Earthquake memorial: On Monday afternoon, just as our afternoon classes would have begun, the college community gathered around the flagpole in the central garden to observe three minutes of remembrance for the earthquake victims. The flag flew at half staff, and the air raid siren atop the administration building blared for the full three minutes.
















Minutes later in the classroom, students were in a somber mood. A few lost their homes in the disaster; as far as I know, none of my students lost a family member.

It had been a long week since May 12th, when we had all gazed in wonder as the pendant light fixtures in our classroom swung from side to side in perfect unison. I remember thinking at the time that it must be the building that was actually moving, not the fixtures. I looked with mild alarm at the flimsy-looking chains that support the fixtures. But earth tremors are common in Gansu, so I didn't feel fear or panic. I turned and wrote on the chalkboard, "EARTHQUAKE?" The movement stilled, resumed, then stilled again. We went on with the day's instruction; I grumbled about commotion in the hallway outside, a common disruption, but didn't associate it with the earthquake.



Meanwhile, a disaster of unfathomable proportions was unfolding just a few hundred miles away.

My friends, Amity volunteers nearby, were about to become homeless, as this email of May 14 recounts:
"We were inside our apartment when it happened, and it started moving. We had no thoughts of an earthquake as we have never heard about them before, but I just realized that we needed to get out. We had both thought that since we both know our new building is probably not a good quality building, that we just thought it was collapsing on its own. We ran out as the building shook and parts collapsed all around us. It was terrifying. It felt like we could barely make it down the stairs as they shook back and forth so badly and pieces of the cement were falling around us. But, we made it out, as did all of our students and colleagues, although some were injured in the process. We are grateful and thanking God that we were not closer to the epicenter, because we don't think that our building would have held then. And of course, most important is that we are worried about the people closer to the epicenter as we have been hearing reports now finally. We know that at least 30 people have died in nearby, but reports are unclear.

Apparently we are the only college in Gansu hard hit by the earthquake. The entire college was moved outside, and we were not allowed to go inside any buildings as more earthquakes were expected. Later in the evening we were allowed to go quickly into our buildings to get some things that we needed to spend the night outside. We then spent the night outside on the football field with all of the 4000 students, teachers, and everyone else at the college. And at a Chinese college, we also have old people and small children, since families live together more here. We felt a bigger aftershock again at 4 am.

So now it looks like a refugee situation. Everyone slept outside with a few blankets that covered us, but luckily it didn't rain, although it was very cold, especially for some students, since
many of them were too terrified to go back inside their dorms for supplies or blankets. Some students were keeping their spirits up, but others were shocked, or crying. We were walking around, trying to chat with them. The school quartered off an area for the boys and girls to use a bathroom, but this was quickly deteriorating, shall we say... we were getting quite worried about the sanitation situation as all they did was hang a tarp and tell the girls to go behind it, thousands of people, just on the ground. The school was serving 2 meals a day of simple food, like noodles, outside.

Later last night the leaders decided to open up one building to let people use a bathroom on the first floor. We have water but no electricity or telephones, so at least the toiilets can be flushed, which helps. There were more big tremors last night again, and that luckily it hasn't started raining yet, although rain is predicted. And in this region, when it rains, it pours!"

By the time you read this, my friends will be back home in the U.S., since their college will not be able to re-open this term.

For me, this week has had the flavor of the days following September 11, 2001. The weather has been beautiful, and there is the uncanny juxtaposition of normal daily life with the grim news that floods every outlet. Public schools closed at noon yesterday as a precaution, since big aftershocks are forecast, and will remain closed for three days. (The kids will doubtless have school on Saturday and Sunday and the following Saturday as well. No "snow days" in China!) Last night, children and teens were having such fun outside my windows until midnight that I was kept awake after my bedtime.

Today I met a former student in the central city square and we drank iced tea and shared reflections on the disaster. On the way home I stopped in a basement-level supermarket to pick up some groceries. I didn't descend without a little trepidation. The sky had darkened and a dust storm -- the norm at this time of year -- was brewing. It seemed ominous, although I know better than to associate the weather and the earthquake. I noted the "stop" button at the base of the "down" escalator and reassured myself that we could run up in an emergency. In the market, I noticed that the aisle usually devoted to the week's specials was filled with quantities of bottled water. The managers must have emptied the warehouse.