What the heck is that thing?

Last week this equipment showed up in my room for "air quality testing" a.k.a. H1N1 testing.I'm not saying that foreigners are being singled out in the hunt for the flu, but I will note that my room was the only one tested because, "many students go there." I guess the lunchroom doesn't fit that criteria.

Good news though: Dongbu English World is a flu-free zone!

Swine Flu Strikes (but not in the way you think)

We had heard rumors for about a week that the Andong International Maskdance Festival, one of Korea's largest, most spectacular (and for us, most LOCAL) festivals was cancelled due to the Swine Flu. But being the optimistic little foreigner that I am, I convinced myself that no one would cancel the city's largest annual cash cow based on a potential outbreak of the flu. But of course, I was wrong.

Today, the Maskdance Festival's official website (www.maskdance.com) posted this notice:

"Andong Festival Tourism Foundation is obliged to cancel the Andong Maskdance Festival 2009. We are sorry to inform that the Andong Maskdance Festival 2009 is cancelled due to the diffusion of H1N1. According to the indicator of Ministry of Public Administration and Security, major events must be cancelled to prevent the spread of H1N1 virus."

As much as I love this country and this city, I wish someone would just tell them that wearing their masks, washing their hands, and not making out with strangers who are sneezing and coughing is as effective in preventing the spread of flu as cancelling one of the country's most interesting annual events.

I would love to see the reaction in Chicago if the Taste was cancelled because of Swine Flu.

For the record, here are the numbers: appr. 7,000 people have been infected with H1N1 in Korea (out of a population est. of 50 million). Nearly all have recovered fully, and only 6 elderly people, most of whom had other, preexisting conditions, have died.

So long, Maskdance Festival! Maybe Sara and I will see you next year. Unless, of course, there's a really nasty case of the sniffles going around in September 2010.

Swine Flu SCORE!

To backup Sara's post, the swine flu scare has also improved some hygienic conditions at my school. There is now soap everywhere in my school (even on my remote floor) as well as fresh paper towels in the first and second floor bathrooms. Also, I was given a GIANT bottle of hand sanitizer for both me and the kids.

My favorite part of the day is watching the kids wash their hands outside of the cafeteria, get a big squirt of hand sanitizer on their way INTO the cafeteria, and then use the sanitizing machine directly inside of the cafeteria. One thing's for sure--these kids are NOT getting swine flu. And neither am I!