'quarantine'

Apparently 2 people in Korea have died of Swine Flu. Yes, it is very sad, but to me that is not a huge number compared to the number of people who die every year from the common cold/flu. Anyway, call me cruel but I don't see the big fuss over Swine Flu. Koreans on the other hand are making a VERY big fuss about it! I think they are paranoid... anyway.

So there are about 12 other English Villages (EV) throughout South Korea. I guess at one of the other EV's, six of their teachers got the Swine Flu. From what we were told they were all Korean teachers and were sent home so they didn't spread the flu. Sending them home, I can understand, the fuss the our EV is now making... not so much. 

So, because one EV had people that got Swine Flu they seem to assume that now all EV's have people that have Swine Flu! Some EV's are canceling classes/camps, our school is trying to quarantine us in their own little way. EV has asked us not to leave the campus unless it is absolutely needed and if we do leave they want us to stay away from very public places. Also, upon returning to EV they will stop us at the gate and make us do a little test where they take our temp, wash out hands, and something else, before we are allowed back into EV. Now they haven't said what would happen if someone did have a fever... maybe they would send us home like they did at the other school!!! Oh if that's the case, Swine Flu please! I will take a free ticket back to the States! I won't complain or anything about that, I'll deal with Swine Flu if that's the case! A girl can dream, can't she? They are also doing this same procedure to all the kids and any visitors... I wonder if they will do it to the taxi drivers since all they do is drop us off at our 'door' (which is really the driveway up to particular apartments).... gotta wonder about that one...

The reason why I find their method completely stupid is because if you are exposed to Swine Flu, you are not going to have a temperature within' the first hour or even day, so why take the temperature? As far as trying to keep us here, well we do need to buy food and escape the torturous walls of EV every once in awhile! I do find the washing of the hands part practical... but I think that they could just ask people to remember to do that when they got home. Also, I just find it a bit much even if this was for the normal flu which is way worse then the Swine Flu... I think it's just the name that has people freaked out... after all, who wants something from a pig? 

Anyway, the final thing that they are doing... which they have actually been doing for the past two months, is quarantining teachers after traveling to another country. According to EV we are supposed to stay in our apartment for a week upon returning if we have gone out of the country. Even the new teachers that come from the States are being quarantined! They have been rather lax about it since they made the rule... and most times nobody listened to them anyway, they just look at it as a couple more days of vacation! So I guess when we come back from Japan in a couple of weeks, Josh may be forced to take a couple extra days off... oh well!