Life in China During COVID-19

I came to China in March of 2019 to teach ESL at a training center. The city I chose was Shenzhen-the current technological hub of the world-and many good things happened in a year. I have learned about teaching, experienced another culture, dabbled with the language, met new friends, missed home, and got to explore Thailand and the Philippines due to their inexpensive proximity. I had known throughout my University education that immediately after graduation I wanted to teach in China. For reasons too numerous to detail in this story, China had the best risk to reward ratio of any country for aspiring ESL teachers. Not only the money but the culture was also a great influence on my decision, and though Shenzhen is not known as a city of immense history (it’s really only about 30 years old) my research revealed that the possibility of other business might be lurking there for me.
When I first arrived, I was regularly charmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the Chinese. Me and my western friends became very accustomed to being treated with great respect wherever we went. People were intrigued by our looks, and for those who spoke English an easy source of language practice. In restaurants the service was always second to none as the staff seemed to almost be competing to see who could be the most hospitable towards us.
Shenzhen itself is a magnificent city. It is considered one of the most high tech locations in the world. Most of the computers in the world are manufactured here, and so the international business community has a large footprint. If you check any of your electronic devices, there is a high chance that it will reveal Shenzhen as the place of its assembly. I know for a fact that most of my electronics have been made in Shenzhen. Not only for the business but the pleasure is also prevalent. Shenzhen has a robust downtown scene that includes numerous clubs so that even the most hardened partier will feel at home.
This was life before the COVID-19 outbreak, and though the same respect and enthusiasm for foreigners can be found, this city is now very different from when I arrived over a year ago.
For Chinese New Year I went to Thailand. It was a fantastic trip and an experience that deserves its own post. Suffice to say, a frequent topic of conversation with fellow travelers was about the emerging virus in Wuhan. Being from China so recently, I had fun joking with folks that I was from Wuhan and then sarcastically coughing into my sleeve. I have to admit that I did not think the virus was going to effect the world in the way that it has. I believed that it could be contained well enough in China and other locations would not be hit nearly as hard. As the two week vacation came to a close, the idea that this virus would be relenting soon was far gone, and suddenly thoughts of not returning came to me. I knew that I had to return - not only was my job there but also all my worldly possessions.
I reentered Shenzhen by way of Hong Kong airport around February 2nd. I had to take a ferry to the Shekou port and then locate a taxi in the early morning to whisk me back to my apartment. I made it back, and in the morning ventured out to see what the city looked like during a quarantine. The streets were not deserted, but the number of vehicles had decreased dramatically. I was able to ride a bicycle in the roads with impunity, and the metros were also depopulated. There was ample room to stretch out and finding a seat was very easy. Despite this, I had the thought that I was living in a plague city now. Folks were being quarantined far harder than I: those who had traveled the Hubei province during the outbreak were now under a mandatory two week quarantine. I had two friends in my apartment building who I discovered were in such a situation and being locked indoors. I bought some groceries for them at one point and felt very sad that they could not leave for such a period of time.
Quarantine for me looked very different. I could come and go as I pleased so long as I allowed myself to be temperature checked at the few places still open. I made frequent trips to Walmart where I bought most of my meals. As soon as I returned I was notified that for the interim my training center was not conducting classes as per the governments orders. Other schools had either informed their teachers that they would not be paid or would have reduced pay for online teaching videos made by the teachers. To my centers credit, the company worked very hard to create an online teaching experience which is what kept us paid at our regular rates despite the initial decrease of work. After two weeks we were teaching our youngest students online, and that was shortly followed by the reopening of the rest of our classes. Though some parents had decided to not have their children do the online classes, enough had been convinced that by March most of us were nearing full time work again, minus the commute.
The work kept us busy, but the isolation was very difficult. I can only speak for myself, but not being able to see the people I had become friends with at work over the year was very straining. Public gatherings, though allowed to a degree, were difficult for us to plan as most of the city was shut down. Over time I came to rely on Skype chats with my friends and family back home. During this entire time, I felt sure that I would have an interesting story for the future. A story about how I was in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. I had no idea, even then, that the virus would infect the West in even greater numbers than in China. Now it seems that my story will not be original or interesting in the least. My friends and family back home are currently gearing up for a far harsher trial than I have experienced. At the time of this writing I believe it can be argued that Shenzhen is one of the safest places on Earth from the virus.
I hope to give some thoughts on surviving quarantine. First of all, I realized that because of my sudden sedentary development, I did not need to eat the amount of food that I had been consuming before. I could go days on end with a lower amount of calories. Sometimes I would eat only two small portions of ramen a day and rarely feel that hungry. On the days that I would force myself to exercise additional food was very much desired and I would make up for it with a quick jaunt to Walmart.
Second, staying connected with friends and family became a life saver. We live in a glorious and miraculous time of instantaneous communication. I have been Skyping and using FaceTime, Facebook messaging, and texting friends over Wechat. I shudder to think what might have become of me and millions of others during this time had we been separated from online communication.
Thirdly, do not make any grandiose goals. When quarantine began, I felt sure that I would complete a list of goals before it ended. If you can stay disciplined, then by all means do so. But I have realized that also allowing yourself to enjoy the “time off” that quarantine brings is very useful as well. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for many of us here, and depressing yourself with unrealistic goals during this time isn’t very helpful. This may be the only time I advocate for tempering your goals, but please don’t feel bad if you just take this time to relax and watch Netflix. (That being said, I would hate for Jocko Willink to read that last sentence, haha.)
Overall, surviving quarantine is very doable. I believe that you can do this just as I believed that I could myself. Quarantine is only just being lifted in Shenzhen, and now as my freedom to explore is slowly being returned (my gym opened back up almost two weeks ago, thank God) I have become very aware of all the people who have only just begun their isolations. Believe this: there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The world will not be the same when this ends, but if we can all stay safe and distanced from others for a period of time, then maybe we can emerge stronger with the physical and spiritual antibodies that this global pandemic needs to be warded off.
Life in China during the outbreak has not been easy, but wherever you are, know that you have the ability to overcome any obstacle during this time. Good luck.