I still find it hard to believe that mother nature sent us another big earthquake (6.0) on the exact one year anniversary of last year's huge quake (7.6)...and almost at exactly the same time. Last year was at about 8:30am and this year's was at about 6:30am. Coincidence? Whatever you want to call it, it was enough to have one of my kids ask if we could be away on Sept. 5th next year for fear of what it might be next time.
Last year's quake was a strong, long lasting (3 minutes!) quake that happened just after the kids arrived at school. 3 of our kids were starting their day and our oldest was at home with Kurt and I working on a proposal for the internships he would be doing that year as part of an elective course he was taking called LEEP...which stands for Lifelong Experiential Education Program.
As the earth began to shake and the noise from the rattling windows and doors got louder, the 3 of use stood up and pondered what we should do, but when things began to start flying off the shelves and glass started to break, we suddenly knew that it was time to run outside, which we did...but, the quaking kept going for at least another two minutes.
When we darted down to pick up the kids at the lower campus, there was broken glass everywhere, but the kids, just pre-school thru 5th grade, were all well cared for and loved. The quake had happened during the morning meeting out in the outdoor palapa....far away from any glass....and had found all the teachers close enough to all the kids to give hugs and immediate instructions. Lots of excitement filled the air and each kid had a story to tell.
When we drove up to the upper campus (grades 6-12) we found the kids up the hill/mountain, as a tsunami warning had been issued by then. Of course, this is more worrisome and fearful to most than the actual earthquake, so reports of this precaution sent a new found fear into our children when they thought it was all over. Lots of conversations ensued over what all these events meant and what our family plan of re-connection would be.
We then drove home to find dad with our property management team cleaning up all the broken bottles and items that had flown off the shelves, mostly in the kitchen. The neighbors were all out front and we met many of them for the first time as we had just moved in 2 weeks prior. It was amazing to see a community bond and connect thru such an event. We, at that moment, knew that our time in Costa Rica would be just fine. Not to mention the minimal damage sustained by all the buildings, if any. Kurt and I were living in San Francisco during the Loma Prieta quake of 1989 which registered a close (and lower!) 6.9 which leveled many buildings, including our own, killed 63 people, flattened a second of the Bay Bridge, and stopped the World Series. So, to see Costa Rica roll with the flow so easily, it made us all feel much better.
But, this year, the quake was loud and strong enough to wake us all up and send us again flying out the door in our PJ's. Well, except for the two teenagers, who woke up and rolled over despite our jumping up and down about the excitement of being woken up that way. No broken glass or power outages this time. And many of the kids in the neighborhood were all asking if school would be cancelled again...but, no. We did have a second really good aftershock a few minutes later and then one again that night....but, they all just seemed fun and not so scary. Dare I say that after so many quakes this year, that we are actually getting used to them?!
But, what this quake did do was remind us again that mother nature is supreme, that the Ring of Fire is real, and that community is everything.
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