Isolated by the Pacific

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Subject: Order completed! Your order of N95 Masks is preparing to ship. 2020/01/27

Subject: Order completed! Your order of KF94 Masks is preparing to ship. 2020/01/31

Subject: Order completed! Your order of Child-sized Face Masks is preparing to ship. 2020/02/05

Subject: FWD: Chinese government puts residents ravaged by Wuhan virus under house arrest - NYPost. 2020/02/05

Information Notification

[화성시] 신종코로나바이러스감염증의심 신고안내 1339 또는 보건소 (031-5189-1200) 동탄성심병원,화성중앙병원,원광종합병원,남양DS병원 상담바랍니다.

Google Translate

Korean to English

Please consult 1339 or Health Center (031-5189-1200) Dongtan Sung Shim Hospital, Hwaseong Central Hospital, Wonkwang General Hospital, Namyang DS Hospital.

Twitter.com/harriwibble

First day. Think I have that friendly but don’t cross me teacher look? 

2020/02/07 | 0 retweets | 5 likes 

@harriwibble they’re gonna tear you apart

@harriwibble :D <3 

So first day went great. Kids are higher level than my last academy. They’re actually reading books (Dr. Seuss, Berenstain Bears) and middle schoolers are even reading The Giver (like a page a day). 

2020/02/07 | 0 retweets | 2 likes

Obvs more for comprehension than appreciating “literary merit,” but hey, if they like it, they understand it, right? Good chance to talk about feelings vocab beyond the rote “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” & I can learn the translation 

2020/02/07 | 0 retweets | 1 like

Apparently “짜증나” means annoying and thinking back to Yeosu, I heard that a lot… 

2020/02/07 | 0 retweets | 7 likes

@harriwibble I bet you did

Google Hangouts

Posterior Pals - Welcome to the Shame Chamber

Group Chat

Zak (21:17): How’d the first day go, Harriwibble? 

Harrison (21:17): Good! But it’s a bit hard to learn names when everyone has half their faces covered.

Zak (21:20): haha I bet

Zak (21:20): Flu season?

Harrison (21:21): Yeah, and coronavirus prevention. 

Zak (21:25): Oh right, China’s like right there. 

Felicia (2:43): Good job on the good job! Like your boss? How’s pay/benefits/hours/vacations/whatever?

Harrison (9:34): A little bit of a paycut but with pension. Hours are about the same (1:30 to 8 or so). 

Felicia(11:01): PM, right? 

Harrison (11:10): haha yeah… Not really looking to pull an all-nighter every night.

Zak (11:39): … was that a real question?

Felicia (11:40): I don’t know how time zones work! Or Korea! Or “academy” vs school! Shut up!

Harrison (11:47): Academies are like anime cram-schools that happen after public school.

Felicia (11:45): Wanna hop on the Discord and play some games?

Harrison (11:50): Gimme a minute

Felicia (12:10): Oops, sorry, Zak and I are still out at dinner. It’ll be an hour or two if that’s cool

Harrison (12:13): I’m a new face in a new city. Don’t exactly know anyone here yet.

Twitter.com/harriwibble

So looks like I’m supposed to be teaching in a mask for the rest of Feb. Not really sure where to get face masks since Gmarket orders still say preparing to ship… Really weird to talk in these things.

2020/02/10 | 0 retweets | 0 likes 

Also wearing a Korean-sized mask has bruised my American-sized schnoz.

2020/02/10 | 0 retweets | 3 likes 

It’s a Friday night and everyone I know is inside or asleep. Any night owl Americans still up? 

2020/02/14 | 0 retweets | 0 likes  

@harriwibble be a bit odd for so many to be asleep and not inside, you idiot, but hey, I don’t judge. 

Google Translate

Korean to English

Signs for avoiding poor health in Hwaseong City

1) Do not touch livestock

2) If you experience respiratory illness, wear a face mask

3) Avoid unnecessary travel, especially to China

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult 1339 or Health Center (031-5189-1200) immediately.

Twitter.com/harriwibble

Apparently work’s canceled till Thursday.

2020/02/24 | 0 retweets | 4 likes  

@harriwibble sweet, surprise vacation. Take Sushi for a looong walk

@harriwibble Bet you wish Animal Crossing came out a month early

Recruiter called today to let me know we’re closed Thursday and Friday and we’ll be missing a few Sandwich Days (the Monday before a Tuesday holiday) to make up the pay. Sucks but I’d rather have a string of days off than random ones here and there

2020/02/25 | 0 retweets | 0 likes

Apparently we’re closed till the 9th and public schools are delayed, too. Maybe using our vacation days to account for pay. Maybe…

2020/02/28 | 0 retweets | 0 likes  

KakaoTalk

Ryan T. (Yeosu)

Ryan: Hey, how are things up North? 

Harrison: Boring as hell. Teachers meeting Friday to discuss what’s happening.

Ryan: Yeosu’s about the same. Some Daegu cult set up shop and apparently they’re responsible for all those national alerts about avoiding religious gatherings. Spread seems intentional

Harrison: fuck 

Ryan: You leave and everything goes to shit haha

Ryan: So… public school’s still getting paid

Harrison: What??

Ryan: I’ll see on Thursday for sure but that’s the word. 

Ryan: Academy teachers are pretty unhappy. “No money in corona-central? No thanks.” A lot have pulled midnight runners back home. But before you go, labor laws say you should be getting 70% of your monthly salary if the academy chooses to close. There’s a whole thing about forced majeur, which I won’t pretend to understand. Might not be worth rocking the boat Month 1, but the government is offering assistance to business owners. I’ll email you the link. 

Harrison: Sweet. Thanks. 

Ryan: Gotta keep connected to keep informed. 

Twitter.com/harriwibble

From the article: “I came in, I’m sick - I have symptoms like coronvirus, but I’m not tested, which means I don’t have coronavirus. If you’re not testing anybody, then no one’s infected, right?”

abc7ny.com/5974999/

2020/03/06 | 0 retweets | 3 likes 

Korea might have a lot of confirmed coronavirus cases but at least the problems being confronted, instead of turning away a sick man who's been traveling because he's "not sick enough."

2020/03/06 | 0 retweets | 1 like

Depending how this meeting goes, I’ve got donuts to celebrate and soju to lament.

2020/03/06 | 0 retweets | 0 likes 

KakaoTalk

2020/03/06

Anna Jeon/Jeon Seojoon/Recruiter

Anna: Hello, Harrison, how are you doing? ^^ I hope you’re staying healthy these days.

Harrison: I’m healthy. You? 

Anna: Good, thank you.

I was wondering if you are free?

I will type here first 

The academy is closed 20 days total except national holiday

Your vacation is 8 day

This was planned before coronavirus. They will pay you for 20 days you don’t work, but there are choices. 

Your academy will be open on red days. Hangul day, Christmas, smaller cultural holidays.  

Or your academy will be open on Saturday and Sunday.

Or you will continue normally. 

The teachers decided that they didn’t want to work so much without a break and chose to not be paid for this time off. Also they couldn’t trust students to wash hands and wear masks diligently so they didn’t want to open ahead of public schools on March 23rd. Also mothers are pressuring academies to stay closed for now. 

It’s complicated, but do you understand?

That 70% pay you mentioned. 

Assistance from the government (that’s what you told her right?)

Harrison: The 70% is pay guaranteed by the labor ministry in the event of an employer choosing to close. MOEL offered 75% of that 70% as assistance to small businesses according to these links.

http://www.moel.go.kr/news/enews/report/enewsView.do?news_seq=10762

http://www.moel.go.kr/news/enews/report/enewsView.do?news_seq=10764

https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=25437&lang=ENG

Anna: She checked it out and the official told her that it was the case for academies who applied by Feb 24th. 

Nobody knows this would last this long… so that policy is unrealistic. 

I’m sorry for this

But since it’s nobody’s fault to close the academy for this long and you do not work for this long…

The public schools are in a different position with funding from government 

Harrison: I know academy owners are in a difficult position but I’m in a different country that does not allow me to work for anyone but my academy. I don’t have the same safety nets here as citizens. I still need food, utilities, insurance, student loans, everything. My bills haven’t stopped. 

On top of that, I moved to a new city with a contract saying I’d be paid 2.3 million won per month. I didn’t have anything in my apartment when I arrived, plus I traveled home for the first time in 3 years, and I made sure to spend within my means but I did all of it with my new job’s salary in mind.

Anna: Um… You’ve lived in Korea for 5 years now.

I understand first year teachers say like that but you don’t waste your money.

You can ask your boss for an advance if you need help

Harrison: I save as much as I can while still enjoying Korea. It is not a dire situation where I need a loan from Hyunah, but I had long term plans that require getting paid. For example, I planned on finishing my student loans this year, but I can’t transfer from my Korean bank account to my US account now. I’ll have to freeze my loan payments for months. 

I am not irresponsible with my savings. I planned for unexpected expenses like I was supposed to. But I assumed my new employer would do the same. 

Greg

2020/03/07

Harrison: Hey, Greg. We had the teachers meeting to discuss what’s happening next and since you’re part-time, I guess you weren’t told about it. Then again, it was all in Korean and every now and then, they’d turn to me like “What do you think?” Not sure why I was there… haha

Hyunah gave me a little summary at the end. Also she’s still teaching high school students 

Figured I’d fill you in since no one else seems to be taking care of us foreigners. 

Quite a few of my friends down in Yeosu are gone back to the US. Anyway… 

Twitter.com/harriwibble

To keep from feeling completely defeated during these next 2 weeks off (unpaid), I'm getting my TEFL certification to let me teach at public school next year since they’re still getting paid (not bitter)

2020/03/09 | 0 retweets | 5 likes

Remember this totally legit certification called the 120-hour TEFL course that I started on Monday around 11 pm, you know, 27 hours ago--yeah, I'm done.

2020/03/11 | 0 retweets | 7 likes

Twitter.com/tomhanks

“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive. 

Well, now, What to do next? The Medicial Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? 

We’ll keep the world posted and updated. 

Take care of yourselves!

Hanx!”

2020/03/12 | 223.9K retweets | 1M likes

Twitter.com/PheleeshaXs

Wash your FUCKING hands people! How hard is that? And for the love of god, 6 feet. 60 feet. Stay inside. Do nothing. Live like an introvert. It won’t kill you. 

2020/03/13 | 1 retweet | 7 likes

Me seeing all these social isolation memes: Y-y-yeah… so hard staying inside never seeing anyone amirite? 

2020/03/15 | 2 retweet | 10 likes

Twitter.com/Zakattak1997

Can y’all please stop hoarding the TP? I actually need to buy some.

2020/03/16 | 1 retweet | 5 likes

YO!!! Ya boi got laid off so expect a helluva lot of nonsense that’s been sitting in my draft folders cuz only my brain finds it funny

2020/03/17 | 5 retweets | 21 likes

@Zakattak1997 I’m so sorry, Zak =( if there’s anything we can do… Even money, just DM us

@Zakattak1997 The world could use more of your nonsense these days

@Zakattak1997 Let me take you to lunch tomorrow. Or to get drunk. Your call. 

@Zakattak1997 Doing okay? 

Twitter.com/harriwibble

Work starts next week as COVID19 really hits the US. I don’t want to *want* to work and my financial situation is “fine,” but losing out on the 2.3 million KRW is 30% of my student loans. Almost double what I spent on my trip to America. It’s 3 more months of bills

2020/03/19 | 0 retweets | 0 likes

Imperial college report’s predicting 12 to 18 months before this is fixed. 

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 0 likes

Inbox

From: NH Bank

Subject: Monthly Account Statement

Date: 2020/01/20

Available balance: 3,827,070 won 

Subject: Monthly Account Statement

Date: 2020/02/20

Available balance: 3,192,110 won 

Subject: Monthly Account Statement

Date: 2020/03/20

Available balance: 2,554,690 won 

Subject: FWD: A Lesson for the world as Italy sequesters citizens to prevent spread of COVID19 - NYPost 

Date: 2020/3/20

Kakaotalk

Boss/Hyunah(??)

2020/03/21

Hyunah: Harrison, how are you? Your dog must be happy to spend so much time with you. 

I wanted to apologize again

I contacted MOEL again, but they told me there are no more funds. 

Public school announced they delayed openings until April 6th. 

I’m considering what to do.  

Stay healthy.

Google Hangouts

Posterior Pals - Welcome to the Shame Chamber

Group Chat

Felicia(3:47): Harrison

Zak and I were talking and we just wanna say we fucked up.

And we’re sorry we didn’t ask you how you were doing during Korea’s social isolation

We were bad friends

And dumb Americans

Twitter.com/Monfrers_derriere

Translated from French by Google

As with many, my week was very stressful, exhausting and filled with uncertainty. My brother may have the virus, so my mother too. Perhaps. We do not know. Tomorrow, I'm leaving to serve my country, fear in my stomach, not knowing when I will be able to return home.

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 6 likes

I am only a bookseller and yet, tomorrow and the days that follow, I will have to help the elderly, give a helping hand to the nursing staff, brighten up the children's day or simply make the traffic. Am I carrying the virus? Perhaps.

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 6 likes

My colleagues and I were exposed on Monday, March 16 to many, many people. It was very difficult to enforce safe distances. People were still carefree. We have washed our hands so many times that now our hands are bleeding.

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 6 likes

I'm afraid. I am torn between the desire and the duty to help others and the fear of being infected. To infect others. To fail to help. I am worried about my family, colleagues, friends and you too. I am afraid and there is nothing I can do about it.

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 6 likes

In short, all that to say that I love you, all as much as you are.

2020/03/20 | 0 retweets | 9 likes

@Monfrers_derriere Is this a Swiss conscription thing to get people helping out or did you volunteer? Stay safe! Stay healthy! Please stay in contact! 

@Monfrers_derriere You’ve never been “only” anything, my friend. You are kind, compassionate, and the world needs that. Know that you are not alone. 

@Monfrers_derriere Je t'aime

Google Hangouts

Posterior Pals - Welcome to the Shame Chamber

Group Chat

Harrison (11:12): I imagine this came up after starting to experience it yourself, but I’ve been pretty vocal about what I’m dealing with lately (boredom, loneliness, and mostly the financial strain), but the way America is handling it is vastly different to here from what I’ve gleaned online.

Things are obviously different and quieter here, but there are regular announcements about who to call if you’re feeling ill. Everyone’s in masks. There’s public-use hand sanitizer everywhere. Shelves are full in grocery stores and no one’s worried about going bankrupt if they need to get tested. 

I appreciate the thought, but no apology necessary. 

We're all in this together.

Twitter.com/Monfrers_derriere

Translated from French by Google

End of the first day. First of all, a big thank you for your messages which carried me throughout this long, long day. After a morning spent waiting, I am finally placed in an EMS to help nursing assistants who are understaffed. It was very hard.

2020/03/21 | 0 retweets | 4 likes

At 5 p.m., the nurse gathers all the floor staff and announces that a patient is positive for the coronavirus. From the original team, only one caregiver remains, bursting into tears. He died of fright at the idea of infecting his wife and children. It's a shock

2020/03/21 | 0 retweets | 4 likes

Even more drastic measures are taken. In a minute, the nurse and the team leader decide to do the bare minimum. This gentleman is going to die. We continue to do the job. It's going fast, they don't have time to explain everything to me.

2020/03/21 | 0 retweets | 4 likes

I finished this evening, exhausted, haggard. Fear still present, now represented by door A2201. It will be better tomorrow. I hope so...

2020/03/21 | 0 retweets | 5 likes