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Community Corner

Little Silver Family Moves To Japan, Gets More Adventure Than They Bargained For

The Thygeson family moved to Japan only to experience the devastation of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The Thygeson family of Little Silver knew they were in for an adventure when husband Bill was transferred to Japan with his job.  They would not know how big that adventure would turn out to be. 

Last August, Bill and Corinne packed up their three children and moved just outside Tokyo.  The kids, Grace, 10, Lilly, 8, and Will, 6, attended a local American school in their new expatriate community.  They embraced the changes, such as living in an apartment building with six other expatriate families and the vast cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan.

Then on Friday March 11, during parent teacher conferences, the earth shook for an astonishing 2.5 minutes. 

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“It was scary but the school is well prepared and the children take part in regular earthquake drills. They even have helmets at the school,” said Corinne. 

Corinne was in one classroom with her daughter Grace while husband Bill was with Lilly in her classroom.  The family was mostly together and unharmed, but 6 year old Will was with family friends at a playground some miles away.  Thankfully, a quick call on the cell phone assured them that Will and their friends were also unhurt.

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Once the shaking stopped, the Thygeson family and the entire school was evacuated to the playing fields where they remained for two hours.  It then took another 3.5 hours to get home without trains and the city in turmoil.  For young Will, the journey was much longer without public transportation available.

Once back home in their apartment, the family kept the television off so as not to distress the children with the images of such wide spread destruction but poured over the internet to make sure they has as much information as possible.  “It was a really strange feeling, lying in bed that night trying to sleep while the aftershocks rumbled on and on” remembers Corinne.

“Once they announced that the children’s school would be closed for at least 2 weeks I knew I wanted to get the kids back to New Jersey and away from so much devastation and radiation,” says Corinne. But first, they had to get the family’s passports back from the Chinese embassy where they were awaiting visas for a planned trip to China. 

After the Friday earthquake and tsunami, Corinne and the children were on their way to New Jersey by Tuesday, packing their belongings while the apartment still trembled with aftershocks.  Bill remained in Japan working for the property and casualty arm of AIG Insurance.  The family plans to return to Japan in September just prior to the start of school year.

During her time in Japan, Corinne became actively involved with Hands on Tokyo, a volunteer organization that matches volunteers with specific projects with in their community.  After the earthquake and her subsequent return to the U.S., Corinne is busy collecting household items such as toothbrushes and socks to be shipped to the Fukushima Prefecture, one of the hardest hit areas.

The boxes of items will be shipped to Japan where they will be distributed to those in need.  “The Disaster Relief team from Hands on Tokyo is now requesting donations of children's toothbrushes and toothpaste and new socks (men, women, youth and infant)," says Corinne.

"The has a bin for collection of these items for those wishing to help.  The cost of shipping items to Japan is expensive.  Thankfully a Junior League friend who works in the airline industry has generously agreed to share her 75 percent discount towards shipping. If you are interested in donating to shipping, the Junior League will accept checks and donations will be tax deductible.”

There is also an ‘opportunity’ to sponsor a box. If you are interested or know of a business that might be, please contact Corinne at thygeson@comcast.net so a pick up may be arranged through U.S. mail at a cost of approximately $75. 

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