Just wanted to let everyone know that the BiFengXia panda base and our intern Stephanie were both unhurt in the earthquake in Lushan, China (very close to Ya’An).  Here’s Stephanie’s blog reporting the entire experience:

Steph writes,
“Yesterday morning started out pretty normal as I got on the bus for the panda base. I found a seat, put my ipod on, and fell asleep. I woke up when the bus stopped and was turned off. I opened my eyes and saw that some of the staff from the panda base were getting off the bus and talking on their cellphones. So I took my headphones off as one of the keepers who speaks English was getting back on the bus. Seeing my confused look, he told me that the earthquake knocked some rocks down off the mountain and that we can’t make it up to the panda base. To say the least, I was a little confused. Apparently while I was sleeping there was an eathquake and I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t notice but my understanding is that I probably didn’t feel much because I was in a vehicle. I’m also a pretty heavy sleeper. Everyone was on their phones on our way back to the city as they were trying to get in contact with their families to make sure everyone was okay.

Everyone discussing

Some of the workers talking

Fallen rocks on the road back down the mountain

When I got off the bus, I received a phone call from James, who is one of the highschool students in Ya’an that I was introduced to by Meg and Nate. He promised them that he would help me out if needed so he was keen on finding me the second I got off the bus. We went to his school where I was introduced to his friends and classmates. We spent much of the morning talking about traveling and what my school life was like back home. There were quite a few aftershocks that interrupted our conversations. Following their lead, we would run as far away from possible from buildings until the aftershocks were over. Then we would return to our spot on the basketball court and continue talking. Everyone kept asking me if I was scared when the earthquake happened, and when I explained that I didn’t feel the actual quake, everyone was shocked. I also explained to them that this was my first experience with an earthquake. Many of the students told me that this was their second or third earthquake experience and many of the students remembered the 2008 earthquake quite well.

Students at the highschool

James and his friend, June.

Because of the earthquake, the students’ classes were cancelled for the next few days. James and his friends invited me to lunch at a nearby noodle shop. We talked about various things and continued to dodge away from the buildings when the aftershocks hit. After lunch, James and his friends returned home and I got a text from my friend Kylie who teaches English at one of the middle schools in Ya’an. She invited me to hang out with her at her school for the rest of the day. When I got there, many of the students were playing sports or cards out in the courtyard. We didn’t feel any aftershocks for the rest of the day but many people suggested that everyone stay outside of buildings and people had begun setting up tents out in the street or beds in their vehicles.

Students playing basketball at Ya’an middle school.

The basketball court this morning

Kylie’s boss called her and told her that they would be setting up tents for the teachers and students on the track field and he welcomed me to stay with her if I wished. By dinnertime, many of the students still hadn’t heard from their families as cell service to some areas was still down. As it started to get dark, I figured many of the people back home would be starting to wake up and hear the news. So Kylie and I set out to find a place with wifi so that I could get in touch with some people back home. We found wifi, and I wrote a quick email to let everyone know that I was ok. On our way back, we stopped at one of the main intersections to watch the news that was being shown on a big screen. At this point, we really realized how badly some of the towns were affected as we watched footage filmed in nearby Lushan, which was close to the epicenter of the quake.

People watching the news being shown at the intersection

Once we returned to the school, we chatted with a few of the students and I met Jac. Jac’s father works for the government and was assigned to be on duty due to the earthquake and his mother who was living at his families 14th floor apartment decided it would be safer to go stay with his dad in another city. So Jac would be spending the night at the school with us. He asked if he could use my phone to access the news and I told him that my 3G network had not been working for almost a month. He asked to see my phone, and a few minutes later, we had access to 3G and were reading the news. I was very grateful that he fixed the issue because on top of the news, it also allowed me access to my Skype and email. The kids were asked to return to their tents around 9pm at which point many of us were exhausted and ready for bed anyway. Kylie, the other two teachers, and I went to brush our teeth and climbed into our tent and went to sleep.

The tents set up at the middle school for the students and teachers

We were woken up by an aftershock at 5 am and have continued to have a few aftershocks throughout the day. Many of the students who were waiting to hear from their families had received news by this morning that their families are okay and most of them have been picked up by a family member. I have received news that everyone at the base, including the pandas, are okay and I plan on returning to the panda base tomorrow.”

-Stephanie