Thursday, March 8, 2012

Reality Check


Last night I got a major wake up call.

After dinner, I was sitting in my room when the small house (and everything in it) began to shake.

Earthquake.

It only lasted a few moments, but it gave me a completely different view of this country.  I ran outside to meet the others - my heart pounding, sweaty palms, shaky hands.

Then I realized, if I was this shaken up after only a few moments of uncertainty, I honestly have no idea how people felt here after the earthquake.  They've shared that it was total chaos and that the earth shook for days afterwards (some 50+ aftershocks in the two weeks that followed), but I had no perspective on what they felt.  To experience it on the smallest of scales gave me a clearer understanding of the fear they faced and continue to conquer.

If I was that shaken up after it, I haven't a clue what it was like for these people to lose family and friends, see the dead stacked and laying on the side of the road, not being able to find others, losing their homes, losing their business and being hungry and thirsty for days because there was nothing to eat and no clean water to drink after the earthquake.

Last night was just a little shake, but the memory of it will serve as a reminder to me of all the things these brave people have overcome and that you never know when your last day on earth will be.


Read a short article on the earthquake at ABC News.

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