「漢語翻譯附後」
My Covid-19 Diaries in Canada
Monday, March 23, 2020
Today, there are 1929 confirmed covid -19 cases in Canada.
Alarmed by the quick increase of the cases in Ontario and Canada, we believe our stockpiling is not enough. We started to purchase staple food from about five weeks ago, when there was merely a dozen or so cases all over Canada and there were about one hundred thousand from the country we originated.
Our stockpiling includes six big bags of staple food [four bags of rice and two bags of flour], five small bags of noodle and spaghetti and four bags of frozen mixed beans. The frozen beans serve as ingredients of dishes. Most of the time we cook Chinese food, which means staple food like rice or noodle and dishes of vegetables or meat, or both. It is actually not easy to faithfully render the Chinese 「菜」 into proper English, for in many English cultures, food means everything you eat, while in Chinese culture, food (飯) is totally separate from dish（菜）. This cultural difference is mind-boggling.
Today, the news sent me further alarm when I read that there is a dozen health professional infected in Toronto; the major of Toronto is going to declare an emergency for the city; Ontario and Quebec [over 400 new cases counted] will shut down all non-essential businesses, and some people predict that there will be around 18,000 cases in Ottawa this week if no effective measures were taken.
I would not be so fussy if it were only the above news. I have been following from the very beginning the situation in China—— the zero ground of the virus. I have been paying attention to the development in Japan, Korea, Iran, Italy, Singapore and many other places. I also have been comparing and contrasting the situations in those places and the measures taken by their governments.
I was cheered up a little last week when more serious actions were taken since the first lady of Canada tested positive for the virus. I don’t mean Mrs. Trudeau was the trigger for those serious actions but I suspect there are some connections and I have been wondering whether the Prime Minister had tested and why not if he hadn’t.
But when I read local news saying asymptomatic suspects and people with mild symptoms were not tested because priority would be given to health professionals and other essential professionals, I started to worry more. I guess they do not have sufficient testing kits.
When I read that a dozen medial staffers were infected, I knew they have seriously underestimated the situation and the virus is exploding, many health professionals and government officers still unmindful of the cleverness and destructiveness of the virus.
Besides lack of testing kits, there are also lack of masks and lack of serious awareness of the terrible virus. Though social distancing is required and practiced in many places, there are still many people who did not follow it. Today when I was waiting in the line before a Costco in Markham, a fiftyish woman stood behind me, about 0.5 metres from me. I tried my utmost to distance myself from her, but she pushed closer and closer until the 0.5 metres shrank to about 0.15 metres, which made my smoldering into flames and galvanized me to require her to keep the protocol distance. I asked her why you pushed me so hard time and again when the 2 metre protocol is everywhere on the wall.
To my surprise, she seemed to be infuriated. She said I was not 2 metres from people in front of me[ I believe there was 2 metres and if it was indeed 1.9 metres, it is just because this oldish woman pushed me too tightly]. She also questioned me by saying 「Do you think you have treasure on you so that I want to be so close to you?」 She also whispered that 「You have mental issue.」
Though still believing she is an impossible woman, I regretted that I did not try to negotiate with her in a lower and politer voice in the very beginning. I know she turned hysterically impossible because I made her lose her face in the public. She, therefore, would try desperately to fight back, even more desperately than a heart-broken and face-losing lover insulted by the rival. Besides, she also epitomizes the culture and education she had received in her past five decades that shows little regard to personal distance and dignity. She probably is used to pushing and squeezing after living in a pushing and squeezing community for too long. I noticed there were two lines and she urged her husband to wait in another line while she was occupying one. She was an opportunist woman-warrior who fears to lose any single advantage that could be grasped.
In a way, the unpleasant situation can be attributed to my weak self-control. That’s why I did not deal with an unpleasant person well. I need to learn more good Canadian manners and be more diplomatic.
The queue before this Costco in Markham was pretty long. I waited about 25 minutes. I got most things I wanted. There were enough flour bags, frozen food and other stuff. But I did not pay attention to tissue paper, possibly due to the reason that I already secured two bunches last week. I don’t know if that could be deemed as nasty stockpiling that deserves despise. But my family are very saving creatures and even with two little kids at home we would last one year with the two bunches. We are sort of stoic environmentalists and passionate nature-lovers.
I purchased about ten kilo-grams of pork, two big bags of frozen long beans, two big bags of frozen broccoli, two bags of frozen mixed beans, one box of diapers, one bag of fresh asparagus, two butter for making bread and two bags of onions and a small bunch of small onions which I will try to raise in my back yard.
I put those things in the back of my car, together with the new freezer I picked up from a shop in Mississauga. The express way was not empty but the normal traffic jam was also gone. I covered 80 kilometers in about 1 hour. There seemed to be many people picking up their ordered refrigerators and freezers. I don’t know whether they are similar-minded people preparing for possible stormy days or not.
I don’t stockpile out of fear, but out of worry. And my worries were based on reasonable observation and analysis. I stockpile mainly because I do not want to frequent markets when the curve is rocketing up. I do not want to take the risk because of the elder and minors at home. I am a father of children and the child of parents, and a husband of a wife. I have to be responsible for them and take proper protective measures in this vicissitudinous season.
Many politicians either care about partisan interests of personal gains and dreams. A lot of professionals are caught in a complex web of bureaucracy that either annihilate or ignore personal talents and initiatives [Think about the whistle-blower doctor in the zero-ground country who finally died of the virus]. Individuals are diverse and divided. Organizations comprise politicians and professionals and individuals [Think about why WHO’s reputation is so awful] .
Nihilist is not my name. I just wonder why this virus can wreak such a havoc all over the world, why the origin of the virus is still a mystery, and why so many 「authorities」 just stand and look until the fire is under their own ass and many good citizens are sickened and felled by the virus.
Now, mindful that our society consists organizations and institutions that are giant creatures far bigger than we little individuals, I do not wonder but realize that society has institutional 「eyes」 far higher and bigger than fleshy human eyes. Therefore, only events far bigger and situation direr than that seen by petty human eyes will catch their institutional attention and ring their institutional alarm.
And eventually, all those events will pass and all those adversities will be braved, but as always, the price has to be borne by the numerous petty but pitiful individuals.
Am I an individual with a mind’s eye too large and an alarm bell too sensitive?
Future will tell.
我在加拿大的Covid-19日記
2020年3月23日，星期一
今天，加拿大有1929個確診新冠病例。
安大略省和加拿大病例迅速增加，我警惕了起來，覺得我們的存貨還不夠。我們從大約五周前開始購買主食，當時整個加拿大只有十幾個案例，但大約有十萬個在我們來自的國家。
我們的庫存包括六大袋裝主食（四袋大米和兩袋麵粉），五小袋麵條和義大利麵以及四袋冷凍混合豆。冷凍豆可作為菜餚的配料。大多數時候，我們烹飪中餐，這顯然是指米飯或麵條等主食，還有蔬菜或肉類菜餚，或兩者兼而有之。忠實地將中文「菜」翻譯成恰切的英語實際上並不容易，因為在許多英語文化中，食物是指你吃的所有的東西，但在中文裡，飯與菜完全分開。這種文化差異令人難以置信。
今天，當我聽說多倫多有十多名衛生專業人員被感染時，這一消息使我感到更加警惕，多倫多將宣布該市的緊急狀態，安大略省和魁北克市下周將關閉所有非必要業務，並且有人預測，如果不採取有效措施，本周渥太華將有大約18,000例病例。
如果僅僅是上述新聞，我不會那麼警惕。從一開始，我就一直關注核爆點中國的病毒情況。我一直關注日本，韓國，伊朗，義大利，新加坡和許多其他地方的情勢。我也一直在比較和對比這些地方的局勢以及它們的政府採取的措施。
自從加拿大第一夫人對該病毒檢測呈陽性以來，更為嚴肅的行動得以採納，這使我樂觀了一些。我並不是說特魯多夫人是採取這些嚴肅行動的觸發因素，但我懷疑這裡面有一定的聯繫，我一直在想總理是否進行了測試，如果沒的話，為什麼不進行測試。
但是，當我讀到當地新聞，說無症狀的疑似病例和症狀較輕的人沒有接受檢測，因為他們會優先考慮衛生專業人員和其他基本專業人員時，我開始更加擔心。我猜他們沒有足夠的測試劑。
當我得知有十二名衛生職員被感染時，我知道他們已經嚴重低估了這種狀況，並且這種病毒正在爆發，但許多健康專業人員和許多政府官員可能都不知道。
除了缺少測試工具包之外，還缺少口罩和對這種可怕病毒的嚴重意識。儘管在許多地方都宣傳和實踐了保持社會距離，但仍有很多人不能誠實遵循。今天，當我在萬錦市的Costco排隊等候時，一名五十多歲的婦女站在我身後，距我約0.5米。我盡了最大的努力使自己與她保持距離，但她越來越近，直到0.5米縮小到約0.15米，這使我的鬱悶變成怒火，我進而明確要求她保持規定距離。我告訴他說，牆上到處貼著保持2米社交距離的要求，你為何一而再再而三視而不見、往我身上貼？
令我驚訝的是，她似乎也很生氣。她斥責說我離我面前的人也不到2米（我相信有2米，如果確實是1.9米，那是因為這位老婦把我擠得）。她還問我：「你認為你身上有寶，所以我想離你那麼近嗎？」她還低聲說：「你神經病。」
儘管仍然認為她是個不可理喻的女人，但我感到遺憾的是，一開始我並沒有嘗試低聲告訴她。我知道她變得歇斯底裡了，因為我讓她在大庭廣眾下丟了臉。因此，她會拼命反擊，甚至比被對手侮辱的傷心欲絕的戀人還要更加無忌憚。此外，她還代表了過去五十年來所接受的文化和教育，這些文化和教育很少考慮到個人距離和尊嚴。在推擠社區生活了太長時間後，她可能已經習慣於推擠。我注意到，有兩隊等候的人，她在一個隊伍等候時，要她丈夫到另一個隊伍等候。她是一個機會主義的女戰士，她害怕失去任何可以抓住的好處，好像這是千載難逢的黃金機會。
我後悔自己自控力不佳。這就是為什麼我沒有很好地應對一個討厭的人。我需要學習更多的加拿大禮節，也要社交上長袖善舞。
我購買了約十公斤豬肉，兩大袋速凍豆角，兩大袋速凍西蘭花，兩袋速凍混合豆，一箱尿布，一袋鮮蘆筍，兩個用於製作麵包的黃油和兩袋洋蔥和一小盒小洋蔥，小洋蔥我打算在後院種植。
我把這些東西和我從密西沙加一家商店取來的新冰櫃一起放到了汽車的後部。高速路不太空，但往常的交通擁堵也消失了。我在大約1小時內開了80公裡。似乎有很多人去取訂購的冰箱和冰櫃。我不知道他們是否是志同道合的人，也在未雨綢繆。
我不是出於恐懼而囤貨，而是出於擔憂。我的擔心是基於合理的觀察和分析。我之所以囤貨，主要是因為當病毒感染人數曲線上升時，我不想常去購物。我不想為家裡得老人和小孩冒險。我是人父、人子，也是人夫。在這多舛時期，我必須對他們負責，並採取適當的保護措施。
許多政治家是心個人利益和夢想的黨徒。許多專業人員陷入了複雜的官僚機構網絡，這些官僚機構要麼消滅要麼無視個人才華和主動性（想想在核爆地國家最終被病毒殺死的那個舉報醫生）。個人是多種多樣而有無組織的。組織包括政治人物、專業人士和個人[想想世衛組織的聲譽為何如此差勁]。
我非虛無主義者。我只是知道為什麼這種病毒會在世界範圍內造成如此嚴重的破壞，為什麼病毒的起源仍然是個謎，為什麼這麼多的「當局」站在那裡眼看大火燒腚，眼看著許多良好公民被病毒掀翻撂倒。
現在，我意識到我們的社會由組織和機構組成，這些組織和機構是比我們小的個體大得多的巨型物件，所以我不再奇怪，只是意識到社會所擁有的體制化「眼睛」比肉體的人的眼睛高很多，也大很多。因此，只有比小小的人眼所看到的事件大得多、情況糟得多得事件時，才會引起它們得體制性得注意和體制性的警惕。
最終，所有這一切都會過去，所有的逆境都會被克服，但與往常一樣，代價必須由眾多渺小可憐的個人承擔。
我的英語學習群：