…Brace Yourselves

My name is Kelley and I live in China.  I had been there for over four years when the virus hit.  I’m here to share with you some advice because I have watched tons of people go through the same thing you’re about to go through.

What can you do?

Go to the store while staying as far from other people as you can.  Buy enough food for about two weeks or a month to avoid having to go out a lot.  Don’t buy more because it cleans out stores and makes it so your friends cannot eat. That’s rude.

Bring it home.  Peel off all clothing and throw it in the washer and spray down your shoes with 75% proof alcohol spray.  A shower is a good idea.  It’s also a great idea to clean your house from top to bottom as if you had three kids with a stomach bug.  It kills time and keeps you occupied as well.  Now you can relax.

Next step, sit on your couch for a long time.  It could be a few weeks.  It could be a few months.  But please do it if you at all have the privilege and ability to do so.  Do some online fitness classes.  Take up knitting.  Read some books.  I know it’s hard and I know it’s sad to give up the plans you’ve made.  However, if each person spreads the virus to one person a day after 14 days you have more than 15,000 individuals with this disease. Just take your calculator and start with one, push x2 a bunch of times to see.  (The disease travels faster that 1:1 by the way.)

To deal with loneliness call your friends.  We used to use phones for that.  Skype is cool too.  If you want to have a party Zoom is a good platform for bigger meetings.  Friends in China meet on certain days to laugh and drink wine together and not freak out.  Stay in the house.  Take this stuff seriously.

Other than that, please, please try to avoid the feeling of panic.  It happens. Uncertainty is incredibly unnerving. Don’t let it win.  There will be a lot of unknown.  But time will figure all this out.  In about two months, we’ll know a lot more.  Now is the time to create alternative ways to deal with the situations we’re used to.  One thing that I have learned about Americans as I’ve taught in China is that we are wildly creative.  More than many societies.  We CAN do this.

Last but not least, please stop denying what is going on.  This is not the flu.  It doesn’t only kill old people.  Our health care systems are not equipped for what is coming.  It will reach capacity and then become overrun. This will bring us to our knees.  Italy is already coding the patients that are coming in as to whether they expect them to live or die and treats them accordingly.  Heartbreaking, but true.  China built a new 1,000 bed hospital in ten days and it still wasn’t enough.  If Shanghai can empty it’s streets of 25 million people, you can too.  Please stay ahead of the curve.  Stay at home and wash your hands.

**I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  I am giving you an account of what I saw go down in China during our crisis.  The US had its first case in mid January and by the end of February, just 14.  Now, as of March 12, 2020 at 10:50 GT there have been 1336 cases.

If you want some good info on the virus you can check out my page.  [www.traversethisearth.com]

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Feel free to check out her blog at: http://www.traversethisearth.com

I agree with so much of what Kelley had to say. Please take these words to heart.

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During this time where it feels like the world is turned upside down focus on the things that you can control. There are so many things that are beyond our control.

Focus on what you CAN do:

• You can keep a positive attitude
• You can take a social media break. A 24 hour break wont hurt anything and all of social networking sites will still be there in a day.
• You can turn off the news! The news is going non stop and it can be exhausting.
• You can be creative at home. Think about all those things you never completed on your to do list and do them now.
• You can spend time with your husband/kids/family/roommate. Find the beauty in this time that you are given with your family.
• You can learn a new language
• You can find at home workouts
• You can read that book that has been on your reading list for the last two years.
• You can start a podcast/vlog/blog
• You can rest- We can all use more rest!

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#FearlessinShanghai #Thankful #joychangeslives #KMarieTakesChina #BlackGirlMagic #KarlaGirlLivingLife #BlackGirlJoy #LivingMyLifeLikeItsGolden #ChinaorBust #ChinaAintReady #BlackInShanghai #BlackInChina #BlackAmericanInChina #LookOutWorldHereComesKarla  #KarlaGirlJoy #BlackGirlInShanghai #eatsleeppartyrepeat #givingisgood #givingisfun #WakandaForever #ShuriAndNakiaAndOkoye #MelaninMagic #Blessed #-FaithfulIsMyGod

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