The Aftershock

I am sitting here typing away at my blog when I feel my desk and chair start to shake back and forth. "Terremoto?" my roommate asks. "No, aftershock" replies her boyfriend. A few minutes later, after he looks on IRIS, he says "Terremoto de cuatro puntos". Apparently we just felt the effects of a 4 point earthquake in San Juan province, Argentina. After looking at the website, he explains to me that when there's an earthquake in Chile, the Japanese pay attention in case it causes a tsunami on the other side. Nothing like natural disasters to make you feel close to people, eh?

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Yesterday I moved in to my new apartment a few blocks away from work. It's right in the center of everything but in a safe neighborhood. I share the place with another English teacher at my company, her Chilean boyfriend, and his Chilean friend. I have a big window that overlooks the main avenue, and in the distance you can see Cerro San Cristobal, the big hill in the middle of the city (it's prettier than it sounds, when you can see it). Since the earthquake everyone seems eager to point out how secure their buildings are. Apparently Pinochet's mother used to live here, and that alone is evidence of how sturdy the construction must be.

The highlight of my day was visiting my old host family. I was a little nervous because I didn't think I'd left on very good terms with my host mom. I hadn't written her the best evaluation because our relationship had been a bit rocky. But when I saw her and my host sister again it was like reuniting with old family members. They invited me over for once, which is like afternoon tea. Bread and avocado (they mash it and add oil and salt- delish!), apple cake, coffee, and cookies are once staples. As we eat my "sister" shows me the wallpaper ripped by the earthquake and tells me about her experience volunteering in the south where the worst damage occurred.

Seeing them again made me feel like I had finally come to terms with the person I was the last time I was in Chile. I have felt guilty about being so self-absorbed back then, and now that I've had the chance to show them the "new me", I feel vindicated (is this the right word?). I met their current host student, and it was funny to look at her and remember what it was like to be in her position.

It's fitting that I should feel the earth move under me at this time of upheaval in my life. Picking up again, moving to a new country again, the earth is always moving under me. Things that you take for granted- your foundation, your friends, your life- are never really stable. I like being in a place where no one forgets that.