Tracy-Ann Hyman inside a train in pre-earthquake Japan. - Contributed

YOU KNOW, we sometimes take life for granted, and it's in situations like these you realise that life is precious and that you really have no control over some things.

In the morning, I got up and was just really feeling out of it. Fortunately, one of my friends cheered me up and I started to get ready to go to Tokyo to visit a fellow Jamaican as well as do some business.

Having reached my friend's house, I had just put down my bag, didn't even get a chance to take off my winter jacket, when the building started to shake. I told my friend that the place was shaking a bit, but he was very nonchalant about it.

The vibrations, however, started getting heavier and heavier, and automatically, all the disaster preparedness training that I received in Jamaica from high school and on-the-job training kicked in. I looked for a door jam, and saw that it was not adequate, so I went under the table instead.

All the things in the house started to fly and fall on the ground and, in the end, where I was standing was piled with books and all kind of objects.

Psychologists tell us that when there is a crisis, humans go into three modes. First: denial, then deliberation and third, the decisive moment. You can go through each mode one after the other or jump from one point to the other and back, with no clear trend.

IN DENIAL

While I was under the table, I was in the denial, yet taking actions in terms of what I needed to do. I was in no way deliberating.

It's funny because in the middle of crisis, sometimes you get a lot of jokes. My friend is a Rastafarian, so he was in the other room bawling out "JAH, RASTAFARIIIII! Hold it Jah! Hol it! Nuh mek mi dead wid dem wicked people yah! Dem a run down money, and just deh pan dem cellphone and nah serve yuh!"

While I on the other hand was saying softly, "Jesus, Jesus please, please let this stop now," acting all stoosh (while still in denial). When the intensity increased. However, I bawled out JESUS! All reservations gone.

In the end, we evacuated the building, because it is very old and we went to find my friend's family members and secure their safety. I had to stay the night in Tokyo, as my home is an hour away and all railway services were cancelled. People were sleeping on the floor in the subway. I stayed with my friend and his family, but I didn't get much sleep. It took until the following morning, before the denial wore off. I am now in the deliberating mode right now, while still making some decisions. We are still having aftershocks, even till now, and so I'm just riding out this storm, with God's help.

Tracy-ann Hyman is a recent graduate of the University of Tokyo and instructor of English in Japan.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner