Tag: Health

Corona

How Covid has warped all of our lives
This name that came into existence
Has taken all the power
Freedom to interact and resistance
Against the system
That has now taken over
Moving through the Greek alphabet
But we don’t know what it is yet
We cover our faces and stay in our places
For fear of the unknown
Germs, particles and crowded spaces
The thing that can’t seen
Just shown to us on TV
And apparently felt in our body
I may do all the right things
Yet it still can get me
This virus, the enemy
That separates us
Attacking us from the inside slowly
But some people can’t feel it all
Yet our economy, our society
Might fall
To Covid

It has a number and a name
We don’t know exactly when it came
Still we need someone to blame
Maybe 20 years later
Someone will unravel all the secrets
And put them on paper
But fabricated stories can’t change
What already happened
How badly we reacted
And the world won’t be the same

A name has tied us all together
And kept us apart
Despite our collective pain
Since it’s inception
A reflection
Of ourselves, isolated
Desperately mated
Our human nature
Not wanting to be alone
Locked down
A tiny virus
Wearing a crown,
Corona

Hide your face but open your eyes
We now all walk around in a disguise
Not seeing each other
Judging each other
By our position, our masks
If we do or don’t have it
Justified by the guise
Of a vaccine card
Politicians lies
Illuminating our insecurities
Our fear that we won’t have what we need
Planting the seed
That this is all we have to do
I can’t see you
And it won’t spread through
Our lives, our population

Control the crowds and public spaces
Gather all the information
Mixed messages
Spread fear and stagnation
So that no one can move
And Zoom erases
Social interactions
The desire to leave our houses
We are now stuck on our couches
Sinking into Covid
Falling deeper into our new reality
That consumes us
We can’t get up from our comfy
Virtual meetings
Paid laziness
Forced vaccinations
Unending boosters
No more vacations
Nothing changes

I want to do the right thing
But really I don’t want to do anything
I just want to go for walks
Make small talk
With strangers
Covid has killed my motivation
Yet I have so much time
Still I’m waiting
For something to happen
And my time feels wasted
Again, nothing changes

But change happens
It doesn’t wait for vaccinations
Masking, lack of social interactions
Canceled shows and I don’t knows
Invisible barriers
That stop us from passing Covid
Everything moves
But nothing’s changed
Except our expectations

A Covid time warp
Day after day
Time trudges through the muck
Of uncertainty
False positives
Lost years
Feeling stuck
Closed borders
Toilet paper hoarders
Abandoned plans
Unrealistic fears
That maybe next year
When we are clear
Of Covid

We’ll begin to live again
Children will go back to school again
I’ll rekindle my relationships
We’ll get back time
Our society’s flaws
Reflected in paternalistic laws
Will go back to normal
We’ll take our power back
And everything will be fine
I guess in the end
Corona will decide

How we get by

It’s forever woven into our lives.

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Running Mount Royal

True story, unedited to make me appear less strange, so no judgement please. I’ve just devoured a vegan orange infused chocolate croissant (after breakfast) and I think it’s a good idea to adventure on Mount Royal. I start to walk up sidewalks, through downtown Montreal, until I get to stairs, a clear path up the mountain. With a burst of energy, I leap up the stairs, two at a time, taking off layers as the evasive sun shines through the clouds. The redish orange scenery is breathtaking as bits of the buildings peak through, reminding me that I’m still in a city. Continue reading “Running Mount Royal” →

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POC, Refugee, Resident

Seemingly, everyone I’ve met since landing in Athens has an opinion about the refugee crisis in Greece – locals, Uber drivers, NGO’s, police, and refugees themselves. Opinions are freely shared with me once I disclose what I’m doing here (teaching yoga in a refugee camp) and I listen, hesitating to form an opinion until I’ve had my own experience on the island of Leros, my home for the next month or so. Continue reading “POC, Refugee, Resident” →

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Tides

Something is wrong. I wake up in the night with sharp, shooting pains in my stomach and spend the next 2 days on a mattress surrounded by onlookers to my public illness. I don’t care – I’m deliriously sick. I can’t keep anything down, even water makes me violently ill. God, Universe, Something (Italian doctor in Nosy Be) – please make me well again. A remote island isn’t an ideal place to be ill, and the only way to get treated is a nauseous, choppy boat ride to the next biggest island – Nosy Be. Take off your shoes, lay on the cool tile floor in what appears to be a hospital, and enter when you are called in for a blood test. My sickness has a name: Typhoid. Continue reading “Tides” →

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Waves For Water

Here’s the scoop: Cape Town, South Africa is in a pretty serious water crisis. Not just Cape Town, but countless communities around the globe are experiencing a water crisis and live without clean drinking water. Drinking unclean water causes a variety of issues to include cholera, diarrhea, nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, dizziness, and in some cases death.

At the moment, Cape Town has less than 120 days left of drinking water. The dams are at 27% and because of this level 3b water restrictions are in place. Think fines if you are caught washing your clothes at home, if you take a shower longer than 10 minutes, water your lawn, run your dishwasher, or really just waste water in any way. Pretty serious.

To add to this, many communities, such as the township communities of Capricorn in Cape Town, don’t have clean water at all. Children have permanent runny noses, skin rashes, and diarrhea because they don’t have clean water. Some kids don’t drink water at all. Germs spread like wildfire when there is no water to wash hands, clean up, and drink. Water is a key component to quality of life.

I attended a film screening in Muizenberg recently as a response to this water crisis called Waves for Water. Essentially, a famous surfer had a bit of a life crisis and invented a water filter that can be used in communities that do not have clean water. One water filter can provide 100 people with clean drinking water for up to 5 years. Great investment, right?

The filter costs about $50 and comes with a demo/ training information. The goal is to provide access to the filter in all communities around the world without clean water. I’ve committed to helping daycare and school centers in Capricorn gain access to drinking water. Here’s what you can do- get involved, make a donation, or purchase a clean water filter.

Yes, I provided links- you are welcome.

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East Side, West Side

When you enter Langa Township, the first thing you see is a brand new public housing complex that is quite nice. The government has stepped in and replaced settler communities with new public housing. 50% of the housing for Cape Town residents and 50% for migrants from the East. At first I didn’t understand the dynamics of this, but it became clear as I made my way through Langa.

Continue reading “East Side, West Side” →

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Langa Lessons

Here’s the first blog in a mini series on Townships. I’ve stated previously that South Africa is different from other parts of Africa I’ve experienced. I was lucky enough to get an in depth look at one of the Townships, and more insight into why South Africa (Cape Town specifically) is so different.  Continue reading “Langa Lessons” →

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Cape Town: From Top to Bottom

Cape Town is a wee bit different from other places I’ve visited in Africa. First there’s no language barrier- everyone speaks English (amongst other things- Americans are the only people that refuse to learn more than one language). There’s also a lot of white people- so I for the most part blend in, which is unusual for me in this continent. There’s actually plenty white South Africans as many different groups of Europeans settled here/ claimed the land in colonial and precolonial times (understandably so- it’s beautiful).

This being said, another one of the stark differences is development and the massive divide between the haves and have-nots. There are some super wealthy areas- like the most expensive property in the entire country next to endless sprawling shantytowns. I’m happy to paint a word picture for you of these two drastically different areas.

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Picture a combo of Malibu and South Beach. Camps Bay and/or Clifton beach areas in Cape Town. Mansions, celebrities, pristine beaches, fine dining, expensive wine. I dined in this luxurious restaurant on the strip one night and paid what about four meals would have cost me in other areas of Cape Town. Quite the touristic area, in fact you might catch a glimpse of Leo or Charlize Theron as they come and go from their mansions in the area.

Now, picture rusted tin (tin roof is literally rusted) and wood structures, held together by scrapings and prices of wood that go on for as far as the eye can see. Piles of trash mark the entrance to the shantytown and the smell hits you as soon as you approach. Kids, dogs, animals roam free. This side of Cape Town is hidden from tourists on the outskirts of the city. Ubers won’t go into the townships, nor will the police. Here drugs, gangs, and prostitution run rampant.

How can there be such a drastic divide to this developed and Westernized city in South Africa? How is it possible that wealth is so unevenly distributed? I’ve seen in Cape Town the wealthiest in Africa and the poorest separated by no more than a few miles. Perhaps this is the remnants of Apartheid? There must be a way we can raise the bottom up.

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Lion’s Head

This is a great hike and semi challenging climb in Cape Town. On the way up this beautiful mountain, you will get a panoramic view of the picturesque city of Cape Town, from Camps Bay to Clifton Beaches. The windy mountainous trail eventually gives out to straight up rock climbing about half way through, and the adventure begins.

Continue reading “Lion’s Head” →

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