Today I woke up to a cloudy morning, went food shopping before noon and rushed back home (third floor room) to endulge myself with hot cocoa and cookies. I was planning on doing some reading but only after seeing the news for five minutes my friend from Madrid contacted me on Skype. We have been trying to talk for days and days but the time difference and our “busy” schedules were making it a tiny bit difficult. We are both celebrating our birthdays these days and I have been wanting to tell her over video how much I am enjoying SF.

I had an extended conversation and lunchtime arrived. I said goodnight and began preparing lunch, consisting of sandwiches, when the earthquake hit for a few seconds.

The third floor shook for a quick moment and the story was over, luckily. I started nervously laughing and I did not know what to do. I have read several notes about what to do in the event of a tremor and still did not know what to do.

Today is the anniversary of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. Schools and workplaces had earthquake drills during the day. I just experienced the first one ever. As much as I fear hurricanes they can at least be predicted. An earthquake can happen anytime, just a couple of hours after a drill, while sleeping or taking a shower and there are no seasons for it.

On October, 20th of the year 1868, the Cuban national hymn “La Bayamesa” was sang for the first time by the mambises troops in the eastern part of Cuba.
In 1980, the Cuban government declared the date as the Cuban culture day and since then it has been celebrated with all kinds of cultural activities. I have celebrated this afternoon sitting at home and reading about Cuba, the endless reading of articles coming from Cubans from the island and abroad.

The night is almost here. It is time to enjoy some Cuban classics now. I think I will start with Esther Borja‘s voice.