Every 300 Years

Today we saw history in the making. And it just so happened we were in the best spot. In. The. World. It was a sight I know I never anticipated seeing- never really thought twice about but experiencing the world go dark- dark like it was midnight-dark, in a mere few minutes at 9:30 in the morning is something I know I will always remember from my year abroad in China. It was a spectacle and everyone was consumed by it. People flooded roof tops, streets, left work stopped driving and English teachers taught kids vocabulary such as moon, stars, sun, Earth and Eclipse.

Our morning began in a rush. Chad and I were in a race against time. We needed to get to my school (on the 12th floor) by 9:20 AM. Sunlight was already quickly becoming extinguished. Of course I immediately thought this would be the time we’d get stuck in the elevator but we made it out our building just as usual to see the many little old ladies sitting about in their make-shift chairs outside. There was something different however. Instead of their normal chatter amongst each other, they amicably passed around old x-ray photos that they could hold up against the blinding sun. Did they know a secret I didn’t know? Was this method of observation in fact safe? (I saw more in those photos of their medical history than I probably needed to). People were in fact, quite innovative to see this once in a lifetime glimpse at the Total Solar Eclipse. It goes without questioning, that if you look at the sun for even a few seconds, permanent damage or blindness is likely. Locals were so eager to see the entire process of the Eclipse that they resorted to using welding masks, pieces of broken glass, two pairs of sunglasses being worn, or even just a piece of paper to hold up against the blinding light.

We made it to my school in time and joined the many students and teachers out on our roof. Before we finished our sentences to each other, night fell and but morning had only begun. It was only 9:30. Looking up, all that was visible was a thin, striking, luminous ring of fire. It was a halo that also graciously dropped the sky-rocketing temperatures in Hangzhou. It was a moment that reminded me just how vast the Universe is, that there are still so many things left unknown and also more importantly, that there are so many things that we cannot control in this world.

Fireworks leapt from the ground and for those five and half minutes, awe was the only thing that filled the city.