and the earth moves

under my feet - aftermath of Chile's 8.8 earthquake

to all my family and friends.

On Friday afternoon, my boyfriend invited me to a little barbecue with his brother and some friends. I went, chatted, had a couple drinks. It was a normal night and I felt so proud to be practicing my Spanish with a group of people - some of whom I didn't even know. We went back to Alvaro's apartment and spent some time with another couple from Chile- just laughing, drinking, sharing stories. We were aiming for a nice quiet night in with friends.

At 3:34 am, the 4th floor apartment Alvaro lives in, started shaking. I had felt small tremors here in Chile before but this was different...I knew right away it was different. Things started shaking in a different way than I had felt before. I was scared immediately. Alvaro's friends ran downstairs and out of the building while he held me in the doorway of his apartment. All I remember from that moment was hearing "esta bien esta bien, te amo mi amor" (it's ok it's ok I love you my love) a thousand times. I heard people screaming, glasses shattering and furniture shaking. It's hard to describe all of the sounds you hear in an earthquake because at one point it just becomes one loud crashing song.

When the violent shaking stopped, we ran downstairs and saw a window on the first floor shattered. Everyone was outside wrapped in blankets and just staring blankly at each other. The only thing people could really say was "are you ok?" to each other. People were trying to call their friends and family in other parts of the country but nobody could make calls.

I don't remember when I started crying or even when I stopped but I know I was in shock. And I was scared the worst hadn't happened yet. When you've lived your life on stable ground, it's incredibly scary to live it on ground that moves. It's almost impossible to explain how I felt.

this is what the earthquake looked like from a security camera in Santiago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGYBPz87eU

a bridge in Santiago collapses and cars fell to the highway below.

While we were outside Alvaro's apartment, I saw a woman holding a baby. She was standing outside with the rest of her neighbours and I remember thinking how terrible it would have been to be a parent of young children in a situation like that...being so scared about your own safety and yet, putting someone else before you. It's amazing what we do for each other in times of need. Everyone comes together and suddenly you have a family the size of the entire city.

Alvaro and I walked up the street to his grandmother's house to see if she was OK. The stairs inside her house were dusted with small debris from the walls but she was fine. Seeing even just small damage made me nervous and I started to cry again. Alvaro's grandmother wrapped a blanket around me and they just tried their best to comfort me. After we made sure his family members were ok, (and after they made sure I was ok...) we went back into his apartment. We found a broken wine glass on the floor and some of the furniture had been moved from the earthquake but everything was ok. We managed to calm down and sleep for a couple hours.

My dad called me at around 11:30am asking if I was alright. He asked "Where is Concepcion? Is it close to Santiago?" I let him know that I was OK and everything is alright in Santiago. Concepcion is a small city near the coast about 5 hours away from Santiago. At that time, we had no idea how bad the earthquake was and where it had hit. All I could tell my dad was that I was OK and I knew that my friends were alright too.

a building in Concepcion...split in half

After watching some news in Alvaro's apartment, we decided that the safest place for us to be for the rest of the weekend was in his nephew's house. We arrived at Lucho's house when they were cleaning up some debris that had fallen from the walls. After that moment, I was able to relax and feel safe with the company around me. It might sound strange but aside from the Earthquake...it was one of the best weekends here in Chile. The reason? It was so comforting to be around people that cared about me so much and would do anything to make me feel safe. I was able to tell my family and friends back home that I was ok and I felt so lucky to be able to say that. After watching the news on Saturday and Sunday, I knew that so many people here didn't have that same luck. Many people further south in Chile are without electricity, water, gas...homes...families. Many people in other areas of the country have nothing to eat and have been raiding supermarkets and stores desperate to feed their families.

Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile, looking at the damage across the country.

It's amazing how we look at things differently when something impacts our lives such as this. I was happy to eat, sleep and be loved by my friends and family - in Chile and around the world. I felt grateful to be here and to know that things are going to be ok. That Saturday night, I asked Alvaro what he was thinking during the earthquake...he responded after a moment..."how I could save your life".

Now, a couple days after the earthquake - I'm fine, my friends are good and everything seems normal...but with a little cloud of sadness and shock. We are all hoping the best for everyone in Chile and hopefully we will have a motionless March...and year.

My thoughts and love are constantly being sent to the families, foreigners and all of those in Chile that were affected by the earthquake - in little ways or big.