When my dad sent me an email earlier today with a subject of "A Wedding to Remember", I thought it would be some platinum wedding somewhere in New York, or Paris. But instead it was photos and description of this lovely Chinese couple taking wedding photos right outside of this church on the day of the Sichuan earthquake. Who would have known?!?!
Please see my translation below...
Please see my translation below...
"5月12日，我陪朋友去彭州白鹿書院教堂拍攝外景婚紗，下午兩點開始拍攝，剛剛拍攝了幾張甜蜜的照片之後，劫難降臨。""On May 12th, I accompanied my friends to the hundred-year-old church at White-Deer College to take some outdoor wedding photos. A few minutes after they started the photo session at 2:00 pm, disaster struck."
"大量的石塊從教堂上面飛落，大地開始搖晃，這時候我們才意識到是地震發生了！因為已經無路可逃，所有人抱頭撲倒在空地上。""Debris from the church were falling and the ground started shaking. At that point, we just realized that it was an earthquake. Since there was nowhere to go, we braced ourselves and laid on the ground!"
"這座竣工整整百年的教堂頃刻之間化為了一片廢墟……""The church that had stood there for over a hundred years now became a pile of rubble in just a few minutes..."
"我們互相攙扶著環顧四周，幾乎不敢相信眼前的一切……""After the quake, we helped each other up and looked around our surroundings. We couldn't believe what we saw..."
This was a "before" and "after" shot of the 100-year-old church!
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Having lived in "Earthquake Country" (both Northern and Southern California) myself for the past 18 years, I know what it's like when the big one hits. It's something you can never predict and you just have to be prepared for it.
Official figures state that 60,560 people are confirmed dead, including 55,239 in Sichuan province; 352,290 are injured and 26,221 missing. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless. My thoughts and prayers are with those victims and their families.
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Having lived in "Earthquake Country" (both Northern and Southern California) myself for the past 18 years, I know what it's like when the big one hits. It's something you can never predict and you just have to be prepared for it.
Official figures state that 60,560 people are confirmed dead, including 55,239 in Sichuan province; 352,290 are injured and 26,221 missing. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless. My thoughts and prayers are with those victims and their families.
1 comment:
When I saw those pictures on the news all I could think was how surreal they looked. The incongruity of a bride and groom amidst the crumbled church and haze of the dust swirling in the air? It looked staged. I know the final death count is higher and most likely will continue to rise. So shocking and so sad. My heart goes out to all who perished and to their families and friends. I'm glad this bride and groom and their friends were all safe. Quite amazing when you realize how much of the church came down around them that they were not injured or worse.
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