Today's 5.4

An earthquake, when it hits, always catches us by surprise. The one we felt today here in Southern California at 11:42 a.m. was no exception.

I was in class with my students and the other teacher I've been paired up with for summer school when we felt the quake. The first few seconds, as it usually goes with a quake, were starling but we couldn't quite make what was going on. Was it a truck driving by, or children running down the hall? When we realized what was going on, we immediately had the kids drop under their desks. All these earthquake drills we've had over the years were finally put to the test. The earthquake was not terribly strong (the epicenter was in Chino Hills, approximately 30 miles east of Los Angeles) but it was definitely long. I must've felt 20 seconds of it. A couple of the kids in the class were crying. A few were excited by it. Most, thankfully, remained calm.

When it was over, I got up as did the other adult in the room. Everything was thankfully in place. We had the children get up. I consoled my two little crying girls. And we all walked out to the yard. All the classes were in the yard, away from the buildings and trees. The school's plant managers inspected all the buildings in the school. This took some 25 minutes. Many of the adults tried making phone calls to loved-ones from their cells, but to no success. They say that telephone lines usually get clogged up after a quake.

There was no damage in our school, thankfully. We all went back to our classrooms. There were only 15 minutes left before school was to be dismissed. (Summer school only goes up to 12:20 p.m.) We gave the kids free play in the class. Half of them played, read, and or colored under their desks. We let them. When the bell finally rang, I felt good about doing the most I can do in protecting these children.

In retrospect, the earthquake was pretty exciting. This was my first quake ever that I have experienced in the classroom. And the first strong quake I have felt in six years. When I got home, I was happy to see that everything was in place. My animals were safe. My roommate Cindy was around and shared her experience with me... I talked with my mom and my sisters. Talked with friends on the phone who also shared their experiences with me. By 3 p.m., this Tuesday, July 29, 2008 seemed like just another day.