Online Learning

We’re on to our 2nd week (or is it our 3rd week) of online learning during this 4th wave. I’m really not sure how to count it. We had a week and a half of online learning before the Christmas holidays, and now we will be online for the majority of the time until Chinese New Year in mid February.

The way they are working it out is this week will be for mock exams for year 13s. We are only able to have 1/6 of the school on site at a time. Next week, other year levels will be allowed to be onsite.

For year 10, they will only be onsite for 22nd Jan, 25th Jan, and 2nd Feb. The rest of the time will be spent online.

For now, we are still work from home. We have been told we only need to be onsite if we have face to face teaching.

The Weather

On top of the online learning, the weather has been so cold. It’s not been this cold during winter since our first year here. I think the coldest it got that year was in the low 50s. We have actually gotten into the low 40s here.

It’s been so cold here. We finally took the heaters out of the closet this morning. It boggles the mind that they use tile on all of these floors. It’s ridiculously cold.

Last year, it was not that bad.

Today, I was wearing long socks, flannel pants, a tee shirt, a hoodie, and a sweatshirt. Taking a shower in this cold is ridiculous torture. Thank goodness for on demand hot water heaters. Though that doesn’t help with the ice cold stone tile.

Luckily, the rumor is that the temperatures are supposed to warm up by the end of the week. I saw an article that it actually below 0 c on a mountain on New Years Eve.

Covid Restrictions for Hong Kong

The restrictions are going to remain in place for the next 5 weeks. This means that schools will be closed for another 5 weeks. Our company was able to get special dispensation, and the kids will be on site for really limited time. I’m not sure about other schools. I do know it’s a crazy process to follow all of the guidelines.

They are saying that the vaccine should be available in February. They are going to start vaccinating medical workers and care workers first. They are talking about making it mandatory. I have heard that teachers will be in there somewhere. It’s a little unclear which vaccine we will get. Pfizer is supposed to be sending some. There is also a Chinese vaccine that should be available as well. I’m not sure which one we will get in the end.

If taking the vaccine gets us able to travel and lead a normal life, I am all for it. I have concerns about side effects and all of that. I also have concerns about the origins of these vaccines.

One interesting thing is the possible cause of this wave of the virus. There is the argument that the dance studios created super spreaders that triggered this wave. There is an interesting infograph to illustrate the progression of the virus through this wave.

One of the preventative measures they are putting in place for people who are travelling into Hong Kong is now that there will be a 21 day hotel quarantine. When you return to Hong Kong, you have to stay in one of the approved hotels at your own cost for 21 days. Previously, it had been 14 days. Then it was 14 days in a hotel and 7 days at home. Now it is 21 days in a hotel.

I know that was one of the reasons we won’t travel to the US. While travelling home, we don’t have to quarantine, but returning to Hong Kong, it would be a large financial burden for me to house 4 (or 5) of us in a hotel. On top of that, we wouldn’t be able to make food in the hotel room. We would need to order food. That’s another large cost. Not to mention, I wouldn’t be able to go to work and the kids wouldn’t be able to go to school.

Currently, dining out is still limited. Only 2 people at a table at a time. Restaurant dining rooms close at 6pm. They can continue with take away and delivery. We have to wear masks everywhere (though that has been true since almost the beginning). No large gatherings. There are so many restrictions around what we can and cannot do. While I do feel we are doing better than other parts of the world, I do feel like a big chunk of time is being wasted away inside. To add to that, the year before was spent in a couple haze following B’s infidelity. I would like to move on with my life at some point. I would like the opportunity to live my life. I know most people feel like that.