Ok, interesting. I just experienced my first earthquake today. Well, I have experienced earthquakes in Japan before. Except I usually sleep through them or they are too small for me to actually feel. Oh, I felt this one.
I was at my desk on the main floor of the school that I work at. I was simply fine-tuning my Adult English Lesson Power Point presentation for this evening when suddenly I heard a bit of a rumbling and I felt some vibrations. It was kind of funny, because the secretaries and the other staff around me had a similar reaction. We stopped typing on our computers and looked above our screens and stared at each other with a neutral look. Nobody (not even me) looked panicked, worried, confused, or anything. We just looked at each other with these emotionless stares. It’s almost like we were all thinking the same thing for a moment, like “What was that?” or “Did you feel/hear that?” or “I’m sorry, I must be VERY hungry.”
But it almost seemed like we all had a poker face on as if nothing had just happened. Perhaps we had these blank stares on our faces so we didn’t look crazy if other people didn’t experience what we just experienced. We don’t want anyone thinking we’re crazy by reacting to an earthquake, do we? Why would we do that?! Or perhaps we responded that way as if having no reaction at all would make the big, bad earthquake go away.
And then, before anyone could break the awkward, strange silence, the room rumbled again. This time it was longer and louder as if the earthquake was reacting to our neutral expressions. (I think it was trying to let us know that it was real or something, so stop with the poker faces and do something!! React, darn it!) So the second rumble was much more intense and longer in duration… even though it only lasted for about three to five seconds (it seemed longer than that, but in reality, it was a short amount of time).
Now I’ve never been in an earthquake (conscious, anyways) and I never knew what to expect. I’ve seen youtube videos of what the earthquakes in Japan looked like a few months ago. But I don’t think that really prepares you for what it’s like.
I need to stress before I go on that I am completely fine and so is everyone around me. In fact, what I just told you is just about it. There were the two rumblings, and that was it. (Spoiler alert!) Later we turned on the TV to obtain some information, and the TV program mentioned that there was an earthquake that had an intensity of “4” in Nagoya, which is about a 35 minute train ride away from where I’m living. So what I experienced was a very small, minor earthquake. But just as I was typing up my experience a couple of minutes ago, I had visions of my family members reading this blog and feeling really anxious. I don’t want to give anyone any worries (or heart attacks or ulcers), so, just to ease their minds (and maybe yours, too), everyone is fine. I’m fine. Nobody was hurt.
I just had another funny thought, though. I was on the main floor of the school. The school that I’m working at this week has three floors. I wonder what they experienced on the other floors above me! (You see, all the students are on the second and third floors of the building most of the time). But as I have already mentioned, nobody was hurt. So I’m sure what they experienced above me was similar to what I experienced but perhaps a little more intense. Anyway, let me continue with what I experienced.
The best way I could describe the earthquake to someone who has never experienced an earthquake before is to imagine if the building you are in suddenly had an upset stomach and you were in the stomach. The growling and vibrations are probably similar. (I’m not liking where this comparison is going, so let me simply describe the event!)
The first rumbling shook my chair for a brief second, as if someone accidently kicked my chair as they walked by. That’s also how brief it seemed. It lasted about one or two seconds.
The second rumbling was louder, and as I have already mentioned, it was a bit longer and it was much more intense. The second rumbling began with this low “boom” sound, that can best be described by the movie Jurassic Park. Do you remember the scene where the characters are sitting in the van and they look at the cup of water. In the distance, they can hear the T-rex’s step. And with each step, there is this initial, low boom sound that has an echoing rumbling sound that follows (as the water in the cup produces water rings). Now imagine that sound of the T-rex’s step and turn up the volume to surround sound. It almost sounded like there was a T-rex in the room beside us that suddenly took a giant step. What followed was a rumbling sound, but the rumbling echo sound doesn’t go away but continues for three seconds to five seconds. Also, the room starts to creak and crackle during the rumbling sound. That was what the earthquake sounded like. But let me describe what it felt like.
It suddenly felt like someone grabbed hold of my office chair (did I mention it had wheels?) and was shaking it around. I didn’t move around much in my chair because I hung onto my desk, but the room was definitely shaking. On the sound of the “boom,” it almost felt like I was on an amusement park ride that suddenly dropped about four or five inches (boom) and during the rumbling sound I was being jolted around in my chair (rumble). Like I keep stressing, I think this only lasted for about three to five seconds. But I need to stress the second rumbling felt longer than what it actually was. The second rumbling even got more of a reaction from the people around me, who were now gasping and hanging like me.
Once the rumbling stopped, it never returned. One Vice Principal bolted into the hallway and started giving instructions to the people who were in the hall. The other Vice Principal turned on a TV in the office (I never noticed it before…now I know why it’s there…) and gave a brief announcement. One of the secretaries bolted to the kitchen area and turned off the gas connections while the other closed her laptop and moved her books further down her desk.
Six months ago, I watched some youtube videos of the more serious earthquakes in Japan. I was surprised at how calm everyone seemed. No one in the videos shouted or screamed or panicked. They just usually protected themselves as best as they could, and afterwards they started to clean up the mess around them. Today, the people around me remained fairly calm, but I could still tell they were a bit anxious. When the second rumbling started, the secretarys’ eyes went wide and it looked like they were about to duck under their desk. (I have to admit, that was my instinct as well. If the rumbling continued or increased in intensity, I already had a plan to duck under my desk to protect my head). In fact, as the second rumbling started, I calmly closed my laptop and hung onto my desk as my chair shook around. I was surprised at how calm I even reacted to the whole experience! So even though everyone remained fairly calm as they reacted (the Vice Principal in the hallway, the secretary going to the kitchen, the other Vice Principal on the intercom) I could tell there was tension in the air and a sense of urgency. That feeling resided when the TV program we were turned to instantly mentioned that there was an earthquake in the area with a strength of 4. The Vice Principal gave one more announcement over the intercom, and everyone went back to normal. I asked if the earthquake was finished (and I had assumed it had because suddenly everyone seemed calmer after watching the TV) and they said that it might be over. Maybe. Maybe?! My first thought was, “How were they still be acting so calm and going back to work knowing this might happen again?! “ But just as I had this thought, I realized there was nothing else to do but go back to work. This was a minor earthquake. It might rumble again, it might not. But nobody was hurt and it was very small. So I opened my laptop and continued working on my presentation for tonight.
Nothing else happened. Life continued on as usual. And soon, I will go to my Adult English class to teach. What an interesting experience I had today!
I don’t think a person can really grasp what it’s like being in an earthquake until you are actually IN an earthquake. I have seen many action and disaster movies (thus the Jurassic Park reference) and I thought I knew what it would be like to be in an earthquake. HA! And to think, what I experienced was quite minor! At least I experienced my first earthquake with other people around me and I could follow their lead.
Did I mention that I am returning home for the holidays in a week? And NOW I’m experiencing my first earthquake?! It’s experiences like these that make you appreciate the important things in life. Just ten more days until I get to visit the important things in my life: my family and friends back in Canada.
And for that, I am grateful.
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