Earthquake

Here in Lanzhou we felt the earthquake yesterday afternoon, as well as several aftershocks later in the evening. Where I live, towards the north of China, the quake was fairly small and resulted in nothing more than scared folks and a few broken cups. We do have many Peace Corps volunteers in Sichuan and Chongqing, though, living in areas much closer to the epicenter. Luckily, as of 2am last night they have all been accounted for and are safe. Many of the students at my school did not sleep last night because they were afraid of the aftershocks (I found this out in my 8am literature class this morning when I was confronted with 35 drooping heads). In more southern areas of my province, as well as in Sichuan province, many students and townsfolk camped out all night, frightened or not allowed to go back into their dormitories or homes.

As is being reported, the death toll in western Sichuan has continued to rise (almost 10,000 already) and I believe it will continue to do so for a while yet... most of the deaths came from collapsed buildings, many of which are still being excavated. The most mind-numbing tragedy of the moment is that at least 1 large school collapsed completely and they don't think any more students can possibly be alive inside. Some of our students and friends have have had trouble getting in touch with friends and family. So far as I can tell the government has acted quickly and with some transparency in getting rescue and aid teams to the worst-hit areas, but with 80% of buildings collapsed in some towns near the epicenter, and thousands of people still buried alive, it's an enormous task.

"No more Che, I'm on Sexican time!"

The above is only one of the gazillion startling slogans which appear on our students' apparel from time to time. A few other choice ones reference a "chunkily penis," the wearer's status as a virgin (or not), the "MOB (it ain't nothing to fuck with)", and so many others that make you stop and stare. I call them startling most especially because the clothing is invariably worn by our sweetest and most shy students. Keeps class fun. The English department gave me a tracksuit with rhinestones on it so that I could match the rest of the department on Sports Day. It doesn't have anything inappropriate written on it, but it is bedazzled. That's fun too :)

Last weekend the China 12s all went down to Chengdu for our COS conference (COS = close of service). We received lots of good info about paperwork, final obligations, $, saying our goodbyes, etc., and ate ridiculous amounts of great western food. It was a really low-key weekend, and fun, though bitter-sweet with many goodbyes at the end. Sweating through a long train-ride home was made much easier by a big hunk of lusciously rich chocolate birthday cake -- thanks, Ben!

My sister finishes her first year of college on Tuesday and has not only excelled but generally kicked butt all around. So proud of you, kiddo.

A few holiday days of laying low in Lanzhou have been lovely, but it's time for grading and I have to get to work. Miss you guys at home. Still savoring the little things at home here in China too.