Monday, May 14, 2007

Earthquake in Chile

The first time that I felt a tremor was in Bolivia, early in the morning before class. It was slight, about 10 seconds or so, and not strong enough for any significant damage. All I heard was the “clink” of my glass of water against the glass plate under it and my door ever-so-slightly rattle in the door frame, with a small moving sensation in my chest.

The second and third time I felt a tremor were in Pocuro, also early in the morning. Again, nothing large, just enough to wake me slightly and for me to realize what was going on.

The fourth time I felt a tremor I was in the worst possible place – sitting in a dentist chair in Santiago, on the 12th floor of the building, while the dentist was cleaning my teeth. This tremor was a little stronger this time and due to our location it was definitely felt by all – so much so that my dentist stopped his work and went to the door frame, leaving me in the chair with the small hose continuing to suck the water out of my mouth. Real nice guy he was.

At this point, I considered myself no stranger to tremors. They were common, a part of Chile, and ojála (God willing), I would not experience anything stronger than a tremor throughout my two years.

God was not willing. All 7 of the Holy Cross Chile Associates were sleeping in the Pocuro house after a long weekend of packing in order to move to Santiago the next morning. Although it will be remembered as the last night that Holy Cross Chile Associates were in that house, it will also be remembered as the night I was awoken by a 5.2 earthquake at 6:30am in the morning.

It felt like a tremor at first. I felt my bed moving and a hanging picture bang up against the wall. As it became stronger and stronger, I wondered how long it would last, whether anyone else was aware of what was going on, and if not, whether I should wake them. I heard a few pots and pans shift in boxes and heard a loud crash outside (source still unknown). This was legitimate, this was real. I jumped out of my bed, still in my sleeping bag, ran (okay, hopped) to the doorframe and it stopped. Was it a tremor?

After my heart stopped racing, tears came streaming to my eyes. That was scary.

Little did I know, I was completely along in my fright. Natalie, Caitlin, and Emily all felt what I felt, but were not scared like I was in the slightest. The boys all slept through it.

We learned the next morning that there had been a large 6.2 earthquake the night before, 1,700 miles south of Santiago that caused severe damage and mudslides. What I felt happened around 6:30am (I distinctly remember looking at my clock after it happened) and we were roughly 150 miles north of Santiago. What I felt had to be late aftershock – wow, what an aftershock it was.

Four days later I found this article and thanks to the very last tiny paragraph, I now know that I was not going crazy!

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