July 11th started out like any other Sunday morning... yelling at encouraging the kids to get in the car so we can go to church to learn about the love of Jesus.
Got home, had our Sunday night family movie night, put the kids to bed. & then Jesse & I debated about who was going to go out and watch the Final World Cup game. You might think we were both wanting to go, but sorry to say we are not soccer - i mean "football" fans. It is better here than America, just b/c everyone gets into it, but we still just don’t quite get it. But Jesse ended up getting a call from a friend who was going out to watch the game so he decided to go ahead and go.
At 9pm we heard the fireworks go off around town, just as the game was going to start. Jesse left, and I went up to put in a "chick flick" that i knew Jesse would never want to see. At about 11pm I heard some distant noise, i thought maybe it was thunder, 2 minutes later i heard it again. No it wasn't thunder. Must be something to do with the World Cup... although it didn't sound like fireworks either. It couldn't be a bomb. The only reason that thought even crossed my mind is that about 3 years ago we lived in Sri Lanka.... this isn't the first bomb i've heard.
Anyway, I decided to just sit back down and finished my movie. About 30 minutes later I got a call from one of my friends who works with the embassy, and she told me that there has been a confirmed bombing, and 2 unconfirmed bombings, and that we should stay at home. Well great Jesse is not at home! I quickly start trying to get a hold of Jesse. He doesn't answer his phone. I call 3 other people who are with him. First two, no answer. Finally the third friend picks up. I tell him what's going on, and that they should probably come on home.
We don't know much that night. The next day we start finding out a little more. Our internet is moving slower than molasses. The only website I can access is Facebook. No news sources, no email. It makes it hard to get any good information. Lots of rumors are flying around that there were two other bombs as well (turns out to be false). I guess it was all over the news in the states, since we heard from so many friends & family, making sure we were okay. Thankfully we were & all of Jesse’s colleagues & their families were all fine too.
I went out that very next day. Everything seemed back to normal already. (very weird) Traffic was the same, everyone went to work, stores were open. The biggest difference has been when you go to a store or mall. They are checking every vehicle. One guy opens up all your doors, checks the glove box, and looks inside any boxes you might have in your car. The other guy has a mirror to check under the car. That’s just to get in the parking lot. Then to get in the store there is usually a security line where they are checking your purse and then patting you down. A little weird when you just want to get some milk.
