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Hawaii Babies
expatjen
member
back from hawaii and japan (yep, we were there for the earthquake)!
expatjen
member
Hi Ladies...we're finally back home in India after 2 glorious months at home with the grandparents in Hawaii. But our journey home did not go as planned. We routed our ticket from HNL to Japan (Narita), then on to Bangkok and finally Bangalore, India.
What was supposed to be a 5 hour layover in Japan became almost 20 hours. We were at duty free (hubby was sampling some sake) when the big quake hit. It was insane. I've never felt a building shake so violently in my entire life. I was scared, but luckily Baby K slept through the whole thing (yay Ergo!) and hubby tried to lighten the mood by making jokes. After the big aftershock the airport staff evacuated everyone onto the tarmac.
Now considering we had just come from Hawaii and were going to Thailand (both hot climates), we did not pack for cold weather on the flights. Needless to say we froze our tushies off in the cool Japan air. Once the sun went down the temp dropped even more. The staff were really kind and took care of the passengers well. We were given blankets and for the mothers and children they brought over some vans so we could take shelter from the cold.
After about 3 hours on the tarmac, the building was deemed safe enough for us to go inside (but only on the 1st floor - and in 1 big lobby). There were a few hundred of us all sprawled out on the floor of the lobby, trying to stay warm and get some rest. It was hard on Baby K the most. He was unable to sleep well and we of course got no sleep.
Around 10pm they let us go up to the 2nd floor of the airport (the departure area) to spread out and get some rest on the chairs and on the floors. All flights were cancelled and we weren't sure when we'd be able to catch a flight home. At 8am the next morning we were informed that our flight would take off at 11am. Lucky for us, we were able to leave Japan (some other passengers were stuck there till Monday).
Only after we left the airport and arrived in Thailand, did we come to find out the extent of the devastation in Japan. 
How incredibly sad, especially for a culture and a people so hospitable and caring (one airport employee even gave us her jacket while waiting outside, even though she was left with nothing herself).
Anyhow, it's good to be back home - safe, sound and just a bit tired. But, please keep those in Japan in your thoughts and prayers... I know I am.
**a girl from Hawaii, living and driving in South India**
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Re: back from hawaii and japan (yep, we were there for the earthquake)!
I'm so glad you made it back safely - how scary! It sounds like they did the best they possibly good for all the travelers in a difficult situation, which is wonderful.
The devastation there is just incredible - I look at the photos and it's almost unreal. My heart goes out to everyone there, it must be unimaginable to live through.
Wow, how terrifying...especially after the fact when you discovered how devestating this quake is. I guess it's good you did not know that until you were safely out of harm's way.
I cannot even fathom how the people of Japan are making it through this...having grown up in earthquake country you're always afraid of the "big one." My prayers go to the people who have the unimaginable task of recovering from this and to those who have lost their lives.
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