Earthquake!

Well, Baby D has yet another story to tell, or hear... We had a 5.8 Earthquake here in Bogotá today. I was sure our building was going to collapse. It was really intense, and since the place is all but falling apart anyway, it seemed we stood no chance. Around 2:00pm this afternoon, the whole building began to sway, the windows tremble and Steve quickly grabbed me to get in the doorway. We then decided, in about 5 seconds, that we couldn't stay in our already crackling, crumbling, paper-thin little shack, and that we should race down the 7 stories to get to the street. The electricity had blown and so down we flew, finding neighbors and screamers along the way. Finally, we got outside from the dark emergency staircase and found we were locked into the compound, as the doors to get out operate on electricity for security. Some security! The guard managed to pry one open, as the ground just trembled, and we stood out in the road, in the drizzle, waiting for something to happen. The whole, immense city lost power and so we joined the hundreds of people from homes and businesses filling the streets. For the first time, perhaps ever since arriving here, there was a humbling sense of solidarity among the chaos. The horns seemed to stop honking for a few minutes. People put their cellphones away as the services had all collapsed and dared to smile at the person, also without umbrella, improvising in this unexpected upheaval. The coffee shop we always go to reopened their doors, smiles on their lovely faces and offered half cups of the one pot already made, and people gathered there for warmth, reassurance and because it is a quarter of a block from any of Bogotá's deadly bricks. We wandered about the neighborhood, feeling homeless once more, but lucky that our most precious possession was so easy to take from our apartment. And that was that. After an hour, we climbed the 7 stories again and found doors slammed and a few more cracks in our walls, but all is well. The city suffered only minimal damage and first reports indicate there are no injuries. While shocked and saddened by the daily news of tornadoes and other earthly destruction throughout the world, we are ever so grateful for this unanticipated but unterrorized reminder of our vulnerability here. Truth be told, I was hoping that it was a contraction!