Earthquake hits China

The number of study hours I've lost due to events beyond my control is increasingly huge. Normally it's 'la duzi' ("upset stomach"), but also such things as the bus breaking down, or the weather being too hot, etc. Today was another first - an earthquake.

So I'm on the fourth floor, havng a lesson with my tutor at the university at 2.40 in the afternoon. Just as I'm looking at and not really understanding some classical Chinese poetry, I notice something underneath me, as if the students in the classroom below are all stampeding out. I nudged my teacher, who immediately stopped talking, and stood up.

Now I guess there's three important steps when an eathquake strikes. One, as soon as you realise its an earthquake, leave the building or hide under the table; two, don't go back for possessions; three, if exiting the premises, do so in an orderly manner. From what I did, it looks like my earthquake-handling technique needs adjusting.

The first thing we do is open the door and go outside. Once outside, my tutor shouts 'Eathquake!' I hadn't really grasped what it was at that point, but I knew a building moving side-to-side was probably a bad thing.

Breaking the second rule, we went back in to get our stuff - I went for my textbooks and loo paper (essential items), no time to claim the MP3. And thirdly, instead of sheltering under the table, we ran down the stairs, along with loads of other people, in reasonably orderly fashion. Certainly when I saw some dust and cement falling from the ceiling as I ran, I was pretty worried - not too many things to hide under on the stairs.

When we get outside, the ground is still shaking, but then so was I, quite hard to distinguish at that point. I think it lasted about a minute or so, can't have been more than 90 seconds anyway. Everyone starts making phone calls, meaning everyone can't get through. The students were not allowed back into the dormitories until midnight, which shows you how much confidence the university authorities have in the newly constructed buildings.

Above all, it was a very disturbing feeling. If the building had collapsed, I would have been stuffed. And even outside, I was still pretty wobbly. When I saw the cement falling down, that was pretty frightening. And on the stairs, I was just thinking 'don't collapse now, don't collapse now, don't collapse now'. Fortunately, it did not, but somehow I just don't feel like studying right now.