Christchurch Quake February 2011 - Week 3

Two weeks on. The novelty is wearing off and reality bites.
It’s difficult to think what even happened since last Sunday. As I mentioned before, everything seems to happen in slow motion, and a whole day can go by with nothing much accomplished.
A Day Off
On Tuesday we took the day off from regular life and went to Hanmer Springs for the day. We went for a walk in the beautiful Woodland Walk, ate out at a cafe and went to the fantastic hot pools. It was probably our last outing as a family of four, maybe forever, as William is leaving for the US next Saturday, and when he comes back he will bring his new wife, Jessica, to join our family. It was a calm day, with lots of fun. It was great to have William again to take Jonathan on the hydroslides, though Mark and I did go on as well, particularly the new ride. As we drove back into Christchurch, I did feel some sadness descend. Mainly sadness for the city as a whole and the daunting task of rebuilding. Back home I couldn’t face reality and decided to spend the evening outside it. I watched television and didn’t answer the phone or do the dishes. They were in the real world and I wasn’t. I didn’t much like the real world and decided I didn’t need to be in it just then.

Back to work
It was another interesting experience on Thursday as I went to University to get some of my belongings and teaching materials out of my office. Only those who are teaching next week had the opportunity to go in. There were about twelve of us in my lot, with a rescue team of six. We wore high-visibility jackets and hard-hats, and had strict instructions to stay where our minder knew where we were. My office was fine and looked barely messier than usual. I had an episode of earthquake brain and didn’t take my keys, so I couldn’t bring out my laptop. But I retrieved my handbag, and a friends, and the student records. After that we had a meeting with other staff in our College, (in a marquee) and it was very nice to see them all again for the first time since the event.
I have been working on my course to make it better suited to almost totally on-line learning. The students will get videos of the lectures from last year, and can come to “Help sessions” during the week in the one computer lab that is operative, it seems. The university is being transformed with marquees being erected in the carparks, in which lectures will be given. We do get a refund for our parking permits! Mark and I bought me a computer desk and chair (on my university purchasing card) that is now in my little room at home so that I can work properly, rather than balancing my laptop on my lap in front of the television! It helps.

Excitement then disappointment
We had a brief time of excitement, when notification came through that our Rogo Lite app was available on the app store. However, when I downloaded it I found it was in French as we had messed up putting in the language files. So we had to pull it off sale and resubmit, and are now waiting another week or so for it to be approved again! Rather frustrating, and quite possibly related to earthquake brain.

Haircuts
Jonathan and I had haircuts ready for our trip to the US and William’s wedding. I had finally found a hairdresser I liked, but unfortunately the salon was in the centre city and is now inaccessible at best, and probably about to be demolished. So we went to another salon, where Jane was borrowing some space, and they will be setting up again in Riccarton before too long, thanks to the insurance company.

The centre city
The whole centre city is rather an enigma. We only see photographs and hear descriptions of it, but no one can go in without security clearance. This is totally reasonable, and protects people and property, but it also lends an air of unreality. It is difficult to come to terms with the destruction, or even understand what destruction there has been without actually seeing it. All sorts of rumours abound as to how many buildings are or will be destroyed. And the estimated cost for rebuilding Christchurch seems to grow daily. The number is far too big to comprehend.

Progress
A big effort this week has been to get power back to most people. Everyone I know has now got electricity, though the south and east are asked to use as little as they can get away with as the network is so fragile. Sewerage will be a long time coming. Even after the September quake the amount of piping that would need replacing was several times what is normally done in a year. But now there are whole suburbs of people for whom a flush toilet is just a happy memory, or something they use when visiting friends. Thousands of chemical toilets are being delivered daily.

Aftershocks
The aftershocks continue, leaving us in a state of constant slight arousal, such that a truck driving past made me grab the bench the other day. They are physically and probably psychologically draining, without being actually frightening. We think nothing of a magnitude 4 earthquake, which would have been a momentous quake to us before September. Often a night’s sleep is disturbed by aftershocks, as they seem to come more in the night. Once woken it can be difficult to get back to sleep. Napping is common.
And now Japan has had a far worse quake, resulting in a Tsunami. Though theoretically I feel sorry for them, I have no real sympathy left. I am too busy with the pains of Christchurch.

Lists of those who have died
Each morning when I read in the paper the list of the dead the police have identified over the last 24 hours I am amazed and relieved that not one of the names so far has been familiar. Having lived nearly all my life in Christchurch I find that remarkable. But it isn’t over yet. There are still up to 100 names to release. I don’t like to read the list, but I know I must. It must have been rather like this during the wars, when the casualty lists were published. I was reluctant to ring up the optometrist, as one of their offices was in town, and I feared that one of them might have been injured or killed. But all was well. Another worry gone.

Shrunken clothes
One particular downside of earthquakes is that my clothes no longer fit me. I would like to think it is some strange physical phenomenon due to the fabric being shaken up and making all my clothes smaller. However I suspect it is more due to a lack of exercise routine, and an abundance of comfort eating. I don’t even want to buy any more clothes, it all seems rather meaningless. I wear trackshoes all the time, as the roads are so dusty and the footpaths are broken up.

Grief
This sounds rather dismal, and I guess it probably is. Winter will be on us soon, and life is going to be very hard for many people with dodgy houses and inadequate plumbing. Life at university is not like anything I could ever have imagined. Normal is far from normal for nearly everyone. We are all grieving. Some have people to grieve for, and some have lost homes, some have lost jobs and many have lost trust in solid ground. I have been truly blessed to lose nothing except my orderly life. But I grieve for that and for Christchurch.

Next
So what can I do? I will do my very best to help my students to have as successful and enjoyable time in my courses as they can. I will try to be kind to the people I meet, as we never know what pain they are carrying. I will try to be patient, even when I feel far from it. It’s all I can do. And hang in there until normal is more normal.