March 11th, 2011

Thursday started off like any other day. Actually it was even better, because I woke up early enough to get an iced Haupia latte from the coffee shop across the street (which was by the way, delicious). I drove to work and worked from 7-7. I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home, so I ate dinner and showered. Then, while I was in the shower, I got a call saying I needed to come back into work because there was a tsunami alert.

Tsunami alert? I almost didn't believe my coworker; they all knew I was tired after work that day so I thought they were playing a joke on me. But when he said to turn on the news, I saw Japan. I don't think the severity of the situation hit me between a daze of confusion, fear, and exhaustion. I quickly jumped out of the shower, got dressed and headed out to work. 

By this point it was around 10pm. I walked outside and there were people from every direction in my complex getting into their cars and driving away. We live in an evacuation area so regardless of getting called into work, I would have had to leave my home to get to higher ground. It didn't occur to me that there would be warning sirens throughout the town and the sound of them chilled me to the bone. I was so unfamiliar with this sort of situation, and here I was alone and freaked out. I think that initially, the thing that scared me the most, was calling to tell my parents. I could only imagine how worried they would be, and for a split second I contemplated not calling and letting them sleep through the night. But I couldn't do it and I called my Mum to let her know. This night, of all nights, I hadn't charged my phone so it was almost dead. Typical. I explained everything was fine and that I was headed into work, and would be in touch as and when I could.

When I got into work we gathered supplies and aided guests with evacuation. We had to evacuate the property for safety reasons since our property is ocean front. We had everyone to higher ground by around 11pm and began serving fresh chocolate chip cookies (in true Four Seasons style) and making up rollaway beds for all of the guests. The night seemed to pass by so slowly, and I eventually gave up and tried to nap in the back of someones truck. I woke up around 4am, which by this time, the tsunami had arrived, done it's damage, and left, like an angry ex-girlfriend. We were so anxious to see what had happened but had to wait until morning to survey the damage. The property did suffer some damage, but our staff has been absolutely fantastic and has pulled together in true "ohana" style. Everyone is working to restore the pristine condition our beautiful hotel maintains, and we'll be back and ready for business in no time :)

While I can go on and on about how afraid I was, I can't stop thinking how blessed we were on the islands. Being closer to Japan than we are to the United States, we could have suffered complete devastation and we woke up the next morning unharmed, if not a little shaken up. 

Japan continues to haunt my mind. It's all you read about online, it's all you hear about on the radio, and it's all you see on TV. The news goes from bad to worse and leaves you with a feeling of being punched in the stomach. I feel so helpless.

The American Red Cross are taking donations by SMS - text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. I did.

Please keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers, as I am. And always remember to count your blessings, we really don't have it nearly as bad as we tend to think. 

xoxo