A VIRUS AMONG US?!?!
(Only writing about the impact of the virus itself on my travels, not on the entire trip)
India, Thailand, Laos (January-March 2020)
We spent four days happily playing in Bangkok and waiting for our friend Nancy to arrive from the USA. We were not fazed by the Thai people wearing masks since many Asians wear masks as part of their everyday venturing out into the streets and shops. But by the evening of day 4, I was starting to feel sick. The next day our friend arrived and I tried to stay engaged but was not feeling well enough to do anything with the other two women. On day 6, we boarded a plane to northern Thailand and noticed signs asking people to use hand sanitizer and that masks were suggested. But it wasn’t mandatory. The news, we noticed, was focusing on a strange virus in China that was killing people. The borders of Thailand and Laos were officially closed to all flights and trains coming from China. Still, it was somewhere else. We were not too concerned.
For the next four days, I wasn’t feeling too well but kept pushing myself to do small hikes and explore with my friends. My energy was fading, however, and finally, because I have friends who live in that part of Thailand, they insisted that I go to the local hospital. What a difference from going to the hospital in the USA! Spotless walls and floors — shiny floors in fact — all workers wore masks. The doctor took a brief history, determined that I hadn’t been in China, and sent me for a test for various flus and viruses — no warning about what kind. Suddenly, a long swab was stuck up my nose but, fortunately, it only took a moment so I was over the discomfort and shock in moments as well. Less than an hour later, I was told that it was not a flu or any of the viruses, just bronchitis, and I was sent away with medicine.
Not feeling too well (above) Cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand
(I didn't feel well and sadly did not eat much of the delicious meal -- and Thai is my favorite kind of food!)
Below: preparing the meal in the Thai cooking class
We left Thailand on a longboat on the Mekong River, drifting for two days into Laos and seeing some remarkable beauty. We explored Luang Prabang for a week and I continued to regain my energy. We were not watching or reading the news anywhere, but we started noticing so many people starting to wear masks. Sadly, our two and a half weeks in SE Asia ended, and we flew back to India. The reality of what could lie ahead began to overwhelm us upon landing when we were separated in the immigration hall and, along with several hundred other passengers, required to fill out forms about where we’d come from and where we were heading, and then we had our temperatures taken. We were a bit confused as we didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.
Fast forward a month, to the end of February. I’d been traveling in India again, and found my schedule rearranged so that I could fully recuperate in clean air before heading to the village where I normally stay in a community of people who practice Judaism. For the next four weeks, I played and swam in the states of Goa and Kerala, watching the sun set over the Arabian Sea night after night. I’d hear the news now and then about some virus in China, yet still hadn’t understood the significance. I just knew that I had to get to the village within the next two weeks, to arrive there by March 14th. As time went on, I started receiving emails and texts from the USA: where are you? Have you been following the news? India’s going to be next. GET HOME! I did not pay it too much attention. I kept traveling, celebrating Shabbat in another Jewish community in South India. Eventually, I made my way to the city of Chennai, and the texts from my son, my doctor friend, and a friend who is an epidemiologist in DC all pleaded with me to COME HOME, capital letters. NOW. I didn’t know what to do. I had another month to go. People were waiting for me to visit and I hated to let people down.
I called a doctor friend in Kolkata and asked her advice. GO HOME, she said. The LAST place you want to be if this virus comes to India — which it turns out had just arrived in the state I had just left — is HERE. LEAVE. I visited the Singapore Airlines office in the city and they offered me two choices, a week and a half away leaving from Delhi, or two days later, leaving from right where I was. Suddenly I started realizing this was serious stuff. The airlines did not charge me for a change of city or date. I knew, then, that things were not to be taken lightly. I was unsure of what to do. And then, it was as if a hand rested on my left shoulder and a voice quietly but firmly whispered in my ear — GO HOME! How could you even think anything else?? And at that moment, my decision was made.
I told the Jewish community folks where I was supposed to be heading next that I couldn’t come — that I had to get home. They didn’t understand. No one understood. Why??? Why are you leaving without coming to see us? So, feeling the pressure, the next morning I took a 7-hour train ride to their state, visited two Jewish communities in the course of 2 1/2 hours, and then got a ride to the local airport two hours away and flew back down to Chennai because I was to leave the next day.
Never, never, could I have imagined then how life would change for me, for my friends in India, for my friends and family here, for the whole world. I boarded the flight in India and flew to Singapore. I was in shock there. The airport, normally a huge hub in Asia for flights coming from all over the world, was EMPTY. No one was there. Our temperatures were taken when we landed. Doctors were working in the airports, checking people out. I felt like I was in a strange new world. Four hours later I boarded a flight to San Francisco, again having our temperatures taken and being asked if we had any symptoms; the flight was not full which was unusual — and upon arrival in SFO, after hearing about the other ports of entry in the USA taking hours, we were shocked that no one was there to take our temps, no one was there to ask us any questions, nothing. It was the fastest re-entry to the USA I’d experienced in years. However, once we entered the domestic terminal the new reality set in very quickly. SFO was empty. No stores were open, one restaurant was open for take-out. It was quite eerie, to say the least. I flew home to Oregon. Was life really going to be so different? This is the USA after all. We’ve got this!!
We were briefed to consider quarantining for two weeks. Life was still doable! I’d see my kids in Oregon, I’d fly to DC to see another child, I’d fly to Colorado. I’d be back in India in November. So much to look forward to once the virus would be eradicated. Thankful for living in the USA because we had avoided pandemics since 1918, I was confident that we’d all be back to “normal” very soon.
The reality has been sinking in since arriving home to the USA on Sunday, March 15th. Six months of mostly being quarantined, wearing masks whenever leaving my home, and constantly washing my hands; no guests, no visiting others. Not being able to hug my kids. My son Dana has been in quarantine in his building for six months, only going out three times to go to the doctor. I see him through his window. He can’t read my lips from so far away. I use sign language. My city’s streets are mostly empty with so many shops and restaurants closed temporarily or permanently. Life is so different now.
There is no good way to end this story, at least not now.
If only . . . IF ONLY the United States of America had competent, intelligent, and compassionate leadership, we could have avoided the high number of infections and death this pandemic has caused here. I pray for November to bring us a new president and administration, a president who everyday demonstrates care and compassion for all Americans and for the whole world. I look forward to the day when we can all visit and hug each other again without fear of passing on or becoming infected by COVID-19.
It won’t take me long to pack my bag and be ready to head out into the world again. Change is coming — I hope and pray for it to be so.
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