Friday, March 12, 2010

Good Story




So it is after midnight here, and I have to get up early, but right now is just one of those times that I need to get to tell the story of my day before I forget all the good details.I woke up this morning a little nervous to make my first solo trip into Valparaiso from Vina del Mar. I got in the shower and turned on the water only to find that the water pressure was nearly nonexistent and the temperature much less than pleasant for bathing. This didn't surprise me that much because yesterday they cut the water off in my neighborhood to repair some breaks in the pipes from earthquake damage, so I didn't think much of the lukewarm trickle. Suddenly, however, the water turned completely cold, and I had to finish showering in a slow frigid stream of water. "It's like the pool, Erin, you can be in water this temperature," I kept telling myself. After the longest coldest shower of my life, I finished and quickly got ready and ate a big breakfast of carbs, carbs and ohh some more carbs. I was a little mad at myself for finishing the cereal and yogurt an apple, and my two slices of toast with jam, but later it proved to be very lucky!
I made it to the school on time, despite the horrible traffic due to the inauguration of President Sebastian Pinera that happened at the Congress today a couple blocks inland from the buiding I was in. I was supposed to get my student visa registered, but of course that didn't happen because I continue to be labeled a "special case" since I have no physical student visa, only the papers that came with it. Then, as I was waiting for the next item on the orientation agenda, my oral Spanish interview, I began to feel the ground shake and everything swayed a little. This is kind of normal, so right at first I didn't think much of it. Then it lasted. And lasted. I felt a pretty strong shake for about 15 seconds, which is really long for an aftershock. Lots of time they last that long, but you really only feel strong movement for about 7 seconds. Also I was on the first floor, which should be the least shaky so I knew the building felt like it was swaying much more for those on the floors above me. Anyways, the other students and I felt like something was up, but really how were we to know? After a few minutes I started to see people run and then they ushered us all upstairs to the 3rd floor. We waited there a few minutes and they they said to go up to the 4th floor. Finally our orientation group leaders explained that there was a tsunami warning, an official one, which meant that since we were in a building so close to the coast we had to wait on the 4th floor for an hour or so. oy vey!!! After an hour they told us they wanted everyone to email their families back in their home country, so at this point I knew something kind of significant must have happened. We all went down a floor and used the computers and looked online to see what had happened. We quickly found out that there was an earthquake in Rencagua of 7.2, about 90 km south of Valparaiso. Apparently it happened in the midst of the changing of presidents, while Pinera was speaking. People ran like crazy in the streets, and everyone ran for the hills because of the tsunami warning. I feel a little goofy saying run for the hills! but in reality, that is the advice we are given here as part of an earthquake response. Sometimes I can't believe I'm here, in Chile, hanging out with earthquakes and aftershocks!
After all that craziness they said we still had to take our oral Spanish exams. So we waited. And waited. After a while they said we would take the oral tests tomorrow instead. At that point, it was about 2:30 and everyone was starving, so I went with a group of other students to find lunch. Upon exiting the building, realized everything was closed. We wondered aloud why there were sooo many people just lining the streets and suddenly realized that all of them were waiting for a bus to Vina del Mar, the ones that all of us wanted to take. So we waited. And waited. Every bus that passed by was packed like sardines with people hanging out the doors sometimes. Finally we found one that could hold us and headed north along the coast for Vina. That bus ride is something I will never forget. I prayed and I closed my eyes at some points and yeah I was for real scared as I stood gripping the bars for dear life. Our bus driver took the curves as though he was some two year old playing with cars on a track, whipping it around corners just for fun. Somehow the bus stayed upright, and we exited the bus in Renaca, a little north of Vina, in search of a good empanadas place one student loves.

Of course once we arrived at the restaurant, it was closed. We headed uphill to find someplace open and stumbled upon a delicious looking empanadas joint with its gate closed. We convinced the owner to let us come in and eat, and I ate my first empanada in South America, queso with mushrooms and spinach! Excelente!! After that one of the students shared that his aunt lived in a house up the hill and we could all come hang out at his place. So we hiked. And hiked, up lots of stairs and steep hills, finally arriving at a lovely house that as I exclaimed, looked just like America. It had a little pool in the backyard and a basement to hang out in and a beautiful view of the coast from balconies. At about 9:30 after a much needed cerveza and recovery period, we headed for the bus stop, only to find that the buses weren't running that far up in the hills because of the craziness today, so we'd need to walk down to the beach. Awesome.

After another lengthy walk, a substantial wait at the bus stop, a 15 minute ride, and another walk to my house, I finally arrived home at about 11:15, absolutely exhausted. Then of course I had to tell my host family, first my mom and brother, then one sister, and then another sister, all about my day, in Spanish. Good grief I am tired, but safe :)

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