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Former Sask. resident checks in from post-quake Japan

Mar 14, 2011 | 7:01 AM

Things may seem like they're getting back to normal in some parts of Japan for people living in areas not directly near the epicentre of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. However, a trip to the grocery store or flipping to the news channels tells residents a very different story.

“Aside from the occasional aftershock, everything feels quite normal — I have power, I have water I have heat,” said Mary Fish, a former Saskatchewan resident who is living and teaching in Tokyo at an international school. “But, stuff is definitely not back to normal here.”

Fish says she will be back to work Monday, though her students will be absent. Staff will be debriefing and seeing if improvements need to be made on the off-chance the prediction another major quake will hit in the next three days comes true. She says people are trying to get back to normal, but the mood is tense. “Really, kind of apprehensive, and worried about what's going to happen in the next couple of days,” she said.

Fish has made the decision that she won't be using that heat at night, despite the fact that it is winter in Japan. That's because there's been a call for people to conserve as much power as possible.

“A lot of stuff is missing from the grocery store shelves, it's almost impossible to buy bottled water right now,” she said, adding that bread and milk are also nearly impossible to come by. She says she's stocked for now, so she's not worried yet.

There was actually an aftershock while she was speaking with News Talk Radio. She describes it as a slight rocking motion, like being on a boat or sitting on a water bed. “My light fixture is my gauge. I always (look to see if it's swaying) if I think I feel an aftershock. You starting thinking you're feeling them all the time,” she said.

Fish says a few people she knows have left the country to wait the situation out. So far she's made no plans to leave, saying she won't be leaving unless the embassy or school she works for tells her to go.

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