2 women in our neighborhood die from Covid

Two elderly women in our neighborhood died from Covid in the past week and a woman on the street behind us is hospitalized with the virus, All three were unvaccinated. This information comes from our ward's government representative. I witnessed no music, drum banging  or loud processions for the deceased as usually occurs when someone dies here. In the "new normal," some family members get together for a meal and drinks, but no large gatherings are permitted. I heard that the government got the bodies of the two women who died at home and handled the cremation. Meanwhile, the people across the street from us tested negative after 14 days and had their red "Covid is here" sign removed. Three more signs on our street were removed and another popped up. I believe there are five signs in all on our street. One house down the street from us, which has some rough folk living there -- the woman laughed pretty hard when my daughter crashed on her bike and bloodied her knees -- put their Covid sign on a small trash can that's not easily visible. I wouldn't expect much else from this crowd, which is also the group that laughed at me when I wore the shield. Anyway, there are 15,000 to 17,000 new Covid cases here a day, which I know pales in comparison to the United States. No variant is named in Vietnam, but I suspect Delta is still making the rounds with Omicron coming later. I've always felt they're a little behind the times here.
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It doesn't look or feel like Christmas in Bien Hoa. It's not just the 90-degree weather. Before Covid (B.C.?), Christmas was picking up steam, especially with retailers. Now, some of the stores have decorations, but there's been a definite drop-off. Makes sense. If you can't give your mom a proper, traditional burial, why would you care about a Western holiday? The big mall and markets are eerily empty. Joanna and I went shopping on Wednesday at the largest and only "real" mall in town and it was too quiet. No lines, no hustle, no bustle. Nonetheless, I'm trying my best to instill a little Christmas spirit into our house for my daughter Joanna and son Elijah. Joanna has been coloring Christmas-themed pictures, which I hang on the wall near our tree. I keep adding ornaments and lights to the tree, even if it's tiny and artificial. Or ecologically and economically friendly, depending on your perspective. Christmas doesn't mean a lot to my wife even though she's Catholic; Tet is what matters to her and that holiday will be quiet this year as well. Elijah isn't too interested in Santa yet, but he'll kick our Christmas balls all over the house. 
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I dropped my Apple laptop down a flight of stairs and even though we've tried to get it fixed, it
hasn't been the same. We bought another Apple laptop but the new one (really, it's pre-owned) isn't quite right, either. So both have been returned to the shop, and I'm working on a PC now, which is a little tricky for me. So I now have a legitimate excuse for any mistakes in my blog. I've also struggled to get lessons together for Joanna on the PC, but we're on Christmas break anyway. Christmas coloring continues, but that's pretty much it. 
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I want to sincerely wish everyone a safe, healthy and very happy holiday season. I know so many people who step up in difficult times like we're enduring now and do the right thing for others and themselves. I don't expect anything different this holiday season, and that can give all of us reason to celebrate. 

Nearby Covid cases recovering; too old to run?

 Another red Covid sign was posted on a house on our street, bringing the total to eight. But the good news is that some of the signs will come down this week if the residents test negative. A few are already down. Still, no one is talking much about Covid or a particular variant here. There's almost a stunned silence regarding the virus. But I do see some attitudes slowly changing. People on our street who didn't wear masks would laugh and point at me when I wore one with a face shield, but now they laugh at me behind their own masks. Some mask resistance exists here; one guy at the park rode his bicycle and worked out on newly installed exercise equipment without a mask, along with his kid, who was also mask-free. I used sign language to suggest he should wear a mask and he honestly thanked me through my wife. Next time I saw him and his kid they had masks on. Two park joggers go mask-less and they huff and puff as they go about their business in a crowded park, which means they're likely to share any virus they happen to be carrying. I politely suggested that they wear a mask, and got zero response. My wife told the park security guard to put a mask on, and, shock of shocks, he did. I wouldn't be so adamant about masks except for the fact that it helps prevent the spread of the virus, and Covid case numbers released by the government here continue to climb, with anywhere from 13,000 to 17,000 new cases each day. Things are pretty much opened up, and there seems to be an honor system at businesses to scan your proof of vaccination with your cell phone. Some do, some don't. A couple of aspects of life here are returning to normal a little faster than I'd like. More motorbikes are being ridden on sidewalks and more litter is starting to show up.

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Last week at the park Joanna insisted we run a footrace. So, ready, steady, go, and away we went (I'm pleased my back lets me run). A lady who my wife and I know very casually says to my wife: "It's good your husband is running now with your daughter because he won't be able to run in a year or two because he's so old." Charmed, I'm sure. But it was one of those weeks where the odd was the norm. My daughter and I turned the corner to walk the path that leads to the street behind us and then on to the park, and as we turned the corner, we were met with smoke. Trash was being burned on the narrow sidewalk. Joanna was scared and wouldn't pass, so I started to push the pile to the side so she could get through, and some woman comes out of nowhere screaming at me to leave her burning pile of rubbish on the pedestrian pathway alone. I still pushed the pile a little so Joanna could pass and the woman barked something at me and swept the pile back into the middle of the sidewalk and reignited it. There was a bunch of leaves, berries, sticks and I guess some regular trash. I told her to burn her trash in front of her house or in the street and left it at that. Once past the burning pile, Joanna kept laughing about the whole thing, and started with the "Why?" questions. No easy answers. The charred remains of the pile were off to the side of the path the next day. Later, Joanna and I were walking down the main street when a security guard sitting in front of some bank shows his cell phone to me with a translated question: "Is she your daughter or granddaughter?" I told him daughter, which he either didn't believe or understand, and he showed me again. So I responded again, in English and Vietnamese, and he showed me and asked (I guess) again. I said "Yes, yes," and he seemed happy with the response. Then he pointed to my stomach and laughed. I told you it was an odd week.

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Owls are now the animal of choice for Joanna, which hopefully is a good omen for Yellow Springs, Ohio, and our waiver application. No word on our waiver lately; it was sent Sept. 17 and receipt of the waiver was acknowledged by the USCIS on Oct. 31. Nothing since, and some websites say we may have a decision by the end of May. I've accepted that Joanna has lost her year of kindergarten. If the waiver drags on forever we'll figure something out. ... Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone is an excellent book even though it sort of jumps around time-wise. which I guess makes it epic. The details of the characters' lives and the travels through Africa are riveting and, like Conquistador, which I recently finished, a bit unsettling. Much of the book takes place in Tanzania, which my friend recently visited. I'm glad I've become addicted to reading. ... Starting to heat up here for some reason, maybe because the rains have slowed. It's in the low 90's and of course humid every day.

Some kind of virus bugged us; keep your distance, please

I'm not sure if I had Covid, but there were some serious warning signs: chills, a sore throat and confusion. The confusion was the worst part. I could not find my wallet, which set off a desperate and futile nighttime search with a flashlight in the park. The wallet ended up being on the bedroom floor. I took my temperature countless times and it was normal every time, so I told my wife that I'd get tested the next day if I was still under the weather. After a lengthy trip to the bathroom and marathon shower, I felt fine that night and was right as rain the next day. Perhaps the vaccine did its job, or maybe I was dealing with some other issues, like confusion from fatigue related to lack of sleep and child care, and a sore throat and chills from too much air conditioned living. Who knows? Who cares, other than me? I will say I'm so happy to have been vaccinated because there's so much Covid around us now. My poor wife had a similar experience a few days later, with bad chills and dizziness. She bounced back after a few hours.  Our family remains devoted to the mask and hand washing, and I've become a real zealot about social distancing. Some people crowd others in line here, and put their groceries on top of someone else's stuff at the checkout counter. This happened twice to me this week -- at a specialty food store and at the local market. In both cases, the people made significant contact with me while sticking their items on top of mine. I smiled and politely motioned for both people -- a man and woman -- to back up and respect social distancing until I paid. But they bulldozed ahead, and I got seriously irritated and pointed to my  mask and barked out that "I HAVE COVID!" (in Vietnamese) and "get away from me" in English. The man actually left the store until I was finished and the woman walked five feet away slowly and with attitude, if you know what I mean. A few years back I might have put their groceries on the floor while checking out -- I've done that in the past, but those instances involved line-cutting as well as grocery stacking. But I'm a kinder and gentler White Monkey these days so I just try to communicate my concerns to the best of my abilities, and if that doesn't work, I try to scare the crap out of people so they'll back off. I don't want conflict or Covid. I've got two small kids who need their dad at the moment and I don't need strangers crashing my personal space with Covid. It's very much worth noting that a guy in line gave me a thumbs-up when I barked at the woman and the clerk smiled at me when I scared the guy out of the store. Most people here get it, but the ones who don't give Covid the chance to spread, and it's spreading at a rate of about 13,000 to 14,000 cases a day in Vietnam. At two of the seven houses on our street displaying ''Covid is here'' warning signs, mask-less people sit outside smoking and talking with their doors open. Like I said, most people get it.
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I don't need reminders I'm getting old -- turning 67 and my bathroom mirror have taken care of that. But the other day in the park I carried Joanna on my shoulders for a few minutes (at her request) and then I walked home with Elijah on my shoulders (at my wife's request). Later that night I could barely move from pain in my back at the same spot where I hit the road in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. When the pain first locked me up I wondered why, then thought back to my foolishness at the park with Joanna and walk home with Elijah. Then I thought about my age. Then I thought about the accident more than five years back. At least I can still think, but when the old sports injuries start to come back, I'll know it's getting near closing time.
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 I did a five-creature challenge with Joanna on Wednesday morning in the park that I knew wasn't super difficult, but figured would eat up a little of my daughter's time. It ate up less than two minutes -- bird, bee, lizard, snail, butterfly. She loves and knows how to spot her creatures. ...  Elijah heads straight to the road next to the park so he can see cars go by. A real boy, that boy, pointing out all the white SUVs to me after he kicks the soccer ball around a little ... I'm at 733 days and 106 weeks in a row of Kindle reading and I'm currently halfway through Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone. 

Covid cluster around our house; locals call Joanna a boy

 Our street seems to be at the center of a Covid cluster, with more than 30 people and seven houses around us infected.  The virus has certainly quieted things down: kids don't ride their bikes –– masks or no masks –– up and down our street; fewer vendors and lottery sellers come around; fewer mask-less morons strut around, although the annoying bread sellers still arrive 6 a.m. with a booming announcement over a loudspeaker of hot, crispy bread.  The guy across the street, who gives me xam xam (a gelatin made from leaves) because I give his kids chocolate, tested positive along with his wife, mother and the two kids. I've suspended the treat exchange until things cool down. The concern for us is that these folks got the same vaccines we received -- AstraZeneca. As has been the case for me over the years here, I have no idea of what's going on. I hope the vaccines were legitimate but it does seem odd that a lot of vaccinated folks are getting infected. I sure hope our family can avoid getting coronavirus, but we're pretty nervous. I've been a little under the weather the past two days and if my malaise continues another day, I'll get tested. Covid would be a real drag for the obvious reasons, but also because my daughter depends on me to provide classes and entertainment. Many of the people who contracted and probably spread Covid on our street exhibited inappropriate behavior such as no masks in addition to having lots of people coming and going from their houses with zero social distancing. Houses in our ward that have a resident with Covid are identified with a red sign on or next to the front door. It's a grim passover of sorts.
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My daughter tried to cut her own hair, and failed. She likes to do her own thing. Anyway, my wife had to cut Joanna's hair really short to kind of even things out. As a result, when Joanna and I go out people ask me the age of my son, to which I reply that she's my daughter. The people overreact with shock and disbelief. They react a little too strongly, in my opinion. One guy in T-Rex Coffee told me at least three or four times that she looks like a boy. Whatever. It's ironic since my daughter is very proud of being a female, and she calls all insects, lizards, dinosaurs, geckos, and animal characters in her books "she" and "her". I love it. My son Elijah, meanwhile, is so enamored with kicking his ball that he boots it around for 30 minutes in the bedroom before his nap.
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I still fret over my daughter's education and socialization here. She's not in school, and wouldn't benefit much from online kindergarten taught in Vietnamese and perhaps some English. This is a 5-year-old kid who can read and write a little, is now expressing herself extremely well, and has a very keen memory -- and low threshold of boredom and isn't shy about speaking her mind. With Covid on the upswing, no schools are open for face to face learning and even if they were, my daughter would resist the uniforms, conformity and discipline that seem to be the focus here. The private international schools are about $19,600  a 10-month school year and require uniforms, and almost certainly stress discipline, conformity and order. There are no easy choices, which is why it's so crucial to me that my wife's waiver is approved by the USCIS and she can get her visa to come to the U.S. I know I've repeated all this countless times in this blog -- sorry.
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The park near our house is much more pleasant with motorbikes now prohibited from entering. Some guy and his girlfriend rode into the park in the one open spot, but the security guard politely asked him to take his bike outside the park. The guy rode away and the problem was pleasantly resolved ... I'm currently reading Into Africa, the story of Stanley and Livingstone.  I just finished Conquistador by Buddy Levy; it was as good as it was disturbing. My reading "addiction" is at 105 weeks and 726 days in a row. ... It's been two years since I've had alcohol, except in my Listerine mouthwash. ... Good visit with my eye doctor. Dr. Wong is a good doctor and good man. My glaucoma is stable and my vision even improved a tiny bit. Well, my hindsight is 20-20 ...