As fate would have it, I traveled up to Shenyang on Monday morning...

... and thus didn't feel any of the quakes that shook much of the country that day. In fact, I didn't even hear about it until Tuesday. My first reaction was to contact my friend in Beijing, who was fine as there were only slight tremors in the capital.

As we all know, the people in Sichuan (also Szechuan, or Szechwan) weren't quite as lucky, with an estimated 20,000 dead at this stage. My deepest sympathies are with the families of those deceased, disappeared and injured.

If you want to help, contact your local Red Cross- I certainly will.

Bis dann,

Nadine