Semester 8 Chapter VI: Toxic Love

So the other day I went to pick up a package to my local post office. I ordered some gym gloves as my band kept fucking up my hands. And I got like the full dosage of my city. You see, I have kinda love/hate relationship with Brno. I love it way more now than I used to but I still remember why I left it years ago. And I know that after some time, I’d probably get there again. And this story is not really that interesting but it’s kinda funny so fuck it. So I get to the post office and I see couple of people standing outside waiting for their turn. Wearing face masks, not staying too close to each other – we are really disciplined. So I get in and I go for this machine that gives you a number. When I get it, I feel a grab on my shoulder. Some old fucker decided to be a people’s advocate and basically starts screaming at me that I just cut the line and that I gotta get the fuck out and wait. I really didn’t feel like taking any shit from anyone that day, so I go straight to a counterstrike. We get into a bit of an argument and storm out. At that point, I feel like punching him. A lovely lady standing nearby notices our confrontation and points out that you actually do need to take your number first and then wait it out. Pointing at everybody around holding their numbers. All of the sudden, the guy stares at the ground, mumbles some lame ass apology and goes take his number. He gets back and stands like 3 meters next to me doing his best to avoid any eye contact. I was giving him the most uncomfortable stare I was capable of. Like 2 minutes later, some young ass motherfucker arrives, sees me, walks to my face and asks me if I have any drugs. To my “What?” he elaborates: “You know, like weed or anything.” At that point, I’m genuinely amused and even though he cannot see the smile under my face mask, I do smile and tell him that I do not. Of course. I wait for my turn, get my fucking gloves and go home. Impossible grumpy neurotic old people and druggies around our main railway station. That’s the flavors. There’s obviously more to where I’m from but this one was super authentic. Shout out to Brno!

Anyways, the quarantine continues, nothing has really changed over here. We got more coronavirus cases, couple of deaths too, all the restrictions still in place. We actually got a new one. Unless you’re with your family or people sharing your household, you cannot hang outdoors in a group larger than two people. And again, I feel people just respect that. There’s still no police patrols on corners and streets are still nearly empty. I’m trying to cover most of dog walks and shopping these days to make things easier on my dad but we aren’t really nervous. Still cooking lotta amazing meals, still chilling with some whisky and cigars here and there, still reading and watching movies.

Weather wise, it’s been a bit of rollercoaster. Seems like first half of the week is always shit (nearly freezing) and the second half jumps to spring (temperatures around 15 degrees). They say the next week is shaping up to be exactly the same.

So yeah, I still eat, workout and run like crazy. The other day, I did another longer run with my bro. After this whole winter break, I think my body has finally adjusted to regular running and all the muscle pain is gone. Feels beautiful. The resistance band is still the shit too. I also see my sis like all time, we go to parks, we do lunches and shit... Yesterday, we hung out at our neighbors’ spot – they have kid same age as my nephew – drinking, eating. It was pretty awesome.

Oh yeah, and China closed its borders to foreigners. Doesn’t matter if you have valid visa or residence permit (my fucking case) – you won’t get in. So in order for me to get back to Shanghai, which is still absolutely my goal, three things have to happen. One: the situation in the Czech Republic gets better for the country to lift all the restrictions (not very likely but I kinda see that happening). Two: the situation in Europe and in the world in general gets good enough for the Czech Republic to open its borders again (that one really seems straight up unrealistic to me). Three: China reopens its borders to foreigners again (I can’t really predict anything here). And the best part is: all three of those things have to happen simultaneously. And preferably soon. In other words, it is quite possible I’m stuck here for a bit. I decided not to stress about any of that tho. It’s completely out of my control so I guess we just wait it out. Oh, and I applied for extension of my studies too, so there is a slim chance this blog's Semester 9 actually takes place back in Shanghai. But who knows. You guys stay strong, stay safe and keep your head up, aight? One!

Highlights:

• Did my first online class teaching Czech to a foreigner. Went really well, pretty cool experience.
• Workouts. I’m sure I’m gaining weight here due to all to amazing food but I also exercise like a maniac. So it’s pretty balanced and I do feel good.
• Jessie Reyez album. Love it.

Semester 8 Chapter V: Silver Linings

Aight, so we’re still quarantined up over here. Last time, I got a bit preachy so let me start this on a more positive note. I love the way most people deal with the whole situation. There’s a movement in the Czech Republic homemaking face masks, distributing them among those who cannot get any amid the high demand and shortage. Most people respect all the new restrictions, staying at home for the most part and wearing the face masks when they go out. Brno really feels like a ghost town these days. I love the fact that people home cook most of their meals staying with their families. I love how considerate they are to one another (at the end of the day, the whole face mask wearing is really to protect others, not yourself), I love that the whole crisis is pressing the government to implement policies to support those staying home with their kids and those who ended up with no income for now. I got friends texting me that in some parts of the world, basic income has become a topic of discussion too. I love the fact that there’s dolphins in Italy. That the sky is clearer. That the whole production decrease leads to cleaner air so fast. I love seeing McDonalds closed. I love seeing malls empty. I love seeing Zara, H&M and all those fuckers closed too. I love having chats with strangers while walking my dog. I hope that when this is all done, we remember some of this energy and carry it on. There’s so much negativity, suffering, losses and pain coming with Covid-19 but it is beautiful seeing that we can manage. Maybe we do need a little push to see that the whole system we kinda consider given, this whole status quo fuck up, is not really as given and strong as we thought. I wanna believe that. Shout out to all doctors, nurses, drivers, food suppliers, volunteers and caretakers. Shout out to all who respect others and take this situation as an opportunity to focus on their close ones and appreciate them. I see lotta bad shit everyday but I see so much positivity too. And there’s never enough of that. If you respect someone, tell them. If you appreciate someone, tell them. If you love someone, tell them. Those things need to be noticed and expressed. We need more of this. Not only now but each and every day.

So where we at these days. Quarantine is still on, however, walking a dog, going out to a park and running is okay. Thank god. You can go shopping (supermarkets and pharmacies are still open) and to visit relatives, but staying at home is strongly recommended. At this point, police do not really enforce this – I’m out at least like 5 times a day, sometimes for quite some time, and I haven’t been asked to show my ID or provide a reason for being out yet. People respect the situation tho. Some restaurants still provide delivery. They are also allowed to sell takeaway items out of window - as long as people don't stay and everything is served in single-use containers. I have never seen my city so empty. I’m an early bird, so my morning dog walks are usually around 6-7am, and at that time, you don’t really expect crowds. However, you go around lunchtime, and it’s pretty much the same. I stay in the very center of Brno, basically on the main street, so it really paints the picture. I don’t even use leash anymore – the dog just runs around freely everywhere. You are also allowed to meet up with your close ones and spend some time outside, as long as your group is not larger than 10 people. Again, I’m pretty impressed that in our alcoholic country, people actually follow that. Haven’t seen anybody breaking this yet. Borders are still closed and nobody can really tell when that’s gonna change. So my future is still as unclear as ever.

As for my everyday life, it’s usually 3 long walks with the doggo, one long run and some hanging out here and there. Mostly with my family, sometimes with my friends. We had couple of really beautiful days last week - I’m talking almost 20 degrees in the afternoon. I joined my sis for couple of long walks and one day, I even took my bike and met them in the outskirts of Brno in this huge gorgeous park I haven’t been to since my childhood for some picnic. It feels good doing real bike rides again. Been like 3 months. I also met up with my bro for a run the other day. We did about 11km around the city. Yesterday, I walked the dog with another of my friends and we’ll try to do this together more often. See, it is pretty calm over here. Apart from some Jameson with my dad in the evenings while watching Breaking Bad and like two beers outside, I don’t really drink. I obviously don’t go to bars and pubs and I take turns cooking with the old man (who is probably the best vegan cook I know). All of it is actually pretty nice. The only fucked up thing is that I haven’t seen one of my best friends living in Prague yet. I think I might be technically able to get there as some trains and buses still go and the possibility of cops stopping me seems relatively low, but I’m not really sure, and more importantly, with this whole situation developing, I might end up being stuck there. I mean, there’s been some talks on even heavier measures possibly being employed, and although the government denies such claims for now, nothing would really surprise me anymore. I hope we’ll get to catch up soon.

Oh and workout. So yesterday, I went to pick up my resistance loopband and that shit changed my life. I have been doing push-ups and sit-ups daily but this thing... This fucking thing you can easily fit into your pocket... You can do a solid heavy wourkout with it. I put on some hiphop, play with it for an hour or so and I’m straight. Feeling all the muscles and shit. Can’t wait to do this again today.

I’m still in touch with my Shanghai fam too. I’m sending love to my sisters – I hope your situation gets resolved asap. I’m sending love to my peers in Shanghai as well. I’m really looking forward to get back there and catch up. Crashing your places, drinking drinks, watching movies, reuniting. Gonna be awesome. I’m sending love to everybody out there. We are in the middle of some shitshow but we are going to make it one way or another. I really wanna believe we come out of this stronger, closer to each other, more empathetic and more aware. We are human after all. One!

Highlights:

• Resistance band.
• Bike rides.
• My dad’s cooking. He manages to veganize different traditional Czech meals (which are originally not vegan at all) and he’s a fucking monster when it comes to that. Was missing that for real.