[School Reconstruction Record] Part 2 - About 2 Weeks

Continuing from Part 1: The Day After the Earthquake

○ The evacuation center was the junior high school gymnasium
Local residents and people who were affected nearby were evacuating there
While I was being taken care of, I helped create living spaces and distribute relief supplies
Since it was my school district, there were many families of graduates, and I naturally became a member of the [Neighborhood Association]
I was appointed to be in charge of morning radio calisthenics, the night neighborhood watch, and opening and closing the gymnasium gallery curtains morning and evening lol

○ At the same time as usual, I went to the elementary school below (5 minutes walk from the evacuation center)

○ Teachers living in the city who were not affected by the disaster also came to work

○ Since there were no instructions to reopen the school, we first cleaned up inside and outside the school grounds
To ensure traffic flow around the school building, we moved debris such as cars that had washed up, house roofs, and equipment that had flowed out from the first floor to a debris pile on the side of the schoolyard

○ Injuries during debris removal carried a risk of tetanus, so even scratches required caution

○ To move cars, we had to break windows or pry open doors,
For manual cars, we could push them if we released the parking brake and put the gear in neutral
Automatic cars were difficult; we had to lift the wheels while pushing, depending on whether they were FR, FF, or 4WD
What was even more troublesome were hybrid cars
Since they were locked, we had no choice but to rely on heavy machinery

○ We collected the sludge from the flooded first floor using shovels and snow shovels
Where it had started to dry, we poured pool water on it with buckets
Window scrapers were useful for the finishing touches
The smell of sewage was terrible

○ For lunch, we ate bread and rice balls from relief supplies, cup noodles, and bento boxes brought from home

○Two days after the earthquake, thanks to the Self-Defense Forces, the debris below the school was removed and the main road became passable
Thanks to that, teachers who were commuting on foot were able to commute by bicycle or car

○Fortunately, my light truck was drivable👍
Paired with a teacher from the student guidance department, we went around to check on the children living at home or in evacuation centers
Since we couldn't use computers or printers due to the power outage, the attendance books and student rosters we brought out during the evacuation were useful

○ It was difficult because we knew where their homes were, but we didn't know which evacuation centers they were in
Since both of us had been at the school for a long time, we weren't mistaken for suspicious people even with bedhead, stubble, and work clothes lol

○ We checked the bulletin boards and message boards at each evacuation center

○ We also went to the prefectural hospital and checked the bulletin board

○ Until the main road opened, we were allowed to use the emergency vehicle lane on the expressway

○ When I went to a gas station and showed my school name tag to say I was checking on students' evacuation status,
"Let's do our best together!"
They gladly let me in and encouraged me 😭

○ On the way around the evacuation centers, I happened to meet an old high school friend who runs an Italian restaurant locally; he was on his way to deliver minestrone to an evacuation center
"Have some❗️"
he said
It was delicious and touched my heart and body
We rejoiced at each other's safety, vowed to do our best for reconstruction, and parted ways

○ Perhaps because of the adrenaline, I didn't feel tired for about a week, even with lack of sleep and physical labor

○ After eating spicy 🥵 cup noodles from relief supplies for about a week, my nose started bleeding 🩸 uncontrollably

○ The safety of all students was confirmed

○ Since the cleanup was done to some extent and we had accounted for all students, on Friday evening, three teachers whose homes were inland rode in my light truck (due to the emergency, it was an extra-legal measure, and I rode in the cargo bed) to return home temporarily

○ My wife's workplace had suffered catastrophic damage, but it seems my family all thought I had died lol

○ I returned home, slept like a log, and the next morning I went to work in my own car with relief supplies to take to the evacuation center (clothes, shoes, books, manga, games, stationery, bags, etc., things that seemed useful)

○Parents and students came to help with the cleanup
Even though they were victims themselves, every time they said,
"Are the teacher's house and family okay?"
I would 😭

○ The gymnasium became a temporary storage area for relief supplies, so I helped with loading and unloading

○ It was the end of the fiscal year, but transfers were suspended due to the state of emergency

○ Since it was spring break, we decided on a duty roster for the teachers who could come to work

○ After listening to the opinions of the Board of Education, parents, children, and teachers,we decided to hold a graduation ceremony, even if it was simple

○ Since the data was safe, we created documents for the graduation ceremony and the school reopening in April in the staff room of the junior high school evacuation center, which did not have a power outage

○ On March 31st, the final broadcast of "Zoom In!! Asa" was aired from the junior high school yard at the evacuation center
I appeared as the person in charge of holding the large thermometer lol