August 16, 2007
Day 687
I spent most of the day on the Internet and watching TV. The earthquake was an 8.0 on the Richter Scale, the first major earthquake in Peru since 1970. A lot of people at home were wondering if I was OK, and I was wondering the same about everyone I knew in Lima. The good news was that Lima suffered only some cosmetic damage and no one I knew appeared to have been affected. But Pisco and Ica, a few hours south of Lima, looked like they took some major damage. I've been to both those places, and I felt so sad and helpless being so far away and not knowing more than what was covered on the international news.
Things seem pretty normal here. Everyone is talking about the earthquake, and an area in the center of town has been set aside for donations, but otherwise life goes on as it always has. Things would have turned out a lot different for me if I had chosen to leave Lima one day later, but for now I'm physically unaffected, but emotionally set back. I didn't have the motivation to do much of anything but sit around and watch the continuing earthquake coverage on the TV and Internet all day.
