Moving and Shaking

I’m sitting up in Selva Negra, my favorite place in Nicaragua. Activities include sitting around and reading my books, playing games with my friends, and enjoying the view and the break from the brutal heat of the city. It is also incredibly calm up here, which is not something that can be said about Managua. Life is always crazy there, but it stepped up the craziness a couple of weeks ago.

It started when an accreditation team came to our school. As a school and as individual teachers, we wanted to put our best face forward. We put in many extra hours during many weeks of preparation. The students felt it and we were all a little on edge, but everything went well, and our school has officially been reaccredited with ACSI.

Shortly afterwards we began a lovely week of standardized testing. Thankfully this only happens every other year. However, the schedule was a disaster for teachers, students were going stir-crazy, and the general joy was taken from school. The normal routine that I enjoy so much in the classroom was long gone. We did manage to make the best of it, and created some fun projects to help us learn and review concepts. 

Shape symmetry and perimeter robots

We learned all about the water cycle. Some students took some creative liberties in their flip books, as you can see. We watched a video clip that named one of the water molecules Jerry. So now "Jerry and his friends" are referred to quite frequently when explaining the different parts of the cycle. 

We also spent many hours getting ready for our big Book Day celebration, which is happening April 25th. A blog post will follow! For now it means that paint, big poster boards, and glue have taken over the classroom. 

Then Thursday came. My friends and I were all chatting in my kitchen as I was making a smoothie. We were feeling relieved and relaxed. Our spring break was to start the next day at 12:30. Our weeks of testing and accreditation craziness was just about finished! It was during this happy moment that the ground started to shake. I paused and wondered if I was imagining things. When I saw the big eyes and slight panic on my friends’ faces, I knew it was real. Unlike my last epic earthquake fail, I didn't freeze and imagine the worst possible outcome. This time my friends and I BOOKED it outside with a good deal of pushing and shoving and a slight amount screaming.

The ground continued to shake as we stood outside. It was by far the longest and strongest shaking I have ever felt. My car was rocking back and forth in the driveway. The streetlights were swaying. The ground continued to heave. The neighbors joined us outside soon after, and we soon agreed: this was a big one. The power, water, and internet all went off. The next couple of hours involved sitting around outside to make sure a huge aftershock didn't hit, sitting around inside trying to figure out what to do with ourselves (it is hard to read or workout or be productive when you have earthquakes on the mind), and running back outside when the big tremors continued to come. And oh, did the tremors come.

This got to be a little annoying after awhile, so I decided to take a shower and just go to bed. As I was hopping into bed I checked the internet and learned school had been cancelled for the following day. My very first earthquake day! Who can sleep after exciting news like that? Even when I did finally decide to call it a night, sleep was elusive. 

It turns out it is hard to sleep after an earthquake. This weird thing starts happening to your body and mind after you've experience the ground shaking under your feet. Pretty much every little shake and movement equals an earthquake in your mind. My house is next to the highway, so every time a big semi drives by, the house does some moving and shaking. It has also been very, very windy lately. So every big gust of wind has been shaking the house as well. What I am trying to say is that we think there is a tremor every five minutes. When this happens, immediately your heart starts racing and you prepare to run outside. Most of the time it turns out to be a false alarm, but this isn’t a very relaxing way to pass the time.

It is now Wednesday. There have been half a dozen large earthquakes near Managua, and many, many aftershocks and tremors. There has been some significant damage to buildings and many injured people. The country has been on red alert, which basically means be prepared and be ready for more. Mobile hospitals have been set up, people have been evacuated, and the country is trying to prepare itself for a natural disaster that is unpredictable. Many people have been sleeping outside their homes at night, stores have been closing early, and there is significantly less traffic.

(I don't have any of my own pictures, but this article has some good ones: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/String-of-earthquakes-puts-Nicaraguans-on-edge-5400689.php#photo-6165383)

Why the panic? In 1972, Managua was hit by an earthquake that severely damaged the city and took 10,000 lives. Only 40 some years in the past, that memory is not so distant to many here. The people know and remember what happened and are afraid it could happen again.

I take great comfort in knowing God holds the world in his hands. He is in charge. My trust is in Him. We are currently on Easter break, and my mom comes to visit me tomorrow. I am praying for an earthquake-free time as I show her around the country I love. Thank you for your prayers.