ЗЕМЕТРЕСЕНИЕ!

There was an earthquake here Tuesday morning at 3am.  It measured 5.8 on the Richter.  My apartment shook me awake and held me terrified for nearly 20 seconds, Mississippi seconds.  Then it hailed and then rain. I have never been in an earthquake; I never learned what one should do when in an earthquake.  There aren’t a lot of closets in Bulgaria, just wardrobes. But I wasn’t sure if it was proper to step into a closet and it seemed quite unsafe to step into a wardrobe.  I only saw the first few minutes of The Road. So I thought maybe I should fill my bathtub with water but again that didn’t seem right. Plus, my bathtub is downstairs and I couldn’t risk the spiral staircase aftershocks were intermittent for two hours afterward.  I don’t think I am strong enough to live even an hour after an apocalypse, zombie or otherwise.  

The shacks across the street were slightly damaged.  The Gypsies were up and out on the street before the sun.  There were some people from my building in the lobby with their children.  I had to wait until someone who spoke English came down.  Everyone was so ok with the circumstances and only wished to calm their kids.  It happens. Earthquakes happen.  After I spoke with my parents, I went out and walked around my neighborhood and saw it slowly come to life.  Some of the vendors in the outdoor market sleep on top of their stalls; some sleep in their cars. 

I wish I could speak Bulgarian. I feel that everyone should only be speaking about this earthquake.  Like in the movie Being John Malkovich, when Malkovich goes through his own porthole and sees not only all kinds of Malkovoi but also when these persons speak all they say is Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.  Or maybe it should be like the Smurf world, using earthquake in all kinds of scenarios. Go earthquake yourself, That was fanearthquaketastic, Would you like an extra serving of earthquake stew. And so on.  But, instead everyone was so cool.   

The place where I buy my banitzas in the morning, however, did not disappoint.  There is a young guy there, who speaks English pretty well.  And all we did was talk about the earthquake.  Maybe he is 24 or 29 and he said this was his first as well.  They are rare in the city.  I told him how frightened I was and exactly what happened to me and listened to him tell his ordeal.  I have been online and no one has been really hurt.  We weren’t hurt at all but I could have this conversation every hour today and tomorrow, the next.  

Now I understand why the ancients created a pantheon. I know some science and I understand the way weather works. I know how large Sofia and Bulgaria and the world is.  I acknowledge that people all over are suffering real catastrophes.  And yet, when the earth makes the city move and my room and apartment actually move MOVE, really MOVE all I could think about was what had I done to make a god so angry and what I could do to be forgiven.