Hi Everyone,

We just moved to Wellington from the States the day before yesterday, happy to finally be in New Zealand, very jet-lagged . . . and then the earthquake happened.

We were in the mall here in Lower Hutt, getting our mobile phones so we could start getting settled in. I was standing in the middle of the mall, at a cafe kiosk, when the man making my tea looked up and over my shoulder. I thought, "what's he looking at up there? A bird in the mall?" Then the look on his face was pure fear. I turned around and the giant posters hanging from the ceiling were swaying violently, the lights were swaying, and then the building started to shake. Everyone was running - I just stood there. I've never been in an earthquake! I had no idea what to do and suddenly I was the only person standing there, the building going back and forth. I decided I had to run to where my husband and children were, across the mall - the fastest I've ever run and the most terrified I've ever been. I got there and they pulled me under a desk while the building kept rolling. To say the least, I'm freaked out. The aftershocks last night that kept coming didn't help.

Honestly, part of me just wants to go home now - where there are no earthquakes. But I'm trying to be a New Zealander about it and not feel so terrified. How do you all go about your lives not worrying about it? Not wanting your children by your side at all times? Not looking around every time you go into a store or cafe to see where you'll hide if a quake hits? Any advice greatly appreciated . . .