Update and Help with Relief Fund

Hi, everyone,

I'm sorry I have not updated my blog since the disastrous events of March 11. I know many of you have been wondering how I and Carly have been doing, and I hope this blog has not been your only means of learning of our well being. Life has been crazy and busy over the past three weeks, with an international trip wedged in between. I have been sincerely touched by how many of my friends have shown such heartfelt concern for me and Carly. You should know that I am doing fine in Kyoto. We were not affected by the quake or the tsunami at all here. Life continues here as normal. Carly, on the other hand, had quite the past few weeks. Her city of Yokohama felt many aftershocks, forcing her to flee to Kyoto. Once she was here with me, to our utter disappointment, her program at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies was canceled for the remainder of the year in Yokohama. She remains in Kyoto with me and will throughout the month of June where she will be studying and working remotely on her program.

Carly and I spent a nice week in Hawaii which was a last minute trip but proved to be comforting not just to us, but to our family members as well. It was an amazing trip and I've posted pictures on Facebook here. Sorry not to be posting them on the blog. I may at a later date.

But the real purpose of this blog post is to bring your attention to a 5K run that I will be doing with my friends and fellow assistant English teachers this coming Sunday, April 10th. It's a little less than a week away, but we are working very hard to raise money for the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, which has been chosen by an organization started by other JET Programme participants in Japan called "5ToSurvive." I have started a page on the website JustGiving.com to raise money from my friends and family. If you can donate, I would be so thankful, and so would the people of Japan affected by the disastrous events who are struggling each day to find food and water, not to mention a new home and a new life.

You can visit my page here: Garrett's Page. Please check it out if you have a moment. NOTE: Even after the event is finished (April 10th), the fund will continue to accept donations, so you can still donate through my page on JustGiving.com and your money will go to this worthy cause.

Thank you in advance for your support and well wishes. I will update here on the blog after the event has finished and the fundraising appears to be coming to a close.

Garrett