I haven't posted since before the earthquake and am just getting the inspiration to write about it.
I was in my apartment, about to get into bed when the earthquake hit. Luckily, I was with Italo and we both reacted quickly and ran to the doorframe. It was the scariest experience of my life and at one point, I thought we were going to die because I mistook the sound the buildings made moving for crashing down.
Having said that, I am so lucky. Even though it was a horrible experience for me, we didn't so much as lose a glass or plate. So many people here lost their houses and loved ones and I feel fortunate to say that my loved ones are OK.
I think everyone in Chile was in a grieving state last week because we all went to work, but didn't really work and we all hung out, but only talked about the earthquake. We've also had plenty of tremors to remind us that it's not over yet.
I have also been inundated with friends and family contacting me because they want to help in any way possible. Any way, that is, that does not involve donating money to the big organizations. So, it has become my job to find other ways to use the money my amazing family and friends have so generously donated to help Chile.
Last week, we found plenty of wonderful people taking supplies to their families and friends down south and now, Italo and I are getting money together to travel down south once we can be of more help.
My question is what is everyone else planning on doing? From reading posts on facebook, it's clear that all of my gringa/o and chilean friends alike helping and I would like to put together a list of all the ways people can contribute to write a letter to my local newspaper in the U.S. I am aware of all of the big organizations, but am not interested in involving them so anything small-scale would be better. Thanks in advance!
