The Influenza

October 12, 2009

Ok. So this influenza thing is getting out of hand. Already both the elementary school and junior high have been closed for the past week. Also, one student in the 10th grade had caught the virus, so now the entire 10th grade has to stay home. On top of that, all the grade 10 teachers are asked to wear facemasks to prevent the possible spread of this virus. This last week, at least half the school had facemasks. It looks somewhat humorous to walk into the secretary office and see every single person wearing these masks, along with the principle and vice principle. The 11th grade hockey team was also asked to wear them because they have a big game coming up. It seems as though everyone in this town is sick. My friend Chris who works in the Junior high is sick in bed with a fever of 103 degrees (we’ll go fehrenhight because he’s American). He also managed to give this flu to his girlfriend, who is now in the hospital. I admittedly have a bit of a cold, but refuse to wear a facemask. I really hope this influenza/sick streak leaves very soon. Every year, the 11th grade goes on a school fieldtrip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima. It would be a shame for that to be canceled because of one student getting mild symptoms of this influenza.
On a completely different topic, I’ve experienced two natural phenomenons this week, which are quite new to me. Late this week, Japan was hit by a typhoon. It didn’t hit too hard in the Tokachi district, but we did get a lot of wind and rain. I am glad that it hadn’t canceled my weekend plans. The second phenomenon took place in Obihiro, the nearest city to Shimizu, my town. A couple of us were hanging out on the 6th floor of our friend’s hotel room, when our friend Matthew noticed his bed vibrating. At first I thought there was a button he had pressed to make it vibrate, but we quickly realized that his room was not one of the love sweets, and was actually an earthquake we were experiencing. I was sitting on the floor at the time, and felt my butt being massaged by the vibrations coming through the floor. It only lasted about 10 or 15 seconds. I actually experienced one earthquake before this, but I didn’t notice it. I was standing at the front of my 11th grade class, when my Japanese/English teacher pointed out that we were experiencing an earthquake. I thought he was joking, because I couldn’t feel anything. I think that this week has taught me how vulnerable people are.