Coronavirus: Part 2
Me, visiting Shangri-La Hotel for brunch
in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on February 29th. In order to enter,.
I had to be wearing a mask, as well as have my temperature checked.
Be sure to review my previous post, “Coronavirus: Part I” before reading further, as this is a continuation of that post!
So, within the midst of this extended school break, we finally approached the Mongolian Lunar New Year known as “Tsagaan Sar” (pronounced Sah-gahn Czar). I hate I did not have the chance to experience a true Tsagaan Sar celebration, due to the city-wide restrictions and precautions because of the coronavirus. However, I heard it is the ultimate of festivities, just as the USA celebrates the New Year. Lots of food, family, friends, culture, parties, eating, drinking, being merry, and more—including a week off of work!
Before the holiday break, we had a Tsagaan Sar luncheon and mini-celebration at work, orchestrated by the Mongolian staff members. It was an interesting and enlightening experience, learning how Mongolians celebrate their new year. I got to make “buuz”, which are Mongolian dumplings, and we learned the true culture and meaning behind Tsagaan Sar. Plus, my team won the Tsagaan Sar Kahoot Game—Go, Group 10!
Short video of the Tsagaan Sar luncheon & mini-celebration at my school. Also, my first ever attempt at making buuz, a traditional Mongolian dumpling dish!
Okay, back to the coronavirus craziness. Leading up to this holiday week off, I had been debating back and forth with myself about if I wanted to travel during the Tsagaan Sar break. I wanted to take advantage of the days off, but I didn’t want to run the risk of getting stuck in another country and not being able to get back into Mongolia! But, at the very last minute—and I do mean very last—I made the decision to travel. I left work that Friday afternoon after the Tsagaan Sar lunch, went home, packed a bag, dropped Sasha off at the sitter, and made my way to the airport with no flight booked, no lodging reservations, no nothing. Just me and a crazy getaway plan!
By 9pm Friday, I am in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul is always a good idea, especially Itaewon! It’s a quick, 3-hour flight, fairly inexpensive, and I know several people there—including an African braiding lady I’d connected with in October 2019 when I was there previously. I had been wanting to get back in the gym, and needed my hair braided badly in order to do so. Perfect excuse to travel, so I thought.
Me & Julie! My hair braider in Seoul, South Korea; she is from Uganda, Africa.
Imagine not knowing how to do your hair, and being away from your home country & hair stylist for 7 months—yes, that’s why my smile was so big, lol. If you’re ever in Seoul, South Korea and need a hair braider, let me know & I’ll give you Julie’s information!
I get to Seoul and have the time of my life, as I always do there; so much so, that I missed my flight back to Mongolia on Sunday! Thankfully, my flight was able to be rerouted for the same exact itinerary the next day. Except when I got back to the airport about 24 hours later, the airport clerk says, “I see you missed your flight yesterday. You’re very lucky to have made this flight, as today is the last day that flights to & from Mongolia will operate for a few weeks”.
Article reporting travel ban to & from Mongolia from South Korea
Wow. Had I been one day later, or if the decision to cancel flights were made one day sooner, I would have been stuck in South Korea. I wouldn’t have minded, of course, especially since I had the week off due to Tsagaan Sar. But it’s just a scary thought to be stranded, you know?
So, I board my flight to proceed back to Mongolia, only to be greeted upon arrival by the health control workers, that I like to call “commando”; dressed up in their all-white, full-body cover suits. They boarded the plane to take the temperature & check health papers of each passenger, one-by-one. An unloading situation that usually takes about 5-10 minutes has now taken about 30-40 minutes; all due to checking each and every person for coronavirus. Had even one person showed symptoms of coronavirus, we all would have either been flown back to South Korea or held in quarantine in Mongolia for 14 days. Thank God, we were all cleared.
Overall, living through this pandemic has been unbelievable, life-changing, nerve-wrecking, and any other anxiety-related adjective you can think of. However, I am not mad at the break away from students and a regular workload. This probably marks longest break I have had from from full-time employment since about 2006 (yep, full-time college student and full-time employee). Ya girl was tired, and God knew I needed a break :-) I just truly hate it had to be in this way.
Almost anywhere you go in Ulaanbaatar, you must have a mask on to enter—stores, restaurants, etc.. And some places even take your temperature upon entering! The crazy part about all of this is, there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mongolia! Yet, there has been confirmed cases in my home country of the USA; even in my home state of North Carolina! However, being just a couple hundred miles away from its origin has had me on pins & needles this entire coronavirus outbreak. I am hoping for relief soon, as well as praying for all those affected by diagnoses & fatalities thus far.
Updates (as of March 20, 2020):
**Here is a timeline of cases that have now been confirmed in Mongolia. All flights have been cancelled, all stores and businesses are pretty much shut down; this is the nightmare I was dreading :-(
**Also, our school closure is now extended until April 30th, with a possible extension beyond that.
