Lễ but no hội

[heliopausa]

Another New Year - the months rocket by.  In fact, it's already past the first full moon of the year, which as you all know is Year of the Metal/GoldRat.  Here in Hanoi things have not yet got back into full swing after the Tết break - it officially ended last Monday, but concerns about the coronavirus have kept things quiet.  All government

Comments

[asakiyume]

I like your joke ^_^ Humor soothes the soul when people are worried. [ETA: I got it backward--it was the joke of the man you were talking to. Still! It was good.]

Eventually the outbreak will be contained, but right now, my heart goes out to everyone. I'm editing a paper for someone in Beijing right now, and for someone in Singapore after that, and I just finished one for someone in Hong Kong. Life is so disrupted--in Hong Kong, there is no elementary school until sometime in March, and in Singapore, my client reported her university is going to go to e-classrooms (i.e., not physical gathering) for the time being, in an effort to prevent spread of the virus. The client in Beijing is new to me, so I haven't spoken to him in a personal way, but I can only imagine the anxiety of anyone living there.

At the same time, it's good to remember that the virus isn't an evil spirit with magical powers (so far as we know!), and that the measures one would take to keep from catching a cold will be effective. It sounds to me like Vietnam's response is a very good one.

Thinking of you--I hope good news is forthcoming soon.

[heliopausa]

Certainly not an evil spirit! :) It'll ebb, and I hope has already passed peak in terms on new cases. With the decline of antibiotics (not useful for a virus anyway, of course) we all need to return to more scrupulous hand-washing and so on, just for "ordinary" colds and flu.

That's interesting, about Singapore university moving to e-classrooms - some schools here are doing the same:
https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/591980/millions-of-kids-find-creative-ways-to-keep-busy-during-coronavirus-break.html

I think I liked the temple-man's joke because I understood it! :D My language skills are still very poor - only just up to mild conversational level - so a joke is a tiny step up!
Thanks for your good wishes.