If the swine flu comes to Guaymas, I could be in trouble. Lately I've been spending a lot of time socializing with the locals. My Mexican friends are more inclined to plant besitos on my cheek and give me warm abrazos on arrival and departure, unlike the more distant, "protecting-my-space" gringos.Thursday and Friday nights I met with Lolita, Blanca, Lena, Julia and Padre Jorge to practice some songs in Spanish, and then on Saturday night we performed the songs at a fiesta celebrating Padre Jorge's birthday and the opening of a new elder daycare center in Miramar (a suburb of Guaymas). Lots of hugs and kisses all around, even from the Padre.
Meanwhile in Mexico City they're taking the flu very seriously: people are wearing masks in the streets, schools have been shut down and churches have been canceling mass. Then last night a category six earthquake struck close enough to be felt in the capital, and people were evacuating. What to do?
Stop the presses! It's getting hard to keep up with reports now. Schools and cinemas throughout Mexico are closed today. And the casualty count jumped from 100 to 149 as of midday today. That's how many people have died of flu-like symptoms, but only 20 had been confirmed swine flu victims, last I looked. Travelers coming home to Scotland, Canada and Spain have been quarantined with symptoms, and governments in Japan, China and Korea are planning to quarantine and examine anyone returning from the US or Mexico. The tourism industry, already reeling from the economic downturn, takes another one in the chops.
Reports say most of the victims have been younger people, whose stronger immune systems overwhelm their lungs with antibodies and suffocate them (to put it in very unscientific terms). Older people who have been through other flus and respiratory illnesses have less robust responses that don't overcompensate, and they are more likely to survive.
A mask telegraphs to the world that you're not available for kisses and probably wouldn't welcome hugs. Next we'll do away with handshakes, which originally were meant to convey that we weren't carrying a weapon (just germs). High fives will have to go, too. Maybe winks will be the new friendly greeting.
FYI: I've been advised the new, more health-conscious way to sneeze is not into your hand, since you're unlikely to always have immediate access to wipes, liquid cleaner or soap and water. Instead, use the inside of your elbow.
10 comments:
"Instead, use the inside of your elbow."
To add to what you said about sneezing into the elbow. Many people grab their sleeve at the elbow with their opposite hand and then sneeze into their shirt sleeve at the elbow. Then you can use the sleeve to wipe your nose :)
It is so sad but it seems like paranoia is striking all of us. The expogan, this big fiesta in hermosillo, has been deserted. The news recomended to avoid crowded places, so I guess we won´t be hugging or kissing for awhile. Is this as bad as it sounds in the news? I just hope this flu won´t get us here.
Bob - All I can say to that is "Yuck!" Hopefully the new etiquette is going to train everybody to be fast on the draw with their tissues.
Ale - It's bad enough that people who have traveled to Mexico are going home with symptoms and being quarantined.
Maybe handkerchiefs should come back into fashion. We've been teaching kids to sneeze or cough into their elbow for several years now. But then they do the wrist/arm/elbow runny nose wipe, so it's sort of useless.
They have closed one of the schools in the Dallas area today. Several in San Antonio are closed.
Just when I thought I could quit drinking my Emergen-C.
jomamma,
I think you are right on! My parents taught me that a gentleman or lady never left the house without a clean handkerchief and I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without one now. The problem is that these days kids would never want to be seen with a handkerchief. I think it is time that we go back to basics.
Wow! I certainly am glad that I got over that head cold I brought with me from Oregon. I would now be labeled as Typhoid Esteban.
And, Bob, I always carry a clean handkerchief. But I use it to wipe the sweat from my brow -- another phrase quickly going out of usage.
So true Bob... we need back to basic thinking. But now days people think Hankies are gross and disgusting.
My sister and I almost fought over my dad's hankies when we were preparing for the estate sale. Nothing feels better on a sore nose when you have a bad head cold. I still have my little hankies I used to carry to Sunday School as a little girl in the 60's.
Steve - Go to tianguis and buy a handful of those big, colorful bandanas, put them through the wash a half-dozen times to soften them, and they'll be a lot better for wiping the sweat from your brow. In Melaque, a handkerchief won't do it.
A very sad time in Mexico. Everyone I know feels "rude" for not shaking hands or greeting eachother with a kiss on the cheek!
Very nice blog!
I refuse to give up kissing - some things are simply worth the risk ;-)
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