Brian Noori was teaching English to eighth-grade Japanese students at the Sekimoto School in Kitaibaraki on March 11 when the 9.0 earthquake struck. The town is located 84 miles from the epicenter and 43 miles from the imperiled nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi. ’There are a lot of quakes in Japan,’ said Noori, a Pacific Palisades native, who graduated from Occidental College last May and moved to Northern Japan last July. ‘Most of the students stayed at their desks for the first few seconds, but then it got stronger and continued, and they got under the desks. I also got under a desk and I could hear students screaming and things falling.’ After the initial shaking stopped, the students exited the school and went to a nearby dirt field. ‘It was orderly; they formed lines,’ Noori said, and then another aftershock hit. Students and teachers watched as the school shook and glass windows seemed to bend. A teacher drove his car to the field and turned on the radio, so that everybody could hear news. Since it was raining, teachers went inside and brought out tarps to cover the children until their parents in this mountainous coastal village arrived to pick them up. Noori then drove to his apartment, which had no power, gas or water. He tried to drive into town to speak to his supervisor at the board of education, but a roadway much like the California Incline had collapsed. After driving back home, Noori walked back to town. The four-story City Hall building was evacuated and Noori’s supervisor told him to go back to his apartment. Noori checked his phone for messages and texts and was able to access Facebook. He left a message, ‘If someone finds this please contact my family [Palisadians Fazzy Noori and Cindy Seiler-Noori] and let them know I am okay.’ A friend of the Noori’s younger son, Kevin, contacted them five hours later, and let them know their son’s status. ’Apartments are not well insulated in Japan and the temperature was close to freezing,’ said Noori, who went to bed early. ‘There was nothing else to do.’ Saturday morning, Noori’s phone died and he walked around the streets of Kitaibaraki. ‘I knew the earthquake was bad because roads were cracked, bridges had shifted, brick walls had fallen over and shingles were missing from the houses. Water was being distributed and the market was open.’ Initially he didn’t buy anything, because ‘I didn’t feel hungry.’ But on Sunday he purchased yogurt, canned tuna, canned coffee and bottles of vitamin water. He didn’t worry that his refrigerator wasn’t running; room temperature was cold enough. On Monday, Noori went to school and found most of the teachers already there. They broke into groups to ascertain the damage and afterwards told Noori there would be no school before Wednesday and sent him home. He walked back to the board of education, where the military was cooking rice balls and miso soup. Noori was given five rice balls, which he took home, eating one with Spam’his Monday market purchase. Later that evening he drove to Takahag to visit a friend. As he drove, he noticed few gas stations open and was glad his tank was nearly full. Finding that his friend had power, Noori charged his phone, and then called the Palisades. ‘I found out how bad it was with the power plant and the tsunami.’ By the time he drove back to his apartment, electricity had returned and he was able to e-mail, check Facebook and finally stay warm under his electric blanket. Tuesday morning, Noori’s parents urged him to come home. Others in the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching) program told him he shouldn’t believe ‘the Western media, it’s a lot of hype.’ ‘People say it’s not that bad,’ Noori told his mom, but since he had not seen news for five days, he went on the Internet to CNN, which reported a third explosion at the nuclear plant. ‘That’s when I decided I should leave.’ Buses and trains were running intermittently, which meant he drove most of the way to Narita to catch a flight, noticing ‘more lines to purchase gas and more damage to buildings.’ He stayed in a hotel close to the airport and had his first hot shower in five days”the best shower I’ve ever had!’ Noori arrived in LAX on Thursday afternoon. ‘I’m glad I left,’ he said, noting that he is following the news of the power plant. When asked if he felt that the Japanese government was not forthcoming with the residents about the power plant, Noori felt that it wasn’t a deliberate effort to deceive citizens, but rather the government was dealing with too many problems in too many areas. Nevertheless, ‘I want to go back in the next few weeks,’ said Noori, who was contracted to teach English until July 2011, but recently added a year to his contract. ‘I like the language, the people, the food and the more traditional aspect of Japan,’ said Noori, who eventually wants to go to graduate school. Lessons he learned last week? ‘Always have money in your pocket, have a flashlight ready (and batteries) and have a tank full of gas.’
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