Tsunami Day

At 4:30 this morning I was jolted awake by movement. Before I even knew what was happening I was up and in the doorway- apparently those endless drills in elementary school really paid off on the old subconscious. The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds (I think, I really have no idea) during which I pondered whether there are actually any places in my house that have “structural integrity” in the true meaning of getting some place safe in case stuff starts to collapse, which I believe to be quite within the realm of the possible. The shaking was minor, though, and I went back to sleep after the adrenaline wore off. At about 7:00 this morning my phone started ringing off the hook. Indignant that people were attempting to encroach on my sleeping time when school doesn’t start until 8:30, I tried my hardest to ignore the phone for about an hour. Finally I gave in and admitted that there was no way to sleep through the incessant ringing anyways so I got up and spoke to a parent who was curious whether there would be school today. The bus had left already so I told him yes, thinking it odd for him to query why this day was different from all other days, and went about my way getting ready. The bus returned a few minutes later with no students. I yelled after the principal and bus driver to find out what was going on and they said that the prime minister had cancelled school for the day because of the earthquake. I gotta say, my first impression was “Whoa. This beats the heck out of rain cancellation. I feel like I’m seriously missing something here.” Then the Peace Corps called and it turned out that there had been tsunami warnings all over the south pacific because the earthquake, which had originated in Tonga, was like a 7.8 there and created quite a stir. Turns out the tsunami was relatively minor (like 20-30 centimeters high) and not particularly damaging as far as I know. So anyways I got a free day to hang out and read and watch Grease. It sounds quite dramatic and exciting, though- school cancelled for impending tsunami!