life goes on

Surreal. That's the only word that really describes the last 24 hours. Since the first quake hammered its way through about 27 hours ago, I feel like I've been having an out-of-body experience. Even though I know that its me going through this intricate set of events, it doesn't feel like it.

At 6:40 pm on August 15th, 2007, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake exploded from the ground and changed the surface of the Earth and the lives of many people that live around it. It affected me as well but not in the life changing (or life ending) way that it did for those that live in the cities of Ica and Pisco. For me, the earthquake took me out of my routine and made me examine more closely what it is that I am doing here in Peru and here in life. Only the experience wasn't truly mine, as I noted that it feels like a completely surreal event in my life - one that is more like a dream than anything else.

This morning I got an email from CBS News saying that they wanted to interview people in Peru about their experience with the quake. I agreed to be interviewed on camera but told them that I doubted my insight would be anything different than what the other 8 million people in Lima went through. In fact, my experience would probably be less dramatic since I live in an affluent neighborhood and damage here was rather minimal. But they said they wanted to interview me nonetheless and as I sat down in front of the camera, I noted how I felt an absence of emotion. It was though I knew what I had lived through but that my experience wasn't a real one. There was no Hollywood soundtrack, no explosions going off in the distance, or fantastic acts that had to be accomplished by the person occupying my body. And as I answered the questions that Miguel asked me, I felt a strange disconnect to everything that was my life for the 18 hours before the camera crew came to my apartment. To this moment, I still feel strangely disconnected from what has happened and the reality of it all is still so surreal.

My interview didn't make the CBS Evening News and I can't blame them for not putting my soundbytes in the segment. I wasn't traumatized, I had no extreme stories of survival, I was just an average person who lived through a large seismic event - just like the other 8 million people in Lima. I also didn't want to sensationalize what I had been through as it wasn't that sensational. All I did was stand in a doorway and wonder when the shaking was going to stop. The feeling of helplessness was shared by each and every person who lived through the quake; I was just one of millions that were reminded of just how powerless we are when dealing with Mother Nature. It has been noted that in news, "if it doesn't bleed, it doesn't lead" and I definitely didn't give them any ammunition to lead their broadcast with. What can I say, I didn't want to give the main stream media an inaccurate representation of what I went through - no sense trying to make my life look bad when it really isn't.

So as today went on, life in Peru took a different turn. Traffic dropped off dramatically as people stayed at home and tended to the frayed nerves that we all share. Those that I did see wandering the street today had the same blank expression that I did; I imagine they were feeling the same surreal moment that I was. Even tonight when I went to dinner with friends (we wanted to be around fellow "survivors"), we each described our day in relatively the same way. We each stayed in and tried to come to grips with the ground shaking and how it affected our lives. We each noted that it made us appreciate our friends and family a lot more, at least for the moment, as it reminded us what truly matters in life.

I've been surfing around the internet, seeing reports of how bad things are in Pisco and Ica, and finding myself grateful for the hand I've been dealt. I know the main stream media is doing its best to make it "bleed" for the viewing audience back in the States but I also know that within a week, the story will be off the headlines and people will have forgotten about it. Its sad really, that life events need to be sensationalized to get coverage but that's the media for ya.

In any case, tomorrow the teachers return to school for an attempt to return to the routine that makes life more real and less surreal. We will get things back to normal and go on because that's what you do. Life goes on...