24-March - Tuesday - Arrived home

Once we were in the air, aboard our Perth to Sydney flight with the lights of Bali fading away into the night and our meals served, we settled into the flight with a strange unease. Usually one looks forward to their own bed, their routine back home. No so this time. Especially not knowing what was expecting us in Australia nor how things will develop in the coming weeks. More importantly though, once the lights were dimmed being on this flight seemed like experiencing a disaster movie, where passengers aboard an aircraft where seconds away from a sudden catastrophic event. As we were sitting in our seats, we were wondering how many passengers onboard this full flight have COVID-19? Maybe being a child of the 70s, growing up with the Airport film series doesn’t help… By the way for any of you in quarantine, download them, still greatly entertaining to watch, especially if you’re an airline fanatic! We arrived in Sydney with the sad update from the captain that for all staff onboard this was to be their last flight, their last day of work, their last day of pay. All stood down till further notice! We made our way to the domestic terminal and the Qantas service desk, hoping to be re-booked to an earlier flight to Perth. The friendly staff there indicated with the imminent closing of the WA border, flights to Perth were all full and overbooked with people on hold, wanting to grab any seat that might become available. We settled into our 4-hour wait, for the journey home. Finally getting through the door of our apartment came with great relief but also mixed emotions about everything we just went through and what awaits ahead. We made a tuna salad with ingredients imported from Bali and fresh produce purchased by our dear friend D, exchanged in the carpark with me laying money on the ground and him the shopping bag, whilst constantly maintaining the 1.5m distancing requirement. Welcome to the 14-day quarantine. The Bali crew updated that even fewer people are seen on streets, even more businesses have closed, and the Balinese sunset was experienced with a total absence of artificial light, all beach bars having closed. Bring on their departure to Switzerland!

Popular posts from this blog

25-March - Wednesday - Lock this country down! NOW!

We spent the second day of quarantine (isolation) trying to catch-up with all the various messages from the Australian government: 10 people at a funeral, only 5 at a wedding, do not go outdoors, do not gather in groups, but you can do an outdoor workout with maximum of 10 people. You must stay home, unless necessary, but go to work. Which one is it? We spoke to friends and colleagues, hearing their frustrations and receiving their updates. Why on earth is this country not in lock-down? Why are we interested in saving the economy at the cost of human lives!? Every person potentially exposed to COVID-19 is a person that could pass it onto someone else, who might pass it onto another person, till they pass it onto a more vulnerable person, a person at risk: a father-in-law with pre-existing respiratory conditions; a friend recovering from a cancer treatment; an elderly grandparent. This country must go into lock-down right now, TODAY! These 2 travelling lads are flabbergasted at the inac...
Read more

31-March - Tuesday - Tik-Tok

Day 8, we’re over the half-way point! Another day of work, coming up with ideas on how to engage with students outside class, in a virtual world. The Swiss-Aussie travelling lads and his team had a brainwave deciding on a new initiative: Time2connect. Daily online, virtual activities for students, under the supervision of a staff member or student volunteer. Mine obviously being Time2exercise, encouraging students to join a 30-min daily workout routine to stay physically active! Bring on this virtual world! The Italo-Aussie instead, discovered Tik-Tok, spending the day on it, laughing, giggling, grunting at the repetitiveness of some, but never-the-less more and more sucked into the virtual world, adamant he’ll participate with his own Tik-Tok contribution. The working day also brought sobering news, with the corporate headquarters informing all staff of imminent hours and salary cuts equivalent to 20% of all our jobs and remunerations, only to top it off with the closure of one of our...
Read more