Mukasa and me

* I have good memories of Mukasa Primary School. That's because this part of the hamlet of Takaoka west of the Southern Japanese city of Miyazaki, was where I headed from time to time in my government job 6 years ago. I used to go to this primary school, altogether 3-4 times at the most, and was as cosmopolitan as you can be out here in the - pardon the expression - Japanese sticks. I made sure that the students there, who weren't going to see another non-Asian face until they went to University or beyond, understand that the world is more than skin color, more than race. Them seeing me there with my semblant Caucasian white skin and dark suit, but seeing me speak in local Japanese and talk about different peoples in the world being in different places at different times, and joking with them about it. They always seemed to love me being there, albeit for a short half-hour at the most. The school screamed not to see me leave.
* Now I read out (Japanese only) that an old man was saved by rescue teams in this very area, clinging to life until he heard voices, upon which he screamed his lungs out and the teams crashed through the house to get to him... This is very close to my heart, the suffering, the rescues, and for some - abandonment. The death toll of this typhoon has since risen to 7 across different areas of Southern Japan. But then again, the authorities always downplay the numbers...