COVID- 19

It's crazy how quickly things can change in a month. For example, last month we were on our big holiday having the time of our lives, and now, we are functionally unemployed. But let me back up a bit first. Before we boarded the plane to Maylasia we had heard whispers about this virus going around so we did what anybody did, cracked a few jokes and moved on. By the time we were boarding the plane back to Vietnam it had blown up. We wernt really sure what we were coming back to, but we knew it wasnt really in Vietnam, so it couldnt be all bad? Getting back the Friday we had to unpack, do the washing, get groceries and all the other dreaded post-holiday chores. We all had full Teaching schedules the Saturday and Sunday and we were not ready. Getting to school in the morning was unbelievable. My language centre had more security than the airport did. They were taking temperatures, spraying sanitizer and giving out facemasks. Once you were cleared you could enter the elevator. All of my classes still went ahead and we were only missing one or two students. It was a tough day but apart from that, business as usual. The sunday though? My classes were running at half capacity and all the children were in facemasks. Do you know how hard it is to do a speaking activity with a second language speaker while they are wearing a mask??? Its like when the dentist asks you questions with his fingers in your mouth, it just doesn't work. My last class on a Saturday and Sunday is my smart teen class. They are older so we have fun, we crack jokes and some of the kids that I know can take it get a bit of Banter thrown their way, the regular. But this weekend they were on fire. Chucking out jokes about Bat soup and coughing on their mates they dont like. One poor boy sneezed and everyone acted like a bomb went off, all jumped away from him and started chanting "Corona". It was tough but we made it through, it was 8.30pm and I was ready for bed! As the kids were leaving I said my usual "Make good choices, cya next week" When one of the little boogers gave a chuckle and said "Haha yeah sure". Hes a little smartass so didnt think anything of it as I headed back to the TSC to gather my belongings before I went home. I stumbled into pure chaos. "Schools are closing for the week" "governments shutting us down" "We cant work" Teachers and TAs were buzzing round the office, the work group chat was blowing up! People were wired. Official word had come from the government that schools were being closed as a precaution amid the outbreak. They would be closed for one week and we would go from there. At first I thought, great. I was meant to be teaching a math class on the Monday so dodged a bullet there. So with schools closed for the week we thought we deserved another holiday. So we popped up to the Beach in Mui Ne, a six hour bus from Saigon and made sure to top up our tans, after all, it was only a week off, when else would we get this time? But then one week, turned into two, then two weeks turned into the end of February. Now? Official word is schools are closed till the 16th of March and then it will be reassessed. The changes have been noticable here, people are panicking. A lot more people are wearing masks on daily bases (as well as queuing outside of pharmacies to buy the masks) and with schools and some workplaces closed traffic is a lot lower. Tourists spots are less busy and nightlife is relatively dead. What does this all mean for me though?? I'm lucky, I guess, as I am employed as a full time teacher I am getting a basic salary, but I do have to owe those hours. So let me break it down I am contracted for 60hours per month. (However I usually do alot more but that is what I have to meet contractually to get my salary) As we only worked 19 hours during February, I didnt reach my basic 60hours. I was still paid for 60hours however but it means I owe my company 49hours. So if I do manage to do say 90 hours in March, I'll get paid for 60hours and then I will only owe the company 19 hours. In a way it's good, because I'm still getting an income, I dont have to be too stressed about money and I am somewhat secure. But also it's never good to owe a company anything. Unfortunately for some of my friends who are on part time contracts they dont have the salary. But it has been hard,with essentially no purpose we have been having late nights (talking about 8am) which means we sleep until 5pm which just translates to our body clocks being out of whack. We have so much free time but no money, our brains are turning to mush and it's starting to take a hold on us. From Tuesday-Friday there is a ladies night somewhere in the city which means our only outing is usually to a bar and that's cause it's free. It's been a really stressful month and a half. I've had a lot of conversations about when to pull the plug on this whole experience. Vietnam is handling the outbreak very good and if I'm not wrong currently we have no active cases. It is highly precautionary at the moment. Friends apartments are taking temperatures before they are allowed in, restaurants and bars are spraying sanitizer like water and there are so many billboards about hygiene. I know there has been one or two cases at home which has lead to the government banning travelers from certain countries. I'm not worried about not being allowed home, as I know my country will always get me back If things went really downhill. I'm worried about leaving Asia before I'm ready. You all know just how stubborn I can be. I like things on my terms, and if my trip had to end because of something out of my control, well that really just winds me up. I came to Asia looking for something. When I left I wasnt exactly too sure what that was but since being here I know I havent found it yet but I am close. There are so many more places I want to see and things I want to do. And when it's time to end this experience i want it to be when I'm ready. I miss my kids, we have had a few online classes but it's usually combined with a few classes and they are not the same. For now we are just hanging in there, hoping that we will be allowed back soon! Until next time, wash your hands!