August 6 - Cleanup time

August 6



Hey y'all, it's Peter. It's been a week since we touched down in Japan. To keep things (relatively) short, between a lost wallet, a surprise change in accommodations, and tomorrow being our last full day in Japan, I'd say we're seeing just how far we can be stretched.

The work we're doing has been the highlight so far. The days we took off weren't bad but I would rather sweat doing important work rather than sweat walking for hours trying to track down our lost money (we did find it, but boy, what a way to reach 20000 steps).

I won't deny that just me and Dad feels like a Japanese comedian duo or ボケ (gag) and ツッコミ (retort) with the positions changing occasionally, but we're looking forward to having a bigger team next time (hint, hint) so it's not just two clueless Odas playing "guess or google translate"

I'm turning it over to my dad now, but seriously, thank you for your support in all shapes and forms. またね、bye!


Click on any photo to enlarge
Thanks Peter! Those following on social media have seen this pic, I've a great colleague for this trip! The only drawback is Peter is clearly taller than me. A low bar to be sure, but nonetheless.


We have moved from the city of Suzu and landed on the seaside community of Wajima. The building in the pic has been seen elsewhere, still it's different to see it in person. This building collapsed and fell down like a tree. There would have been greater casualties had the earthquake hit during a regular workday.

Wajima appears to have suffered more damage than anywhere we've previously seen. That may be due to its proximity to the ocean.

Upon closer inspection part of the collapsed building fell on the auto. We saw several vehicles also trapped.
Today's work was cleanup. We picked up by hand tile roof shingles, rocks, weeds, and other miscellaneous items. That's Peter doing cleanup.
It took five of us and filling dozens of bags, but the job got done.


We were treated to a nice lunch (including air conditioning!), joining the other team at a small church.

Upon our return to the Noto Help base, we were again treated, this time with sno-cones! Perfect for this weather!

Hoping all of you are well and staying cool!


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