I met with my French tutor today after my first class. After making my way from campus to L’Alliance Française I stopped at the coffeeshop next door where I usually stay while I’m waiting, but it was packed. Since it was lunchtime and the sushi restaurant down the street had just opened I decided to wait there instead. I sat at the sushi bar and looked at the sheet on top of their regular menu, which announced a special sushi roll they created after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month. It’s only $10 a roll and half of that is going to relief efforts. What a cool thing for a sushi restaurant to do! So of course this was part of my order.

It was while I was there that I saw an update on Twitter about the earthquake that took place today. It’s so heartbreaking to hear about all that is happening in Japan right now and I just want them to have some relief! I haven’t had a chance to visit Japan yet, but it’s a country that captured my heart and my attention when I was a little girl. I was about five or six when my family hosted an exchange student from Japan. Satoko and I hit it off well and became “sisters” while she stayed with us. We kept in touch for years afterward, losing contact after we started e-mailing instead of sending letters and both of us went through a few e-mail address changes. While we haven’t been in touch for a few years now, she has never been far from my mind, even more so throughout the past month. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Japan.