Yesterday there was a major earthquake just south of where I live in China. I am going to give my personal account of what I experienced without attempting to compete with the news reports that are being updated hourly.
On Monday afternoons I tutor a Korean friend because he wants to improve his English. Usually we meet at 3:00, but yesterday he had an appointment so we met at 2:30. We study in a classroom on the second floor of Zhuan Jia Lou, the building where I live.
We were studying negative prefixes for adjectives. I would read the words and he would repeat them. As I was reading "impatient... dishonest... incorrect..." I began to feel extremely dizzy. I ignored it.
Then my friend, instead of repeating the words, gave me a funny look. I scanned the room and realized the whole building was moving. That's when I knew it was an earthquake.
At this point, the vibrations were strongest. The desks we were sitting at undulated as if they were ocean waves. We could feel the building sway.
We had to decide whether to immediately take cover or to go outside. The vibrations became calmer and we quickly walked outside. Some other students and all of the workers at Zhuan Jia Lou were outside as well.
After a few minutes we went back inside because there was nothing we could do. My friend and I continued our lesson: "unusual... abnormal... unforgettable."
1 comment:
Glad to hear you're okay! The first I heard about the earthquake was a text I got from Alice, asking if you were still in China because she was worried about you! We're all glad to know you're safe! See you in the fall!!
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