2 years ago today, March 11th, at around 2:50 PM, I was walking through the hallways of Yoshiwara Elementary School, not long after I had finished my final class as their Assistant Language Teacher, when the floor started to sway. It wasn't a violent sway, but like the rocking of a big boat. My first earthquake would ultimately be the biggest to ever hit Japan and also create a devestating tsunami and nuclear disaster, causing well over 18,000 deaths and destroying the homes of an additional 300,000.

There was minimal damage where I was living in Fuji City, some areas were without power or water, but little else. However, the atmosphere was tense. Cars lined up at gas stations, water bottles started selling out, cell phone networks were jammed and tsunami warnings for much of the east coast went into effect. All TV networks switched to tsunami coverage.  The city-wide PA system gave updates every 15 minutes. My cell phone was getting aftershock and tsunami alerts well into 4am. Me and a bunch of friends continued through with plans to have a takoyaki, fried octopus ball, party that night. We cooked and drank beer as we watched the terrible tsunami footage pour in while we were walking distance from the ocean.

Me and a student take cover during an aftershock.

The school evacuates after the first shock subsides. The students are wearing their seat cushions which convert into protective headgear specifically for an event like this.

I had friends who were on the subway in Tokyo at the time, ultimately having to walk for hours to get home after the subway shutdown. I met a guy living in a rural area near Fukushima whose whole town went dark and he walked into the night until he reached the next town to be able to contact someone.

There was talk of how sometimes what may seem like the main seismic event may simply be a precursor for an even larger one. Talk that only made some people even more unsettled. Aftershocks came constantly over the following weeks, all of which had me much more worried than the initial quake, especially with the looming fears of Fukushima. During one aftershock, I jumped out of my backdoor and into the neighboring rice field, just to be 100% safe from possible falling object inside. From there I'd realize that I was standing a 2 minute drive from the Fuji River, a fault line overdue for a large earthquake that could be set off by one of these aftershocks. Then I looked up at Mt. Fuji, an active volcano that is due to erupt literally any day now. It was unsettling to say the least.

Somewhat fortunately, I had already scheduled to take a trip to Shanghai about a week after the earthquake. When I arrived to Narita airport it was at the height of the radiation scare. People were everywhere trying to get out. The majority of which were tourists and foreign residents of Japan. Lines had formed everywhere, I have never seen so many people in an airport in my life. An announcement came over the PA system stating that all flights, on all airlines, to all of Asia and North America were sold out for the next week. It was insane. When I would ultimately leave Japan for the United States two weeks later, the airport was absolutely empty. Everyone that wanted to get out had done so and no one else was coming in.

Before I left Japan, which had been planned before the earthquake, I spent a week in Tokyo. It was an eerie, changed place. The entire country was in a power saving fervor since Fukushima supplied at least a quarter of the region's power, so the neon lights of Shibuya were off. Most lights inside subway stations and stores were shut off as well. Reports had recently come in that Tokyo's tapwater had trace elements of radiation in it that may be unsafe for infants to drink. So naturally, no one was drinking the tap water. All liquids began to sell out. In a city with 3 vending machines on every corner and a convenience store on every block, it was a rare site to see anything sold out, let alone all forms of liquid.

Leaving Japan in that mess, with terrible destruction and death in the north, left me feeling guilty that I wasn't lending a hand, especially since I was returning to the US without any purpose or job to fill. Japan has certainly gotten along well enough without me, but there is still a lot that needs to be done in Tohoku. A friend of mine living in Fukushima regularly makes trips out of town just in hopes of getting away from radiation. This certainly will not be the last major earthquake in Japan, but hopefully it remains the biggest and hopefully the scientists saying that Mt. Fuji will erupt in less than 2 years are wrong.

Additional reading on the Tohoku Earthquake:

Inside Fukushima's abandoned towns, two years on – in pictures

The Yakuza step up during the relief effort.

The Last Man in the Forbidden Zone

The Japan East Earthquake Archive

There this thing called a Silent Disco. It's not a new thing, nor can it only be found in Korea. But it is absolutely an amazing thing. So, it's basically like any other dance party or night club event, except there are no huge sound system setups, no decibels that that will leave you ringing for days. Instead, participants are given wireless headsets to which the DJs music is pumped through. You and all your friends are dancing and having an spectacular time to the same music, but to those without headphones, you are dancing in complete, awkward silence.

The fantastic bit about the music being contained to wireless headphones is that it is free of location dependencies, a Silent Disco can happen anywhere. My girlfriend and I attended a Silent Disco parade in Myeongdong (this was all her idea, thanks Yujin!), one of the businest tourist destinations in Seoul, packed with retail outlets and street vendors. Our Silent Disco brought a group of well over a hundred young dance fiends right through the middle of it, much to the bewilderment and amusement of the people around us. You'd get lost in the music and the ferver and completely forget you are the only ones that can hear the music. When your headphones accidentally fall off the veil is lifted and you see exactly why everyone in KFC has their phones out recording you all, it's hilarious.

Check out this video to see for yourself what onlookers saw.

The police look on in complete bewilderment without a single clue.

For added comedy, some people tied balloons to their headphones.

Myeongdong is somewhat famous for these comically tall ice cream cones. Mango/vanilla happiness was a bargain at 2,000 won/$1.84.

God was it fun.

Korea has a huge drinking culture. A huge drinking culture results in a whole lot of drunk people. Drunk people do funny things, like fall asleep in weird places. It's a somewhat common sight. So much so that there is a website devoted to these wonderful people. The guy above is my favorite of all time. First of all, this was about 9:00 AM on a Tuesday and note the care he took in taking off his shoes before passing out. Since I live in one of the busiest nightlife districts in Korea, I have come across my share of street sleepers. Here are the bests.

Passed out standing up inside a 7-11.

To give you an idea of how close in proximity all of these sleepers are, here is a handy map.

The Korean phrase for "it's snowing" is "눈 와요," "noon wah-yo," literally translating as "snow coming." This past week, the snow has most definitely come and with the daily high temperatures well below freezing, it's here to stay for a while.

My girlfriend took this photo at Hanyang University the first day that the snow came down last week.

A typical street-side food vendor serving up warm food and refuge from the white stuff.

Much of my neighborhood has a nice white blanket now.

These two security guards in front of Sogang University were having little snow sweeping competitions in front of the nativity scene.

It might be time for me to invest in shoes meant for the snow.

In the summer, this cafe always seemed like a bad idea, but I guess they bank on those 4-6 months of freezing cold, "holy crap I need to get warm as soon as possible" weather in Seoul.

I'm not entirely sure I get umbrellas for the snow.

I headed to Bongeun Temple in Gangnam (yes, that Gangnam) at dusk to check out how snowy the placed looked. The juxtaposition is awesome.

I arrived just as the sunet was finishing setting, and all the way up until the sun disappeared a group of monks were under this pavillion ringing gongs, drumming and making some generally fantastical music.

Not sure what this dude's job was. His hut was deep into the temple complex on a snowy path that led to nowhere.

Even though before I moved to Seoul I lived in a ski resort, I feel this is the first time that I am getting the feeling that I live in a snowy place. I'm seeing a different, snowy version of the places I see all the time, similar to when spring came I saw a more leafy, green version of everything. It's neat, and I'm actually liking the snow...for now, I may soon grow to hate it. But for now, it's gorgeous.

But who cares right? They are beautiful, lit up installations.

The festival took place on the Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul, my favorite place in the city. It's a nice place to walk around after doing any of the other great things in the area and the stream itself is unique to Seoul.

Most of the lanterns were about traditional Korean culture. Here we have royal ceremonial band from the 14th century.

I took the stroll with my girlfriend, unfortunately it started raining a little bit later so we didn't get the best view of all the lanterns, but it was great nonetheless.

A representation of Korean goblins, Doggebi, popular in children's books.

I needed a little cultural explanation about this one from my girlfriend. During the Joseon Kindgom era of Korean history (~1400-1900), women who were currently nursing would wear this style of outfit to allow for easy access for their newborns.

A dipiction of traditional wrestling, Ssireum (kind of pronounced Sheerum). It's fairly simple, opponents grab each others belts and try to bring them down to the ground. Once, for a fun little activity at school, we had our kindergarten students do this form of wrestling, on a slightly padded floor for slightly improved safety.  It was kind of hilarious to see the look on these little kids faces when their teachers told them it was okay to push and fight one another. The girls were especially hesitant, most of those matches ended no one being taken to the ground.

A traditional wedding ceremony.

It was nice to walk along the stream in the cool weather before winter comes along and ruins all of that.

There were a few lantern setups from foreign countries. Here is the epic from Aomori in northern Japan, where they have a famous annual lantern float festival, the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri.

A very nice little walk through a little bit of Korean history.