Well, besides, a freaked out missionary?

Not much, really. I didn’t actually break the bowl I dropped when the medium earthquake scared me.

Tokyo averages one earthquake every two months. We were due for one in March; it didn’t happen, and then: surprise! There were two last week.

When a small earthquake happens, the house shudders. That’s all. It shudders, like me when I’m cold. It shudders, then stops. I am still frozen in place for a good couple minutes afterward, making sure it’s over. But it always is. The small one happened late last week as I was getting out of bed. Like I said, it was small, and getting up was only delayed an extra “Earthquake Minute.”

The very next day, however, as I was minding my own business, eating my ice cream, the house shuddered again. Again! And this time, it kept shuddering. That’s when I dropped the bowl (don’t worry, I had just finished eating when the quake started, so no ice cream was harmed in this fiasco). Usually the quaking/shuddering is finished by the time I get nervous, but this one lasted an extra … well, an extra minute.

Yes, I know. But earthquakes really bother me!

So, the answer is: the difference between a small earthquake and a medium earthquake is a dropped ice cream bowl.

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