Q1 2011 part 3

In March we got a message saying Jaap’s mother might not last much longer and if we wanted to see her and talk to her we should not wait till summer. Arrangements were made and Jaap flew to Holland shortly after that. He stayed with his youngest sister Hessel and her husband Sjaak in Maassluis and visited Mum most days in the care center nearby.

 

With Mum at care center “De Drie Maashavens”

Sister Sjakkelien, nephew Tom and his girlfriend Maxime came to Maassluis one day.

And so did Marijke’s brother Herman (right) and his family, Judith, Melissa and Edwin.

Sushi’s were made on both occasions, rolled in Meinohama nori, the best in the world!

Sjaak with his product. He should have become a sushi-chef!

We often get questions about traditional Dutch food an we usually mention things like poffertjes, pannekoeken, erwtesoep and hutspot, but maybe we should start the list with white asperges.   YUMMY!

Frans and Marij, friends from way back when we were sailing our first steel 25ft Pied Boueff in the Netherlands in 1979

And then, on March 11, I was riding my bicycle to Odo, Jaap called from Holland. He had just heard about a big earthquake in Tohoku on the radio. I went back home and watched the news. First the damage in the big cities (surprisingly little). Then the tsunami and those images threw me of my chair. Immediately realizing Fukuoka was in a safe corner, I still wondered if there were any warnings for us. None at all. Then the nuclear powerplant, but that didn’t become a big worry untill 2 days later when there was finally some reliable news. People in other countries seemed better informed than we. The fact that we did get a 40cm tsunami in the bay was an example. We only heard about it the next day!!! 40cm might not sound much, but at high tide can still do a lot of damage. Luckily the tide was low and nothing happened. Now we all know how bad the situation is in Fukushima and not only for the people living in that part of Japan… I cannot even think about the men who stayed at the plant, trying to fix the leaks and cool the turbines. To me they are the biggest heroes of the century.

And so spring, the best time of the year, took a turn for the worst.

Every day de national TV broadcasts images of broken buildings, wrecked ships, people in shelters, people in tears. Now, a month later they are mostly about how people set up a life, make a living, create a home where there is only rubble. It’s truly amazing how these people just continue. They smile and cry. And even observe the cultural traditions, like hanami, the flower festivals.