I promise soon I’ll start blogging about my work and my garden again, and about spring, about Thomas’ visa, about books I read and about cakes. But today, another earthquake post.
Firstly, although I personally didn’t experience any physical damage, living here right now isn’t all that much fun. Everything is closed, everyone is tired. And still those aftershocks. As everyone agrees: earthquakes are so bloody frightening because you cannot predict them. So you’re on the loo and the world starts shaking again. You just worked for a couple of hours and sort of forgot we live in a state of emergency, and shudder another quake. You can NEVER relax.
The good thing of being here is that everyone feels the same, and none of us tire of talking about it. We make fun about you people who are not here and who ask “Wow! I heard you had another big quake last morning! How are you?!” and we say “WHICH one of the HUNDRERDS of quakes?!”. It is not arrogant, but it is really something you cannot describe. Some of my colleagues were on fieldwork in New Caledonia when we had the big one, and they feel very left out, because they felt the aftershocks, but they cannot grasp how we all were struck by panic in the middle of the night and will probably remain a bit more nervous than before for the rest of our lives. As I said, a big truck drives through the street and I am in alarm phase red. At work today a “cool” colleague was chatting to me when she out of nowhere squeaked “OHMYGOD did you feel that???!!!” .
Anyway, today was relatively quiet although I sure felt 10 more shocks than they reported (the “ghost-shocks”). The sad thing today was that they started demolishing the pub in the town where I work, which was over a 100 years old and like world-famous over here. I’d never been there and to be honest I don’t think it is such a big loss, but imagine this little town, a very strong community feeling, a university in the middle of nowhere, and around 5 companies like the one where I work, all these people went to the pub with visitors, on Friday night, for bingo, for a chat, or because your grandpa went there when he was a young man. When the bus drove past in the morning they were just starting to get the roof off and many villagers were looking at it, weeping some of them I am sure. The funny side of the story is that apparently they will rebuild the pub, and one of the churches that got damaged, side by side. Think of all the stupid jokes you can make about that!
We had our Waiata singing today instead of Wednesday, and we proceeded to try some harmonies which wasn’t bad at all. Somehow we always manage to sing appropriate songs: Rū ana te whenua whatiwhati. Hei! (The ground shakes and quivers, Hei!) Can’t help myself now and will treat you to another video of Maori song, this time with half naked NZ soldiers. I know, everybody his or her weakness ok? And I need the distraction.
Going home 3 busses didn’t show up and so 4 of us squeezed in with someone who was driving to town. That was actually nice, but in Christchurch I got on another bus and it was going to take a massive detour so she let me off again, it wasn’t really far to walk home anyway, and it turned out they were demolishing a building on the big road that runs very close to my house so the whole road was closed off. I walked past this building this weekend. I suppose it got much more damage in the many aftershocks and was now really dangerous. But it made me scared you know, how many other buildings that are not even cordoned off will crumble soon?! And sad: it will leave another scar on the street. So many of the little nice shops on this street are damaged, I am afraid it will be barren for years and will probably never get back its cozy look. They will just build more mega malls like the one already there.
I needed coffee, and I mean I really NEED my coffee more than ever now, so I ventured into the mall to the supermarket. I noticed some interior damage and leakages inside the mall. Sweet spaghettimonster, I almost ran through the supermarket in order to get out as soon as possible. The mall is build of concrete and steel and glass and there is nowhere to hide. I got incredibly claustrophobic.
Finally at home I rang my yoga teacher because I was pretty sure we would not have yoga, the library (where we have yoga) still closed, but I wanted to let her know I was ok. Imagine! We were on the phone, indeed yoga was cancelled and we were just chatting about how things were when QUIVER WOBBLE TREMBLE “IIIIIIEEEEEHH!!!! ….. oh, ok, wow, well, that was another one. Deep breath!” So for 1 quake I had my personal yoga advisor on the phone, not a bad experience actually.
Firstly, although I personally didn’t experience any physical damage, living here right now isn’t all that much fun. Everything is closed, everyone is tired. And still those aftershocks. As everyone agrees: earthquakes are so bloody frightening because you cannot predict them. So you’re on the loo and the world starts shaking again. You just worked for a couple of hours and sort of forgot we live in a state of emergency, and shudder another quake. You can NEVER relax.
The good thing of being here is that everyone feels the same, and none of us tire of talking about it. We make fun about you people who are not here and who ask “Wow! I heard you had another big quake last morning! How are you?!” and we say “WHICH one of the HUNDRERDS of quakes?!”. It is not arrogant, but it is really something you cannot describe. Some of my colleagues were on fieldwork in New Caledonia when we had the big one, and they feel very left out, because they felt the aftershocks, but they cannot grasp how we all were struck by panic in the middle of the night and will probably remain a bit more nervous than before for the rest of our lives. As I said, a big truck drives through the street and I am in alarm phase red. At work today a “cool” colleague was chatting to me when she out of nowhere squeaked “OHMYGOD did you feel that???!!!” .
Anyway, today was relatively quiet although I sure felt 10 more shocks than they reported (the “ghost-shocks”). The sad thing today was that they started demolishing the pub in the town where I work, which was over a 100 years old and like world-famous over here. I’d never been there and to be honest I don’t think it is such a big loss, but imagine this little town, a very strong community feeling, a university in the middle of nowhere, and around 5 companies like the one where I work, all these people went to the pub with visitors, on Friday night, for bingo, for a chat, or because your grandpa went there when he was a young man. When the bus drove past in the morning they were just starting to get the roof off and many villagers were looking at it, weeping some of them I am sure. The funny side of the story is that apparently they will rebuild the pub, and one of the churches that got damaged, side by side. Think of all the stupid jokes you can make about that!
We had our Waiata singing today instead of Wednesday, and we proceeded to try some harmonies which wasn’t bad at all. Somehow we always manage to sing appropriate songs: Rū ana te whenua whatiwhati. Hei! (The ground shakes and quivers, Hei!) Can’t help myself now and will treat you to another video of Maori song, this time with half naked NZ soldiers. I know, everybody his or her weakness ok? And I need the distraction.
Going home 3 busses didn’t show up and so 4 of us squeezed in with someone who was driving to town. That was actually nice, but in Christchurch I got on another bus and it was going to take a massive detour so she let me off again, it wasn’t really far to walk home anyway, and it turned out they were demolishing a building on the big road that runs very close to my house so the whole road was closed off. I walked past this building this weekend. I suppose it got much more damage in the many aftershocks and was now really dangerous. But it made me scared you know, how many other buildings that are not even cordoned off will crumble soon?! And sad: it will leave another scar on the street. So many of the little nice shops on this street are damaged, I am afraid it will be barren for years and will probably never get back its cozy look. They will just build more mega malls like the one already there.
I needed coffee, and I mean I really NEED my coffee more than ever now, so I ventured into the mall to the supermarket. I noticed some interior damage and leakages inside the mall. Sweet spaghettimonster, I almost ran through the supermarket in order to get out as soon as possible. The mall is build of concrete and steel and glass and there is nowhere to hide. I got incredibly claustrophobic.
Finally at home I rang my yoga teacher because I was pretty sure we would not have yoga, the library (where we have yoga) still closed, but I wanted to let her know I was ok. Imagine! We were on the phone, indeed yoga was cancelled and we were just chatting about how things were when QUIVER WOBBLE TREMBLE “IIIIIIEEEEEHH!!!! ….. oh, ok, wow, well, that was another one. Deep breath!” So for 1 quake I had my personal yoga advisor on the phone, not a bad experience actually.
