Christchurch video blog - please watch! :)

The last few weeks I've been working on a video project for my Rebuilding Christchurch class and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I wanted to make something that would help people at home understand how extensive the damage from the earthquakes is and what it's like to live somewhere that's recovering from such a tragedy.

It was a very strange experience for me to come here only knowing what I'd seen on the news and then realize how wrong my perceptions had been - it's at the same time worse and longer lasting damage than I imagined and also less sensational. I've become increasingly curious about learning about the earthquakes the longer I've been here and it's only made me realize now that I can never understand what it was like to be here in February no matter how much I want to. But I think trying to understand is, in itself, valuable and I've been a little disappointed that many of the exchange students I know didn't seem to share this sensitive curiosity. What I'm trying to say with all this rambling is that I wanted to share the small insight I might have gained from all the thinking I've done while living here and I hope people who don't live here might understand a little better too.

This video project came at a perfect time because the first major recovery development since the earthquake came last weekend. There wasn't much hype about this beforehand, which I think made it even more heartwarming. They opened up one corner of the central business district (aka the red zone that has been guarded and fenced off since the earthquake while they knock down most of the downtown's buildings) and turned it into a few blocks worth of shops, bus exchange, and pedestrian urban container shopping area. I was so impressed and touched to be here for this and it was really incredible to see the streets absolutely flooded with people in a place that's just been behind a depressing fence the whole time I've been here. This is the first really visible sign of recovery there's been and I'm so pleasantly surprised that this came soon enough for me to experience it. 

Everything colored used to be closed

Arch in the background is the Bridge of Remembrance - if you go way back to my second ever blog there are pictures of it still fenced off

Being a dork with Prime Minister John Key

Christchurch life – tragedy anniversaries, rugby, volunteering

Life since break has been good but pretty low key – a lot of resting, catching up on school, and hanging out around Christchurch. My life in the last two weeks has consisted of a lot of relaxing, good conversations, cooking awesome snacks, watching movies, and spreading the Arrested Development gospel to my Kiwi friend. School here is harder than expected and staying on top of things has been consuming a lot of time and energy, but only five weeks of class left! Don’t panic like I did the other day – I’m just shy of the halfway mark of my time here, so even though class ends soon I have a month of finals and a month of travel after class ends. Not to worry.

One of the most memorable things that’s happened in the last week or two is the anniversaries of both the first earthquake in Christchurch (September 4) and 9/11. There’s a lot of similarity in the feelings people seem to have about these tragedies and it certainly makes you think and remember and appreciate how lucky you are. As I’ve written about, downtown Christchurch is totally devastated and will be closed for years, but they are gradually bringing events and art and life back into the area around the fence. We checked out the Canterbury Museum, which just reopened, and a lot of public art put on by the Christchurch Arts Festival, and it was great to see people down near city center. On September 4 they unveiled two beams of light from the dark city center to represent hope, which I watched from the fence, and it’s a touching idea but still sad that there was no sort of public event where everyone could come together again and start to heal. This sort of private, insular way is very characteristic of Christchurch culture.

Another sign of life near city center is the Rugby World Cup fan zone they’ve set up in the park downtown! The World Cup started last week and is a really big deal because it’s hosted in NZ this year, it only happens every 4 years, and NZ is pretty much accepted as the best rugby team in the world and fittingly Kiwis are obsessed with it. I went with some Kiwi friends to the opening night, which had an awesome opening ceremony (check it out here if you want, gorgeous and fascinating Maori history http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GkXpQhc51g) and celebrated the All Blacks’ first win against Tonga. It’s great to see people out and excited and coming together, especially in Christchurch since they really need that and it isn’t happening. It’s silly, but rugby is so big here that it’s really something that brings people together. So the next month of games and festivities should be really fun!

Another really cool thing that I did last weekend was some volunteering with the Student Volunteer Army. This is a university club that just exploded in size after the earthquakes, becoming one of the most important volunteer groups and getting international recognition for their service. They have an unbelievable and inspiring story, so I’d encourage anyone to read more about them if you’re interested (start here http://www.facebook.com/StudentVolunteerArmy). Last weekend they were getting done a few odd projects left over from past service events so Dahlia and Bernard and I got sent out to a preschool to do some serious yardwork so they could build an orchard for the kids. We spent about three hours weedwhacking, which was exhausting but so fun and satisfying! My arms are still aching as I write this three days later. Little projects like that don’t seem to matter much but I think when you combine many of these little projects it means a lot because people feel like support is out there and that people are helping each other. It was great to be a part of something like that, since I really wanted to help being here but there’s not much to do anymore unless you’re an engineer or a demolition worker. We even got official SVA t shirts! I am very excited about that because the shirts are so recognizable and these students are seen as heroes in the community.

The field we were up against

 Very excited about this shirt

 Looking badass as usual - we forgot to take an after picture but look how good that grass looks

A few other recent happenings: last week my flatmates had another girls’ night so I went out to a club with them, always good to bond even if we spent the whole time avoiding a really drunk Irish guy. Another friend that has a car tried to teach me to drive manual recently, which was a hilarious ordeal because after 15 minutes of not managing to get into first gear I was too frustrated and gave up (temporarily!) without actually making it into the road. I’m determined to learn though! Even if it is on the left side of the street. My last piece of exciting news is that it’s finally spring here! Things are blooming and it’s been in the 60s and it is so nice – it feels good to finally almost be on the good end of the opposite weather thing. Today was warm and grey and a little drizzly and felt very much like Seattle, which was nice for 5 minutes until I realized with horror that I’m not used to the rain any more and I don’t like it and it’s going to suck when I get back. On that cheerful note I’ll sign off – lots of exciting hikes coming up, keep an eye out!

Earthquakes

As most of you probably know, Christchurch has endured a series of major earthquakes this year that destroyed the heart of the city and forced me to do a lot of thinking before deciding to come here anyway despite what’s happened. Last September the first earthquake (7.1) happened, which destroyed a lot of the city’s infrastructure and weakened, if not destroyed, many buildings. Another earthquake/aftershock (6.3) came in February, which made the existing problems worse and brought the total death toll to 180. The worst part is the worst damage coincidentally happened right in the center of downtown, so it truly destroyed the life of the city—the whole area is still fenced off, see pictures and more below. Aftershocks have continued since, and the people here are beat down because their homes have been destroyed and they rebuild in the fear that everything will come crumbling down again. If you want to learn more about the earthquakes start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2011_Christchurch_earthquake           

Aftershocks are common, and though they think it’s unlikely another earthquake the scale of the first two will happen soon, aftershocks ranging from imperceptible to large enough to cause more damage do and will continue to happen. I didn’t know before I got here, but there are actually small shakes happening all the time – most too small to feel, but a few times a day you can hear buildings creaking, and I assumed it was wind until one of my flatmates told me it was a shock. Twice so far there have been shakes big enough for me to feel, which is still a little surprising and scary, but people who live here say you get used to those very quickly and it’s quite obvious when a shake is big enough that you should actually be scared and take cover. They’ve been having those sorts of moderate shakes (things might fall off shelves but no real danger) ever few weeks, so it’s very likely I’ll feel some while I’m here. I think I was in pretty comfortable denial about all of this before getting here but now I’m fascinated and want to learn more about what these people have been through and how to help. Of course it’s a little scary, and there’s a chance a bad quake could happen while I’m here, but that possibility exists anywhere and everyone here (now including me) is extremely prepared.

My college hasn’t been too affected by the earthquakes because it’s a few miles from downtown and this neighborhood didn’t suffer much damage. Even so, after the February earthquake the school (along with the entire city) was shut down for weeks while power and water were slowly restored and buildings were checked. A lot of the buildings closed—a handful still are, including the student union building—so students had to have lectures in big circus tents. A fair amount of services and such are still in tents, but the kids here seem to have a pretty good sense of humor about all this. All of this background is so you can understand this picture ("another friggin tent"):

Today I headed downtown for the first time to see for myself what the damage is like. I followed the news after the quakes and had seen pictures then but I really had no idea what to expect, how much of the city would be accessible, and how much damage would still be visible. I was expecting the worst, and I was still shocked to tears when I saw what’s happened to this city. Everything looked normal as I walked towards the city center along the scenic river and historic bridges. I started to notice cracks in roads and sidewalks that looked new and pink spray paint on the doors of buildings with a date in February apparently indicating they had been checked. On my left a driveway was closed off with “danger” tape but the house looked normal until I ducked under, peered around the corner, and realized most of the roof of the house was piled in the front yard.

This devastated house was shocking because the first damage I saw was so extreme, but also because so many clues were left behind about these people’s lives and the obvious truth that they had simply left their home behind. Through the windows I could see possessions scattered; I could almost picture what it looked like before it was so abruptly torn apart.

And on the peeling door of their backyard shed, they left a request ironic and tragic enough to break your heart.

The closer to the city center I got, the more eerie it became. The number of people around dwindled and then the crowds were replaced by men in orange and yellow vests. It looked as though the people had just vanished from one second to the next and the neighborhood they left behind turned into some kind of war zone. The entire city center is fenced—everything beyond the you are here on the map below—and closed to the public. It’s hard to see how bad the damage is inside but even around the edges, 6 months later, ruined buildings are still there seemingly just as the earthquakes left them.

I walked past one church with the roof caved in and much of the sides falling down. The scaffolding on the top shows that this church was damaged in the September earthquake and was in the process of repair when the February earthquake knocked the whole building down. I’ve learned enough already being here that this is how the people of Christchurch feel – every time they dare to have hope, another blow brings them back down, and many have given up completely. A lot of people have moved, some even deserting their wrecked homes like the first one I saw. This thought, and the visual example of the church, was really moving because I can’t even imagine having my home destroyed so thoroughly that I was ready to give up on it completely. Signs around the city urge, ”Rise up CHCH!” But this is a lot to ask.

But Christchurch will rise up. The sprawling park that earns the city its nickname of Garden City is alive and well, more timeless and untouchable than buildings. Perhaps the most staggering thing of all was the realization that among all the rubble, signs of recovery are everywhere. For every damaged building two stand strong on either side of it. A flag waves gently in the wind in front of a high rise that’s nearly restored to what it was. An open sign still hangs on a café door, and a teacup still stands on a table though the stools around it are splintered on the floor. You can imagine the streets humming with shoppers, the floral banners on street posts bright instead of tattered, even as birds sing from the red zone fences. The fences, whose purpose is to say “danger! keep out!” are instead littered with notices of businesses that have reopened elsewhere, prayers and memorials, and messages of joy and hope.

(PS – most of my blogs will not be this long or serious! This particular topic was just very moving for me and I wanted to do it justice. I hope it gives you all a better understanding of my new home and the things I might learn here.)