My 3/11 Experience

I was in 7th grade when the Tohoku earthquake struck, at the school I am still attending today. It was a Friday afternoon, pretty lazy and slow. I remember being sick that day with a cold, desperately waiting for the weekend to come. It was 2:45, only 15 minutes left of the day until freedom. I imagined myself on the couch, curled in a pile of blankets, slowly letting go of the stressful week I had. I couldn't wait. At 2:46, I started to feel my desk shake. It was subtle, but I caught it. Everyone else started to pick up on it too; we were all amused by it. At first, it seemed like a light & harmless earthquake. These happen all the time. But one the shaking didn't stop for one, then two, then three minutes after 2:46, we knew it was no good. My whole class ducked under our desks, holding onto each other for dear life. I remember squeezing my friend's hand, praying and hoping for the building to not collapse. Teachers were running around the hallways, screaming 'earthquake' and taking safety precautions. In the climax of the earthquake's shaking, it felt as it someone was picking up the building we were in, and dropping it, knocking it side to side, over and over again. I was anticipating the worst. Miraculously, the building stayed in tact. We evacuated to the football field, and stayed there until about 4:00. The ride back to our houses downtown was arguably the worst part of the day. It usually take about 45 minutes to drive home, without traffic. Because all the highways in Tokyo are elevated, they were shut down due to safety scares. Thus, we had to take the local roads home. What was once a 45 minute ride turned into a 9 hour tormenting bus route. I was just glad to get home safe.