By now you all probably have read the news of the China earthquake. What most foreigners know about the region is that it has world famous food, it is the gateway to Tibet and it has the world's remaining population of wild pandas. But in the past week Sichuan has been thrown into the spotlight. The world is learning a great deal not just about the region but about its people, and I am proud to say that I am one of them.Sichuan is considered a poor province mostly because it's landlocked and is mostly agricultural. Though with the recent economic boom it is becoming more prosperouse. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains and is abundant in rivers that flow down from the higher plains. It was also one of the most populated provinces in China. It is said that one in every 50 people on earth is from Sichuan. Historically Sichuan has suffered many natural disasters, and because of the geography the people have learned to rely on each other. The out pouring support from people less affected within Sichuan has been overwhelming. People bringing food into some of the hard hit areas, digging with nothing but their hands. It breaks my heart to read that some people think this is karma. We're all human, if we don't have eachother to rely on during a crisis such as this then we are hopeless as a species.
With any natural disaster, when it doesn't affect you directly, the numbers are meaningless, people become statistics. Our family was lucky. Everyone is accounted for and safe. A little shaken but not stirred. Send good thoughts to those who are in mourning, and to those who are still hoping.
NPR's All Things Considered was in Chengdu doing a piece about China when the quake hit. They have a blog set up at http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/
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