Hello, my dear Hive friends. As you know, my beautiful Venezuela was hit by two earthquakes in a row last Wednesday, and I don't think I need to tell you how I feel because you can probably imagine. My experience wasn't the best because the earthquake caught me at the Galer铆as 脕vila shopping mall, located a block from my house. I had gone to the movies that afternoon, and after that big jolt, I witnessed part of the movie theater's ceiling collapse in front of everyone there. Thank God there were few people and no one was hurt, but leaving the mall was traumatic because not only were pieces of concrete falling inside the emergency stairs as we went down, but when I got to the entrance, I saw many pieces of the facade on the ground, which terrified me (people in the street were also quite scared). I didn't waste any time and walked home to meet up with my mom, who was alone at the apartment with our five cats.
Hola, mis queridos amigos de Hive. Como saben, mi hermosa Venezuela se vi贸 azotada por 2 terremotos seguidos el mi茅rcoles pasado, y creo que no es necesario decirles como me siento porque se podr谩n imaginar. Mi experiencia no fue la mejor porque, el sismo me agarr贸 en el centro comercial Galer铆as 脕vila, ubicado a una cuadra de mi casa ya que esa tarde hab铆a salido al cine y, despu茅s de esa gran sacudida fui testigo de como parte del techo de la sala se desplom贸 frente a todos los que est谩bamos ah铆, gracias a Dios hab铆a poca gente y nadie sali贸 herido pero, salir del centro comercial dir铆a que fue algo traum谩tico porque no solamente se iban cayendo pedazos de concreto dentro de las escaleras de emergencia mientras 铆bamos bajando, sino que cuando llego a la entrada pude ver muchos pedazos de fachada en el piso lo cual me di贸 p谩nico (la gente estaba en la calle bastante asustada tambi茅n) yo no perd铆 el tiempo y camin茅 hacia mi casa a reunirme con mi mam谩 que estaba sola en el apartamento con nuestros cinco gatos.
Everyone in my building was outside. I asked several neighbors and the security guard about my mom, and they said they'd seen her. However, it was hard to find her because she'd gone to the mall to pick me up, and I hadn't seen her on the way. We were able to communicate by text message because all the phone lines were down, and I couldn't call or text her on WhatsApp. So, when we finally reunited, it was a huge relief. I went up to her apartment with her because our cats were hiding there, and I couldn't leave them unattended, even though they were hiding. As we went up, I was shocked to see the state of the stairwell walls, which had cracks and some sections had fallen down (thankfully, we were later told it was superficial and there was no serious damage). My apartment also suffered cracks in several walls and the ceiling, which we hope to repair once the aftershocks, which we're still feeling, have subsided. In addition to that, our things fell to the floor; however, most of them could be saved.
En mi edificio estaba todo el mundo fuera, pregunt茅 a varios vecinos y al vigilante por mi mam谩 y me dijeron que la hab铆an visto sin embargo, me cost贸 conseguirla porque ella hab铆a ido a buscarme al centro comercial y no la v铆 en el camino sin embargo, nos pudimos comunicar a trav茅s de mensaje de texto ya que todas las l铆neas estaban colapsadas y me fue imposible llamarla o escribirle por WhatsApp as铆 que cuando nos reunimos se me quit贸 un peso de encima. Sub铆 con ella al apartamento porque ah铆 escondidos se encontraban nuestros gatos los cuales no los pod铆a dejar desamparados aunque estaban escondidos y mientras sub铆amos pude ver con mucho susto como hab铆an quedado las paredes de las escaleras las cuales sufrieron grietas y algunas partes se cayeron (gracias a Dios despu茅s nos dijeron que fue superficial y que no hay da帽o que lamentar) y tambi茅n mi apartamento sufri贸 grietas en varias paredes y techo las cuales esperamos reparar una vez terminen las r茅plicas del terremoto las cuales todav铆a se sienten. Adem谩s de eso, nuestras cosas se vinieron al piso sin embargo, se pudo salvar la mayor铆a.
What happened was truly horrific. Many places in the surrounding area suffered significant surface damage, and some buildings sadly collapsed. I was particularly saddened to see the damage to the Church of La Candelaria, because I serve there, and when I approached it last friday, I got a lump in my throat seeing part of the front facade collapse. The church remains closed, however, they are holding Mass in Candelaria Square.
Lo que pas贸 realmente fue horrible, en los alrededores muchos lugares quedaron con bastantes da帽os superficiales y otras construcciones lamentablemente se derrumbaron. A mi particularmente me di贸 mucha tristeza ver el da帽o que sufri贸 la Iglesia de La Candelaria ya que yo presto servicio ah铆, y cuando me acerqu茅 el viernes pasado se me hizo un nudo en la garganta al ver c贸mo se derrumb贸 parte de la fachada delantera. La iglesia permanece cerrada sin embargo, hacen la misa en la Plaza Candelaria.
I must say that I am truly affected by everything that is happening, and I haven't stopped praying. I pray fervently for all those people still trapped under the rubble, that they may be rescued soon, and also for all those families who have lost their homes and loved ones, and for all the deceased (and there are many) that God may grant them eternal rest. If there is one thing that has become very clear to me, it's that life can be gone in a blink of an eye, so we must truly love and cherish our loved ones, and value what we have because we are here today, but who knows about tomorrow. God bless and be with my beautiful Venezuela.
Debo decir que estoy realmente afectada por todo lo que est谩 pasando y no dejo de orar, pido mucho por toda esa gente que todav铆a contin煤a bajo los escombros con vida para que pueda ser rescatada pronto, tambi茅n por todas esas familias que perdieron su hogar y a sus seres queridos, y tambi茅n por todos los fallecidos (que son bastantes) para que Dios les d茅 el descanso eterno. Si hay algo que me qued贸 muy claro es que, la vida se puede ir en un suspiro as铆 que hay que amar y valorar realmente a nuestros seres queridos, y valorar lo que tenemos porque hoy estamos, ma帽ana qui茅n sabe. Dios bendiga y acompa帽e a mi hermosa Venezuela.
Cover and closing image designed by me with Canva, and the photos are my property, taken with my Redmi Note 14 Pro phone.
Imagen de portada y despedida dise帽adas por m铆 con canva, y las fotos son de mi propiedad tomadas con mi tel茅fono Redmi Note 14 Pro.