Awake in China

Well its 5:00 in the morning in Xi’an, China at the Xi’an (pronounced shi-an) Jiaotong University and we just came back inside the dorms from an earthquake aftershock about half an hour ago. We all put up bottles upside down on our desks to warn of tremors but they didn't even move. So now we've been advised to stay awake for a while. Class has been cancelled for later today.
So what is Lianne up to now? More adventures like normal, you should know that by now.
The concrete canoe floated, senior design project is finished, the final walk across the stage is complete and I’m now sitting in Xi’an University in China writing to you. I am on a three week study abroad program through the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNO is in conjunction with them) with 29 other students. We are going to take language, history, and culture classes. To find the location in China, type in Xi’an, China to http://www.maps.google.com/

As you probably have heard, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Sichuan yesterday afternoon at 2:30pm Bejing Time. Sichuan is the southern border of Shaanxi, to compare type in Chongqing, China into google maps.

The earthquake was pretty crazy. We had all just stepped into a store and were looking around. All the sudden I felt really dizzy and thought I had just smelled something funny. But all the Chinese students started running towards the door so we followed suit, the whole time the dizziness didn't go away. Outside you could feel the ground moving beneath the street. The tremor wasn't enough to knock things from shelves, so it was the weirdest feeling, as one Chinese student put it, 'magical'.

Its heart wrenching to read the news about the devastation 500 miles down the road. Its very hard to comprehend, very hard to comprehend. Please be praying for those still trapped and those waiting to hear word of loved ones. And please keep informed, CNN.com.

Because of the earthquake, the local students are not allowed to go back into their dorms (which why they allowed us back in we haven't figured out yet). There was a grassy area in part of the campus that had tents, sleeping bags, and groups of people trying to pass the time. So some girls and I went to practice our Chinese (our one phrase, yes!). One group had Dance Dance Revolution set up on their computers so we asked if we could play. It was fun and they actually ended up practicing their English on us.

Well its time for the morning run. Zaijan!