LOL. UKRAINIAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR THREE-WEEK CALIFORNIA VIRUS QUARANTINE. What? Haven’t heard of the “California Virus”? In the US, we refer to this so-called “California Virus” as ... no other but H1N1 aka Swine Flu aka Mexico’s plague upon the human population and the delight of young children across the world who have excused school holidays for months on end. Like most things implemented by the government, my host family suggests that this quarantine was a result of mostly political power struggles between the Ukrainian President and Prime Minister especially during the heated months leading to the next Presidential election. Unfortunately, this decision caused an outrageous amount of hysteria amongst the Ukrainian population over a laughably small matter. It’s been officially documented that less than 5 people have died from the Swine Flu in Ukraine since the epidemic came to existence. Political power struggles and a rumored under-the-table governmental decision to cut budget costs by closing governmental facilities during the coldest winter months caused the cost of home remedies like lemons, oranges, garlic, and onions to more than triple in price over night- talk about a stimulus plan for the citrus and herb farmers.
So how does the quarantine affect me and the other volunteers? Basically, we just go on about our daily live as usual EXCEPT: we don’t teach in the school- b/c they’re closed, duh. AND if living with a host family, we wear masks anytime we’re out in public to satisfy our host moms - not because the masks are actually an effective preventive means against contracting the virus. In fact, the way in which the mass public wears these masks actually makes them counter-effective, if you do the research. Finally, we avoid traveling as much as possible. Or it’s recommended to avoid travelling- but my cluster mates are gallivanting around Kiev at this very moment- soooo… so much for that recommendation.
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