I'm All Shook Up

Long time...no post. It's not for lack of material that is for sure. I think it's more that I have waited too long and don't know where to start. Having survived the 8.8er in Santiago I have had a lot to reflect on.

I guess let's start where I left off- tape rojo. I read all the comments left and thank you. Especially Cachando Chile who is probably right although I did explain to the consulate that I was a US citizen but next time will explain about the visitor visa. We made a day out of it though to go downtown Santiago to get the paper legalized. S's mom stopped by the office who sets these rules and told them that it was stupid to which they didn't agree but had no real response. We then proceeded to the other office to have the document legalized which went smoothly. The guy called us over to his desk when it was our turn and asked what we needed. We explained the document and what was required and he gave a confused look wondering why this was required (to which we laughed and said we were wondering the same thing). He had a whole safari of origami animals on his desk and let my son pick one out. So, for all the hassle and over $100 we spent to get this paper we got an origami elephant out of the deal and in the end they didn't ever ask for it when we left for the US. We then went to see the changing of the guards while the town dogs took a bath in the fountain and barked very loudly at the horses with armed guards riding on them that were trying their best to keep still. That was also amusing.

We had an awesome time in Chile and even got our family photos taken by the uber talented Kyle which turned out amazing as usual. We were winding down our final days in Chile and awoke 2 days prior to leaving to the 8.8 terremoto. I have never been so scared in my life nor had I imagined being so scared. This was the first earthquake I have experienced. After it happened I couldn't think of anything more frightening to have gone through. It's the total lack of control I felt for 2.5 minutes while the top 12th floor of the building I was in was swaying back and forth so much I was totally convinced and waiting for it to fall. It felt very evil to me- the sounds, the feeling, everything. I guess there are more frightening things to go through but most situations I can think of have an "out" or something that you can at least hope to control or that a sphere of influence exists. As it happened and I jolted out of bed still asleep and not aware of what was going on and I couldn't move. I yelled for S to get E (our son) as I couldn't move. He tackled E in bed and got him out while the TV fell on him. My first instinct was to run and then get the hell out of Chile as fast as I could. As soon as the quake was over I was eager to get off the 12th floor and go to the 1st. I actually wasn't sure what I was going to do if there was another quake as it seemed like no options were "safe". S's mom was staying a few blocks away and showed up at our building shortly after. As soon as I saw her I felt relieved. Relieved that she was ok and relieved as I really trust her and she knows what she is doing. I was glad to have her by our side :). Long story short she arranged to have us stay at her friend's house that day who lived in a house outside of the city where there were no tall buildings. It was so nice of her to find this for us and for her friend to let us stay. We had an asado, hung out by her pool, and took a shower and watched the news on TV. We then moved to S's dad's place that was on the top floor of only a 3 story building and away from the city. I had severe vertigo for a few days and had a very hard time going back to the 12th floor where I experienced the terremoto so I was very grateful to stay there. I was glad that we were "stuck" in Chile because I don't know how I would have felt about going back to Chile again had I gone home right away. I think I needed to experience more tremors/earthquakes and realize that it's a part of life there and not always so bad. That extra week I stayed I did figure out that 6.0 is my limit before I want to freak out. I also fell more in love with the family I have in Chile. S's mom and dad were completely awesome. His mom drove us all around just to get us to places where I/we would feel better and made sure we were ok. S's dad let us stay with him and offered me my daily 2:00 terremoto therapy of pisco sours and fed me into a Chilean food/pisco coma even without electricity- all kinds of good things were forced to thaw out for our consumption.

It still bothers me to feel the floor move like when someone is shaking their leg under the table where I am sitting at or I feel a slight movement. We were recently at a restaurant sitting at a chef's table where you could see the cook line and waiters picking up the food and a mexican worker was yelling not so nice things back and forth with a gringo waiter and the one woman was telling them "tranquilo, tranquilo" which sent chills up my spine. My son was standing in my room the other day and I was walking which made the doors of the armorie shake and he looked at me totally terrified asking if it was an earthquake. I don't think this feeling will ever totally go away but I do appreciate the reminder now and then of how fragile life is.