that ease and convenience were the most important, but she valued something else more highly. If she tries hard, she will be able to use a cell phone, but she doesn’t try. I think it is because she knows that there is something more important than ease and convenience. A sincere handwritten letter has some merit of its own.

Imagine you exchanging letters with a person you love. What attitude will you have while writing the letter? You will try to write it as politely as you can and to choose right words carefully to express your feelings exactly. After sending the letter, you will look forward to getting the reply and look into the letter box many times a day. The letter from the person will make you happy and you will read it again and again. Before long you may even think tenderly of the peculiarity of the characters the person writes. You will become more aware of the person’s identity by reading a letter than by reading an e-mail. Even poor handwriting and blurred characters are the expression of the characteristic of the writer. In short, humanity will be found in a letter. I think such an aspect is the merit of the letter. Letters are not as convenient as e-mails because they take us a lot of time and trouble. However, convenience is not always the first priority.

Writing letters is one of the wonderful cultural traditions. Sad to say, we are losing the culture. I hope that it will be handed down to the young generation. So I have written some letters to my grandmother since I saw her happy face last summer. I always write to her imagining her pleased expression. More and more young people are expected to have such wonderful communication.

When I was in the first grade of an elementary school, I went to Switzerland with my mother to visit her friend. We stayed there for several weeks. During the stay, we went sightseeing around there. I can’t remember this trip without two events. One event happened while I was visiting a zoo in Switzerland with my mother and her friend’s family. There was a small hill and some goats were raising their babies. Then I found a cute baby goat and tried to hold it in my arms. However, I couldn’t catch it. A few minutes later, a girl holding that baby came to me and asked, “Would you like to hold it, too?” I couldn’t understand German, but I could understand what she was trying to say. So, I answered in Japanese, “Yes, please. Thanks.” I was sure she understood what I said. The other event happened when I was on an elevator. After I had got on it, an elderly woman got on, too. She smiled at me and asked some questions. I could only nod and smile. Then she said, “I have some chocolate. This is the most delicious one. I’ll give it to you.” And she gave me the one that was in the shaped of a rabbit. I said to her “ Danke,” which was the only German word I knew. She got off the elevator, saying good-bye. Through these two experiences, I felt happy and came to think that the Swiss are kind and sweet. In this way, I learned that the images of a country are made by its people’s behaviors or actions.

Compared to the people whom I met in the Switzerland, I think Japanese people tend not to communicate with others actively. If you meet a foreigner in a zoo or on an elevator, will you try to talk to him or her? I think I myself wouldn’t because it needs courage. I think the shyness of the Japanese people may come from our geographic and historical isolation. Japan is an island country, and in Edo Period, Japan closed itself off from the outside world. So these may still cause us hesitation in communicating with the foreigners. However, today’s globalizing world will bring us more opportunity to talk with foreigners. In this world, we need to open up more.

By experiencing the two events written in above, I was impressed with the Swiss’ kindness and bravery. However, there is one more event that also impressed me. It happened when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. Even in that catastrophic situations, the victims in the affected areas supported each other and shared little food they had. They also showed the gratitude to the others. Watching the news, I respected them from the bottom of my heart.

There are a lot of different countries and a lot of different people in the world, or even in Japan. That means, we can learn a lot of lessons from them. If we watch other people’s behaviors and imitate their excellences, we can grow ourselves more. In other words, we can say “One man’s excellence is another man’s lesson.”

First of all, my experience of studying in Canada made me think foreigners take action more than Japanese. For example, I saw my host father giving a slice of pizza to a homeless man on the street. I was so surprised and even shocked at the thought of approaching a homeless man. Furthermore, he added “God bless you” to the man. In Japan, we avoid and never have contact with them. It was so natural for him to do that. This incident made me realize that even I can take action.

Secondly, I found volunteering fun in Canada. One day our class took a school bus to a nearby workplace where the elderly cut vegetables. It was as if we went on a field trip. For three hours we helped them. We enjoyed a conversation while helping and nobody complained about the work. We cut vegetables into small pieces and dried them to make soup. The soup is provided not only to the poor in Canada, but also shipped to hungry people around the world. It made me feel warm. In Japan, we do not have opportunities to help others at school. I have been thinking volunteer work is troublesome and boring, but it was not. Actually, it was fun. For the first time, I felt that helping someone can be enjoyable.

Thirdly, after I returned I wanted to take action. I used to think that Japanese people do not volunteer much but things were different. We had experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake and people young and old were volunteering at the quake-stricken area. I saw on TV that high school students in Tohoku helping people at the evacuation site. If I were one of them, would I be able to think and take action for others? I asked myself. Just then, I happened to hear that the English club at my old school was looking for a volunteer to help the children. All the native speaking volunteers left Japan after the earthquake. So I decided to help and I did. I made a game of “Sugoroku”, and planned activities for the whole afternoon. I saw their eyes light up with everyone’s big smile. It was not just helping, we all shared happiness together. This experience made me realize the joy of volunteering. I like to use English and to work with children. So, one day, I hope this will play a part in my future. I would like to invite my friends to join me and continue this activity as a group.

In conclusion, volunteering is not just about helping. It is about sharing. The action may seem small, but the time we share together is valuable and a sense of achievement is big. There are many chances to volunteer, but it is whether you take action or not. I used to be in the latter group. If you want to take action, take the first step!