Ekua

Aww thank you! I feel like a bit of an idiot dancing alone infront of a screen in my flat and classroom but....has to be done!

My vaccine here is not even recognised in the UK....currently the UK only recognises vaccines given in UK, EU or USA/CA.... It's all so ridiculous and messed up....I just can't send an end anytime soon!

And here it is not great....protests against the government almost daily now...people are getting furious (no real assistance here - unlike in the UK where people got almost 80% of their wages during covid every month).

Luckily you can order everything and anything online here, and order pretty much everything food related you can think of - you can even send someone to 7/11 for you using an app (not that I ever do that when there's one on pretty much every 500 meters or so! ) The bike drivers just drop it outside the building on a deliverly table - it's great

MyrnaLynne

Sorry there are protests Ekua but sounds like things to protest about! Even the (tight-fisted) US sent people some COVID relief checks (whether they needed them or not, it was just simpler to send them to everybody).

Also bad quibbling over WHICH vaccine you got, and where. I guess there is suspicion about the Chinese vaccine (because there is suspicion about China in general/same with the Russian vaccine they seemingly cooked up overnight - hard to trust the communists).

Handy you can get everything delivered. Although that seems to be what everybody is doing now - the delivery trucks go up and down our street all day now - Amazon Prime, FedEx, UPS, etc.

aubie_ocean

Oh no Podmom! Hopefully everyone is will be ok! Poor Ana Lee. That is so stressful. Please be careful out there guys, this virus sucks.

And yes ML, I hope my cousin and her hubby just gets it because i worry about her two kids the most. One is already compromised. But I've tried to reason with her and just wants to wait. She wants it to be at least FDA approved for her to think about getting it.

And what is happening in Afghanistan? Those poor people jumping on the airplane!! It is so sad.

Ekua

The thing is, people in China got the vaccine's made in China. And life there is pretty much back to normal. I have teaching friends there and everything is open, school is open, you can travel between cities etc - it's just hard to leave and come back because of quarantine. I think a lot of vaccine issues are political as usual And of course masks are normal in S.E Aisa due to pollution etc so no one bats an eye about having to wear one apart from foreigners!

They just announced they're thinking of reducing the quarantine here to 7 days by the end of the year to encourage tourism (Thailand desperately needs it) so i'm hopful to get home for Christmas - it'll be 2 years by then!

The situation in Afghanistain is horrendous and terrifying. Unfortunately also I think inevitable. 20 years of war only for the Taliban to take over so quickly without much of a fight. I only hope countries do help the thousands of Afghan's who assisted them during the war and allow them refuge. Let's not forget how this war started in the first place. Or who made a deal with the ‘very good people!’ Taliban…

MyrnaLynne

It's strange how NZ is dealing with the virus - closing the country! But not that many people are getting vaccinated. They are hoping to keep the virus out completely but even in an island nation, I don't think it's that easy to do.

Yes, just when people were planning to travel again, and tourism resume, this delta variant made several people change/cancel their travel plans.

Afghanistan has been an unwinnable situation for many years. The Russians were there before us (and wisely, left). The people trying to jump on planes was just horrifying, the desperation and fear. Not the current administration's doing, as you say, Trump made deals with the terrorists (just like he stirred up our own domestic terrorists). I'm glad Mr Biden has said 'enough' although they didn't expect the government/any resistance to fold up instantly, like a house of cards (or their current president to run away).

The suspicion of the vaccines (and absolute refusal to wear masks) among some segments of our population just boggles the mind. I read that some people in hospitals said "We don't want any blood transfusions from vaccinated people." Well guess what - too bad! You don't get to pick and choose.

Ekua

I think closing the borders is the best idea...if the whole world had done that for a few weeks last year maybe now we wouldn't be in this position....and NZ is so far from everywhere anyways!

True MyrnaLunne! One can't hope notice the parallels between the picture of the Taliban storming the Presidential Palace, to that of the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol building. But of course they're white so it's not treated as such

I do think withdrawing was the right thing to do, but not so quickly and in the manner in which it was done.

Wow - I can't believe people are refusing blood from vaccinated people! If that is their attitude then so be it Give it to someone else who needs it.

And poor Haiti - that country just can't catch a break

aubie_ocean

Oh wow i didn't even think about the people getting blood. That's awful. We have such a hard time here to have people donate blood and for them to refuse it? That's so upsetting.

That whole airplane scene with them climbing and seeing people falling reminded me of 911 when people were jumping out of the building. Just awful, gut retching scene. And yes so sad for all the women and children.

Yeah Haiti got hit with that earthquake! Scary.

podmom

Thanks for the Anna Lee concern...she seems all better and has tested negative so G-d willing ahe won't see repurcusions.

I am very concerned about Emily especially tiny Sloan . 4 of the cousins (little kids) are sick. So far Margot isn't sick ( it actually will be a miracle if she doesn't) but they have 1 more day there then Saturday the torture drive home. I have been praying A LOT. Who knows about the adults,,,,vaccinated but 2 had been on a plane from CA. could have the Delta..... Troubling to say the least.

Biden didn't have to honor anything Trump did. He literally overturned pretty much all Trump policies in his first week or two. The stupidest thing that was done was closing the Bagram air base in July. Everyone is saying that now but where were they when it was happening. Some Republicans spoke out but not enough. ( keep in mind I have always for years if I spoke of politics made clear I hold all of them regardless of party in contempt) At the time I was astonished. ( it was our own 2 runway airport that we literally left in the dead of night without telling the Afghan Gov. )It could be used now to evacuate ppl. Basic things that the military always does were not done..... get out Americans and those that helped us, bring out equipment, blow up anything the enemy can use then bring out troops. Even many democrats are voicing negativity on this ( they care about their own careers as usual for all Politian's ) even much of the media( not just Fox) is trashing the way this withdraw was executed which is very unusual. Too late now . Hopefully we get it together to save more people. The UK and France went in with paratroopers and got many of their people out. Shameful we are basically doing nothing but man the airport. It is excruciating knowing what is and will happen to girls and women. The videos of violence already are beyond horrible and this is just the beginning

Sorry that post is pretty negative but between my own worries and the sad things in the world , including poor Haiti I'm not as chipper as I usually try to be.

I'm packing up my laptop now to head home to PA then to Emily Monday to help her hopefully for the whole week. I've been resting up here because it will be very physical there,

Hope you all have a good weekend,

aubie_ocean

Oh podmom, i hope things do get better for your family with the sickness.

So crappy because your family have avoided it best they could for so long and they still got it.

Our cases here in Toronto are also going up since we started opening up. We were down to less than 100 a day, and this week we've been steady at 500-650 cases a day. 85% of them are not vaccinated...i guess they just want the antibodies instead...hopefully they don't end up in ICU...

I'm just so clueless as to what is happening in Afghanistan, i just see people running on planes. It's a war that has been going on for 100 years? About what? Is it about religion? Money? And how big is this terrorist group that countries all together are having a hard time controlling them or getting rid of them? I'm so clueless. But I guess, just like this covid, the governments don't know what to do. Or maybe they do and there is hidden agendas that none of us citizens know. i guess that's where conspiracy theorist come out... I think all in the end, it will never end, and as cliche as it sounds, History will always Repeat itself one way or another. Because just like kids, they haven't experienced what a hot stove is even if you tell them it's a hot stove...they will still want to touch it. So really if we keep having kids...they will just keep doing the same things even though the past has already warned them...

hahaha ok, end of my pointless rant.

MyrnaLynne

Good point aubie I don't really know the roots or issues in Afghanistan but those Taliban guys look like a bunch of teenage punks to me! LOL, we were at the mall and there was a dad with a beard and long shoulder-length hair held back with a headband, holding his little girl's hand, and I whispered to my daughter "That guy looks like a Taliban." And it was like 9/11 all over again, and also like the US pulling (abruptly) out of Vietnam. History keeps repeating itself, that's for sure. That hot stove. Nobody learns.

Podmom I hope Emily's family and little Sloan will be okay with the germy cousins. And I'm glad Anna Lee is doing better as well. Nervewracking times! As yes, most politicians aren't worth much and only out for themselves, sadly. I don't know what ever happened to 'public service.'

We're managing to fit my daughter's birthday in between storms. The day of her birthday was the remnants of tropical storm Fred dumping torrential rain on us for most of the morning. Then the sun came out! Ahh. And then it sprinkled more rain. We're having her party tomorrow - after attending a memorial service for Mr ML's cousin who died of COVID, at the cemetery (interring his ashes?), and then we'll get lunch and have cake and presents and birthday party - a sad party, followed by a happy party.


And then Sunday, it's Tropical storm/hurricane Henri blowing through! WHOOSH! It's supposed to curve more inland so we might just get more rain and some wind, I'm hoping nothing too scary. Looks like Long Island in NY will get socked.

Ekua

Podmom glad to hear Anna Lee is okay! And sorry for Emily’s family - hope everyone feels better soon!

Aubie Afghanistan has been at war/occupied for years. First by the Russians, the British and then 20 years ago the Bush and Blair administrations started bombing after 9/11. And that continued until recently when Trump made a deal with the Taliban to end the war. That couldn’t have been undone. He then released thousands of Taliban from prison, and banned the Biden amdinistration for getting security brifeings, intel etc that normally happens when there's a new administration. Unfortunately the withdrawal process has been very badly executed. And the Afghan government just gave up without a fight. I just hope counties do as much as they can to get citizens and as many Afghan’s as they can out. There’s already horror stories emerging of what the Taliban are doing. Making a deal with a terrorist group was only ever going to end badly. But at the same time I agree you can’t stay in a country forever. It’s all complicated. And we’re never going to go after the real problem (Saudi Arabia) because of oil

Over 30,000 evacuated now by the US. That is good. Refugees too. France has basically said no to any Afghan nationls.

MyrnaLynne I hope your daughters party goes well! Sorry about your husbands cousin. And hopefully no more storms! Stormy season here right now…

MyrnaLynne

It was a very hectic day - the very nice memorial service for the cousin (who died in February but they could only have his service now) - it started out nice and overcast but then the sun came out and it was broiling (I hate being out in the sun, but I had put on sunscreen and a hat - I wore a mask too).

Then we came home and I made some pizza for lunch - and while I was making pizza, Mr ML got John to help him carry the big cabinet I wanted to give them (but the one place I called wanted $500 to move it! ). Ooo, I was mad .. but they put the cabinet in our SUV (and nobody died/got injured) and then we had lunch and ice cream/cake/presents.

But, since we had this giant cabinet in the back of our car, and my daughter had to go to a party that evening, we packed everything up and drove up to their house, where the guys moved the big cabinet out of our car and into their lower level, and then we went home. It was a very busy day for someone (me) who rarely does one thing in a day, never mind several different activities. I felt like I'd been moving furniture.

We were very lucky, the hurricane that all the weather people were talking nonstop about came today, but it went way West of us and all we got was a little rain and some wind that wasn't even that strong. I know other people had it bad from this storm, but it basically passed us by.

MyrnaLynne

Things still bad in Afghanistan. :< Mr Biden said that country has never had a unified government, it's been a bunch of warring tribes for centuries. And now Isis is blowing people up with suicide bombs and guns, while we're just trying to get people out of there and leave the Taliban to their country.

Ugh, hurricane Henri left (it poured a long time on its way out of town but the tail end of tropical storm Fred was a worse storm around us) and now there's another heat wave. Hot! I can't believe it's almost the end of August already - where did the summer go? Zip.. went by.

Ekua

True about the government in Afghanistan, the country has been invaded/occupied for so long and by so many - it's going to be near impossible to ever fully unify I think. And as you said, warring tribes, especially in the mountain regions. It's awful and I think we can all agree this wtihdrawal has been horrendous and badly executed. But also need to remember who made a deal with the Taliban in the first place. Funny how that's been completely forgotten. And as of now over 100,000 have been evacuated. That's something. France have already said no to Afghan refugees. And Saudi Arabia - the country where the majority of the 9/11 hijackers came from and where terrorist groups get a lot of funding, training etc remains great friends with the West due to oil....nothing will ever change.

And famine in Madagascar due to acute droughts - no rain for 4 years, clashes in Nigeria killing over 200, the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti - so many terrible things happening around the world. And in Western countries people are protesting having to wear a piece of material over their mouths.

Thailand has been put on the UK's travel red list. If it's not removed by December I won't be able to go home for Christmas (no time with all the quarantine) I hope it's removed by then - it's been enarly 2 years since i've seen any family. Online school, everything closed, a vaccine that the UK won't recognise - it's not good at all And protests here all the time - the government has done a terrible job. People are desperate. There's no assistance here for anyone....

So negative sorry.

Trying to distract myself with the Paralympics - people are really amazing!

aubie_ocean

Oh ML sorry to hear about your cousin. My condolences. And yeah that sounded like a hectic day with your cabinet!!!

And yes the rain! I know we have been getting the aftermath here in Toronto. It's just been a weird overall weather this year....it just didn't feel right. I thought last year was bad, i feel like this year is worst! Yeah with everything going on with the rest of the world, it's just really sad.

Oh Ekua, I do hope you can go home for Christmas this year!!! My gosh that's a long time to not be home with family.