Earthquakes and an Eclipse

We have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes we've been feeling lately. About a month ago there were 11 separate earthquakes in half a day coming from the same region. Even though most of them were level 4's, we only felt them as a 1 in Taipei. Just after we returned from camp Taiwan had a 6.3 earthquake which is the largest in two years. It happened at about 2 a.m. We felt it as a level 3 and from the 10th floor of our building it had our hearts beating at great speeds. Allen and I awkwardly tried to get to our girls' rooms amidst the swaying. There was only a small amount of control over our steps as the floor moved unpredictably. Kirstie and Katelin both continued in sweet sleep while our furniture banged around and some of our African figures fell. We haven't felt an earthquake this large since we first arrived in Taiwan and were staying with Jon and Amy on the 16th floor of their building. I am very thankful we felt the quake as a 3 and not a 6.

Last week was exciting because we got to witness a solar eclipse. In Taiwan 85% of the sun was covered by the moon. It was the longest solar eclipse in a hundred years. I was expecting the sky to turn dark, but it only appeared as a cloudy afternoon. Kirstie saw it too, but we couldn't convince her that she was looking at the sun and not the moon. She still was very excited. It really was amazing.