An English Teacher in China

On Monday, I was in class when people excitedly ran around mentioning and earthquake. Actually, my boss got a call from her husband who was evacuated from his apartment building as a precaution. Other students who worked in tower buildings nearby also were evacuated. As I was in the basement of a building all day, I never felt the tremors here in Beijing. But I’ve heard that others did, especially those in tall buildings. This truly is a disaster. My heart goes out to the people in Wenchuan, Sichuan.

Here are some articles about the quake. I especially liked the one about bringing the Torch to Wenchuan and leaving it there. That almost brought a tear to my eyes. My prayers go out to all those affected.

All Roads Lead to China: Take the Torch to Wenchuan . I don’t know how possible this is, but it’s a great image. The torch left burning at Wenchuan to help bring attention, friendship, donations and love to the affected area.

CNReviews: China Earthquake photos and blogosphere. Some amazing photos here.

Whenever people talk about earthquakes in China, I am reminded of the deadliest earthquake of all time that happened in Tangshan, China near Tianjin in 1976. In this disaster over 240,000 people died. This quake happened 3 days after I was born.

Also when these natural disasters strike, I can’t help feeling like a tiny, insignificant spec on this planet. How all my stresses and worries really are about nothing. How if planet Earth wanted to change things up in my life it could do so in an instant. How really, life is a blessing that I take for granted too often.

Today I looked online at some personal finance blogs (another passion of mine) and found this great quote.

“They should just tell us we are dying when we are born, so that we actually live our lives.”

I don’t know why it takes something awful for me to realize this. That life - love, friendship, happiness - is an amazing gift.

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