MAY 20, 2008
Laundry is my life!! Seems like I spend a substantial chunk of time daily sorting, hanging, folding, putting away .... laundry! I know I've probably whined about this previously but with the small washing machine capacity (think less than half what you'd call a "normal" load) in the washer, and an ineffectual dryer (the ayi sets it on 3 hours to dry 5 or 6 rags she's run in the washing machine after she's finished cleaning ..... I know, I know, ... at least I HAVE an ayi to do that cleaning for me!). To be fair, the ayi will do laundry if I have a basketful when she's here on Wednesdays, but as I've had her doing some ironing lately, I'm trying to have the laundry done up so that she can take the time for the ironing instead. As much as I hate the seemingly endless laundry duty, I hate the ironing more. The choices I have to make!!
Of course, the laundry duty gets more laborious as the weather heats up (which it has done lately). Once it starts getting into the 80's and the humidity comes up, we're changing our clothes more often so ..... OK, on to more serious matters.
The aftermath of last week's earthquake has continued into this week with much news to report. But before I forget, I want to thank all of you that called or emailed Randy and me to express your concern for our safety and well being. One forgets how many people there are in our lives that care about us and pray for us daily until something like this happens. We were somewhat overwhelmed by the outpouring of expressions of concern we received from everyone! Thank you, thank you, and thank you! We are truly blessed to have your support!
I want to take a moment to say a special thank you to my father who upon realizing that I was just a little more than frightened by the whole experience, volunteered to get on the next plane to come to Shanghai and take care of me until we return to the states later in June for a vacation. I was so touched! I swallowed a lump in my throat to say that in spite of his best intentions, if the universe deigns to discontinue my existence on this planet by way of an earthquake, then there probably isn't much he could do to prevent it. He replied, "I know. But I can always hold your hand until it does." Now that's love, folks! Daddy, no one has EVER made me feel safer than you have. I love you more than I can express!! For all that you've done, for all that you do, and for all that you will do .... thank you!!
Not that Mom doesn't do anything, because she certainly does. And it's just as important. She listens to all my belly aching and whining with MUCH patience, empathy, and understanding, as does Norma, my mother-in-law (although our correspondence is accomplished via email but it's no less helpful to my well being). Thanks to my Moms as well!!!
Of course, all the news (both international and local) has been about the earthquake. The quake itself was 7.9 on the Richter scale with numerous aftershocks, some even going higher than 6 on the Richter scale. The good news is that none of those aftershocks has been experienced by any of us in Shanghai. The bad news it that it's reeked havoc with rescuers and victims alike. Simple access to some of the harder hit villages has been all but impossible and supplies of food and water were dropped via planes and helicopters to some of the hardest hit areas until trucks and equipment could pass over the roads which were currently blocked by tremendous landslides. This quake was so large, the area in which it was felt was the size of the United States! That's equivalent to an earthquake hitting St. Louis, MO, and it being felt by everyone in the USA!!! Yes, California gets a lot of earthquakes, but they are normally only felt in California.
There have been numerous reports of the rescue of people trapped and buried in the rubble of fallen buildings for days .... seemingly miraculous! But there are just as many heartbreaking sagas of the loss of entire generations of school children in some towns as all the children were in schools that collapsed. And to add insult to injury, many of the children who DID survive have found themselves orphaned due to the loss of both parents. At this writing, the death toll of Sichuan Province stands at over 34,000, and is expected to hit 50,000 before everyone is recovered.
Some of the stories are major gut wrenchers. Melissa Block of NPR submitted a report to CNN that had me in tears. She spent the day at a village with a mother and father who were desperately trying to get someone to assist them in finding their 2 year old son and his grandparents who were somewhere in a fallen building. Seems the town did not suffer much destruction and in fact, the only building to fall completely was the building where the grandparents lived, and where they were babysitting their grandson while the parents worked. Finally, a large piece of earth moving equipment was sent into the village. The parents used their bare hands to clear the road and assist in any way to get the equipment to the fallen building that trapped their loved ones. As the rescuers worked to clear the rubble, the parents purchased food, water, face masks, gloves, and other supplies in order to assure that the workers would continue in their efforts. At last, the child and his grandparents were found, all in each other's arms .... dead. The mother kept insisting that she was sure they were not dead, and beseeched the rescuers to keep trying to resuscitate them. She couldn't accept the fact that her family was gone. At that point, Melissa's voice broke .... it was almost too much for even a seasoned reporter to witness let alone tell to the world.
There are so many sad stories. Children who were indeed rescued but it cost them an arm or one or both legs. One such teenage girl was a promising ballerina. Another claimed that the only reason she hung on to life was because she wanted to live to care for her parents, only to find out that that her parents did not survive. In one town, rescue efforts had to be discontinued due to the imminent collapse of a damaged dam. There have been many aftershocks and landslides, and over 200 rescue workers have been killed as a result of them. It seems to never stop. In fact, today there is a strong aftershock warning (I'm not sure how they knows this kind of thing but it sure is upsetting to simply wait for another big one!) for the affected area.
China seems to have outdone themselves in terms of the rescue effort though. It was serendipitous that the Olympics is to be held in Beijing this summer because the Chinese military had been beefed up just for that event. As such, the extra forces were on hand to deploy to the affected areas, and this has made a huge difference in terms of the relief efforts. A campaign was launched immediately to generate donations for the relief efforts and it was announced on TV last night that almost 9 billion yuan has been raised so far .... yes, I said BILLION!! In less than a week!! Pretty amazing!!
Yesterday, marked one week since the natural disaster hit China. It was announced that there would be three days of national mourning for the victims of the earthquake. Radio transmissions have been ceased, international TV stations are blocked (we still have CNN and BBC which are broadcast from within the country), and the event was marked with a 3 minute tribute at precisely 2:28 PM yesterday, the exact time the earth started to move last week.
I'd heard that the tribute was to take place nationally but had gotten busy and wasn't paying attention at the precise moment. I had been on the computer doing some emailing and that never ending laundry was finally hung. I'd started cleaning up the kitchen which was still a mess from a BBQ we'd hosted the previous evening. All the windows in the apartment were open as the weather has been in the 70's and 80's, sunny with a nice breeze. I suddenly realized that the sounds of horns honking had grown to abnormal proportions, so I stepped out on the kitchen patio to see what was going on. At that moment, the warning sirens in the city all started blaring ominously (those same sirens wailed immediately after the earthquake was experienced in Shanghai so it really sent shivers up my spine!). I noticed that the workers in front of the businesses across from our compound were all out on the sidewalk standing in straight lines. No cars, bikes, scooters, buses, or trucks were moving .... all drivers were stopped either standing at attention or inside their vehicles blowing their horns. Our compound security people all stood at attention in our courtyard and the gate did not go up or down for 3 minutes. The construction workers that seem to work nonstop on the new building across the road since we have lived here all relinquished their hammers and welders, and stood in a line on the top of the building in their blue jumpsuits holding their bright yellow hardhats in their hands. I noticed many people in our compound standing on their balconies in a silent tribute to the victims of the earthquake. Directly across the courtyard from our building, a family consisting of mother, father, and son stood gazing toward the southwest, the direction from which the quake had come. The son fidgeted a bit, and the father gently put his hand on the boy's shoulder. I could almost read his mind .... if people can wait for 3 days under rubble to be rescued, WE can stand still for 3 minutes to honor them!
It was good that I had my kitchen towel with me because I suddenly realized I needed to wipe the tears from my face. One cannot live in a country for over a year and not start to realize a kindred spirit with them. I thought about September 11 and how devastating it was for the USA. This was 10 times worse!! And so maddening that nothing could be done to prepare for it, no one could be blamed, so senseless. I think CNN put it best when it described the sounds of the horns and the sirens as "the wail of grief heard around the world!" Yep, pretty much says it all. No, I am not Chinese but I stood with them for three minutes just to say I care. It was one of the most moving and poignant moments of my life.
At the end of three minutes time the sirens stopped, drivers ceased blowing horns, traffic started moving again, workers went back to work, the security guards opened our gates, and children played in our playground again. Life was returning to the normal drone of day to day activity ... but I am forever changed.
Of course, the laundry duty gets more laborious as the weather heats up (which it has done lately). Once it starts getting into the 80's and the humidity comes up, we're changing our clothes more often so ..... OK, on to more serious matters.
The aftermath of last week's earthquake has continued into this week with much news to report. But before I forget, I want to thank all of you that called or emailed Randy and me to express your concern for our safety and well being. One forgets how many people there are in our lives that care about us and pray for us daily until something like this happens. We were somewhat overwhelmed by the outpouring of expressions of concern we received from everyone! Thank you, thank you, and thank you! We are truly blessed to have your support!
I want to take a moment to say a special thank you to my father who upon realizing that I was just a little more than frightened by the whole experience, volunteered to get on the next plane to come to Shanghai and take care of me until we return to the states later in June for a vacation. I was so touched! I swallowed a lump in my throat to say that in spite of his best intentions, if the universe deigns to discontinue my existence on this planet by way of an earthquake, then there probably isn't much he could do to prevent it. He replied, "I know. But I can always hold your hand until it does." Now that's love, folks! Daddy, no one has EVER made me feel safer than you have. I love you more than I can express!! For all that you've done, for all that you do, and for all that you will do .... thank you!!
Not that Mom doesn't do anything, because she certainly does. And it's just as important. She listens to all my belly aching and whining with MUCH patience, empathy, and understanding, as does Norma, my mother-in-law (although our correspondence is accomplished via email but it's no less helpful to my well being). Thanks to my Moms as well!!!
Of course, all the news (both international and local) has been about the earthquake. The quake itself was 7.9 on the Richter scale with numerous aftershocks, some even going higher than 6 on the Richter scale. The good news is that none of those aftershocks has been experienced by any of us in Shanghai. The bad news it that it's reeked havoc with rescuers and victims alike. Simple access to some of the harder hit villages has been all but impossible and supplies of food and water were dropped via planes and helicopters to some of the hardest hit areas until trucks and equipment could pass over the roads which were currently blocked by tremendous landslides. This quake was so large, the area in which it was felt was the size of the United States! That's equivalent to an earthquake hitting St. Louis, MO, and it being felt by everyone in the USA!!! Yes, California gets a lot of earthquakes, but they are normally only felt in California.
There have been numerous reports of the rescue of people trapped and buried in the rubble of fallen buildings for days .... seemingly miraculous! But there are just as many heartbreaking sagas of the loss of entire generations of school children in some towns as all the children were in schools that collapsed. And to add insult to injury, many of the children who DID survive have found themselves orphaned due to the loss of both parents. At this writing, the death toll of Sichuan Province stands at over 34,000, and is expected to hit 50,000 before everyone is recovered.
Some of the stories are major gut wrenchers. Melissa Block of NPR submitted a report to CNN that had me in tears. She spent the day at a village with a mother and father who were desperately trying to get someone to assist them in finding their 2 year old son and his grandparents who were somewhere in a fallen building. Seems the town did not suffer much destruction and in fact, the only building to fall completely was the building where the grandparents lived, and where they were babysitting their grandson while the parents worked. Finally, a large piece of earth moving equipment was sent into the village. The parents used their bare hands to clear the road and assist in any way to get the equipment to the fallen building that trapped their loved ones. As the rescuers worked to clear the rubble, the parents purchased food, water, face masks, gloves, and other supplies in order to assure that the workers would continue in their efforts. At last, the child and his grandparents were found, all in each other's arms .... dead. The mother kept insisting that she was sure they were not dead, and beseeched the rescuers to keep trying to resuscitate them. She couldn't accept the fact that her family was gone. At that point, Melissa's voice broke .... it was almost too much for even a seasoned reporter to witness let alone tell to the world.
There are so many sad stories. Children who were indeed rescued but it cost them an arm or one or both legs. One such teenage girl was a promising ballerina. Another claimed that the only reason she hung on to life was because she wanted to live to care for her parents, only to find out that that her parents did not survive. In one town, rescue efforts had to be discontinued due to the imminent collapse of a damaged dam. There have been many aftershocks and landslides, and over 200 rescue workers have been killed as a result of them. It seems to never stop. In fact, today there is a strong aftershock warning (I'm not sure how they knows this kind of thing but it sure is upsetting to simply wait for another big one!) for the affected area.
China seems to have outdone themselves in terms of the rescue effort though. It was serendipitous that the Olympics is to be held in Beijing this summer because the Chinese military had been beefed up just for that event. As such, the extra forces were on hand to deploy to the affected areas, and this has made a huge difference in terms of the relief efforts. A campaign was launched immediately to generate donations for the relief efforts and it was announced on TV last night that almost 9 billion yuan has been raised so far .... yes, I said BILLION!! In less than a week!! Pretty amazing!!
Yesterday, marked one week since the natural disaster hit China. It was announced that there would be three days of national mourning for the victims of the earthquake. Radio transmissions have been ceased, international TV stations are blocked (we still have CNN and BBC which are broadcast from within the country), and the event was marked with a 3 minute tribute at precisely 2:28 PM yesterday, the exact time the earth started to move last week.
I'd heard that the tribute was to take place nationally but had gotten busy and wasn't paying attention at the precise moment. I had been on the computer doing some emailing and that never ending laundry was finally hung. I'd started cleaning up the kitchen which was still a mess from a BBQ we'd hosted the previous evening. All the windows in the apartment were open as the weather has been in the 70's and 80's, sunny with a nice breeze. I suddenly realized that the sounds of horns honking had grown to abnormal proportions, so I stepped out on the kitchen patio to see what was going on. At that moment, the warning sirens in the city all started blaring ominously (those same sirens wailed immediately after the earthquake was experienced in Shanghai so it really sent shivers up my spine!). I noticed that the workers in front of the businesses across from our compound were all out on the sidewalk standing in straight lines. No cars, bikes, scooters, buses, or trucks were moving .... all drivers were stopped either standing at attention or inside their vehicles blowing their horns. Our compound security people all stood at attention in our courtyard and the gate did not go up or down for 3 minutes. The construction workers that seem to work nonstop on the new building across the road since we have lived here all relinquished their hammers and welders, and stood in a line on the top of the building in their blue jumpsuits holding their bright yellow hardhats in their hands. I noticed many people in our compound standing on their balconies in a silent tribute to the victims of the earthquake. Directly across the courtyard from our building, a family consisting of mother, father, and son stood gazing toward the southwest, the direction from which the quake had come. The son fidgeted a bit, and the father gently put his hand on the boy's shoulder. I could almost read his mind .... if people can wait for 3 days under rubble to be rescued, WE can stand still for 3 minutes to honor them!
It was good that I had my kitchen towel with me because I suddenly realized I needed to wipe the tears from my face. One cannot live in a country for over a year and not start to realize a kindred spirit with them. I thought about September 11 and how devastating it was for the USA. This was 10 times worse!! And so maddening that nothing could be done to prepare for it, no one could be blamed, so senseless. I think CNN put it best when it described the sounds of the horns and the sirens as "the wail of grief heard around the world!" Yep, pretty much says it all. No, I am not Chinese but I stood with them for three minutes just to say I care. It was one of the most moving and poignant moments of my life.
At the end of three minutes time the sirens stopped, drivers ceased blowing horns, traffic started moving again, workers went back to work, the security guards opened our gates, and children played in our playground again. Life was returning to the normal drone of day to day activity ... but I am forever changed.
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
6:32 PM
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