Aneya: The Quake Heard Around the World

The sky, hours after the quake, was dark, filled with smoke, and quite foreboding.
Thank god the beautiful church wasn't ruined! Our street was pretty much intact.

So. I don't even know where to begin this post. Yesterday was completely surreal, intense, sad, moving, heartbreaking, stressful, exhausting. It was everything rolled into one. Although I've experienced a few earthquakes in L.A. those were nothing compared to this.

So here's what happened: Lauren and I had been out with some friends, and we came home late, at around 2:30 am. Of course we immediately crashed, only to be woken up an hour or so later by the shaking of our building. My bed was rocking, the room was spinning, I thought maybe I was seeing things. It was the most violent quake I've ever experienced, and then--it was gone. So I just went back to sleep, thinking nothing of it. During the next few hours I experienced a few after shocks, one so strong that it ripped my bed off the wall (I realized this later, when I noticed the holes where the screws had been).

Once Lauren and I were up, she informed me that we had no electricity and that the quake had been a major one. Everything in my bathroom had been knocked down and our fridge had moved about foot.

We immediately started calling our families on my American cell phone (thank god it worked!) I called the house phone in France, and my 14 year old brother, Mikael, picked up. He was actually the one to inform me that there'd been a major earthquake, and that the news had gone international. I was shocked. My mom, who I really wanted to talk to, wasn't home. I did manage to get ahold of my dad, who was sleepy and totally out of it (it was 5 am in Vegas) but still relieved to hear from me. Lauren talked to her mother, who was frantic and had called the US Embassy to report us as missing people! Lauren calmly explained that we were fine, and all was well.

Our electricity came back about half an hour later, and we were so happy to be connected to the world again. Reading the headlines online was surreal. Had this really happened? And so close to us? I knew the names of the towns that had been hit, had visited the South, I felt like I knew the Chilean people by now, it was all so heartbreaking to see.

Lauren immediately wanted to leave the apartment, her journalistic background kicking in. She wanted to get out on the streets, report, give feedback, do something. I said I'd go with her, take pictures, ask questions. That's when we realized we were locked in. We initially thought the apartment had locked us in for security reasons, then we realized the quake had probably jammed the door shut. So, we were trapped, basically. We sat, going stir crazy for a good 4 or 5 hours before our landlady came by with her dad.

They worked on that door for a good half an hour, banging so loudly our ears were ringing, until they popped it open. Finally, we were free! They had to knock the lock out of the door, bust open the side of it. We didn't care, as long as we could close it securely. Lauren and I headed outside, so eager to finally be free. The streets of Santiago were silent, eery, but there wasn't much damage to report. Our area of town had, thankfully, come out relatively unscathed.

To our dismay absolutely everything was shut down. We really needed food, and no supermarkets were open. We found a little corner place and bought some snacks, the place was crowded, and everyone was on edge. The energy outside was really weird, sad, scary. I was definitely feeling uneasy, and was happy to walk up 10 flights of stairs, just so I could be home again.

Oh and by now I'd gotten ahold of my mom, who had been freaking out (being in France, she heard the news before anyone else-- even me!) and was relieved, but still worried about me. I skyped her in Marseille, my brother in Paris, and my dad and his people in Las Vegas throughout the day, keeping everyone constantly updated. Skype, Facebook, my cell phone, blogs, the internet. Without these things, I don't know what we would have done. It's amazing the way modern technology can really bring people together in times of need. I'm so grateful I was able to talk to my family, even though they're all so far away.

Watching TV was hard, seeing anyone suffer is difficult, let alone your neighbors. Daniela, her family, Valeria, Sebastian, all our friends in Chile were fine, and we were so grateful for that.

By now Lauren and I were both exhausted. After shocks were felt throughout the day, and each time I held my breath, waiting for the worst. I was shaking at one point, and I couldn't tell if the room was moving, or I was. In bed, I thought of the building collapsing in on me, and what would happen if it broke in two. Bad things to think about before going to sleep.

I had a mini emotional breakdown the minute my head touched the pillow, actually. So much emotion and tension had been building up inside me all day, it obviously needed to be released. The outpouring of love and support has been so touching, especially considering we were hardly affected by the quake, at least compared to some people.

Neither Lauren nor I could sleep a wink last night, we were so on edge. Then I was woken up at 8:30 by another after shock, quite a strong one, this morning. We're going to try and get food if we can, and see what's happening out there.

Thanks again everyone for the love and support, it means a lot to us! We promise to keep you all informed of what's to come.

-- Aneya