Today was my last official day of Winter Break and I decided to sleep in. Of course, there's nothing more upsetting than awakening to a timeline full of the most disheartening and infuriating news about your home country. To see the United States and my fellow Americans enduring yet another horrific chain of events hurts my head and my heart. I don't know how the world can ever enjoy peace and harmony when people of one entire country are so divided. There are many things I miss about the USA, but I do not miss the inequality, the racism, the political unrest, and the selfish attitudes of individuals. I am well aware that this goes on in many countries around the world, but it breaks my heart to see people who would rather cause destruction and let things crumble instead of working together to create a safer and more peaceful nation.
Today was also the day the second State of Emergency was declared for 4 prefectures in Japan: Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa. A few other prefectures are requesting to be added to that list. New Covid cases jumped over 2,400 new cases in Tokyo with a national total of new cases over 7000. The strain that is being put on medical facilities right now is overwhelming. Perhaps the most infuriating factor is that it all could have been prevented. Instead of preparing and anticipating worst-case scenarios to make sure that hospitals and medical institutions could handle a possible (probable) rise in cases, the government was busy promoting travel campaigns and encouraging people to go out to eat again by offering discount coupons and special travel packages. Rather than remind people about the importance of physical distancing and being cautious when going out, the government excitedly felt that the economy was being restored, people's lives were returning to normal and events could once again be resumed. In the meantime, there were so many of us shouting at our TV screens and twitter timelines begging the government to stop being so careless. We saw the numbers of new cases rising again. Why don't they stop these campaigns or stop insisting that we have everything under control? Despite the anticipated state of emergency, I know the call was not made soon enough. It is also frustrating and frightening to know that the restrictions being requested for this state of emergency are nowhere near as strict as they were back in April even though the number of cases back then was far less. Doesn't it make sense to be a little stricter this time around?! Apparently not.
I'm very disappointed and confused that the health and welfare of teachers have not been taken into more consideration. Prime Minister Suga said that because there haven't been any clusters or a large number of cases at schools, he would like schools to remain open because the students need stability in their education and it is important for their lives not to be so disrupted. Now, strangely, I have connected with a lot of fellow teachers and assistant language teachers at different schools around Japan, particularly around Tokyo. We can all tell you stories of what our schools are and are not doing to prevent infection. We can tell you stories of what really happened when students tested positive for Covid or when a family member tested positive. I was even more surprised to hear my Twitter friends share similar stories to what I have seen and experienced: teachers not wearing masks at school in the faculty room, people not disinfecting or even washing their hands after classes, and teachers who are still going out to public places that they probably shouldn't be going to. Tomorrow is our opening ceremony for the third and final term of the new school year. Of course, I am excited to see the students again, but I'm not going to lie. I'm a little bit nervous. I have no idea what my students and their families, as well as my colleagues, have been doing for the past 2 weeks. Did anyone travel? Was anyone in their family ill? I admit that sometimes I get a little bitter, but I can't blame the children. Why am I taking every precaution to keep my students and me safe and sacrificed going out or doing anything that could be risky only to have them go on a trip to an amusement park or a resort area? Why do I choose not to go out to any restaurants to avoid any risks to my students while they are out at family restaurants or public places not giving any consideration to putting me at risk when they are at school? Anyways, I've learned how to deal with this but coping with trying to keep myself safe and healthy for the sake of others is a lot of pressure and stress.
Even though my mind is filled with chaos and insanity, at least my stomach will be healthy. Today is the day where people in Japan give their stomach and digestive system a gentle cleansing and break from all the eating done during the New Year holidays. A dish known as Nanakusagayu (Rice porridge with 7 herbs) is prepared to cleanse your stomach and includes 7 herbs that will hopefully bring you good luck and good healthy in the new year. I've written about the 7 herbs in a previous blog entry, I believe, but it's easy to look up online what the ingredients are and how to prepare the porridge. I made a quick Tik Tok to show how easy it is to prepare. I also eat natto (fermented soy beans) with my porridge to ensure a little more health benefits since natto is a great food to lower cholesterol. The supermarkets sell very conveniently packed Nanakusa Gayu ingredients so I make it a point to pick one up and follow in this tradition.
And now that I have this wonderful combination of a healthy stomach and a mind filled with insanity and chaos, I think it's time to get ready for bed!
xox
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