If the swine flu comes to Guaymas, I could be in trouble. Lately I've been spending a lot of time socializing with the locals. My Mexican friends are more inclined to plant besitos on my cheek and give me warm abrazos on arrival and departure, unlike the more distant, "protecting-my-space" gringos.Thursday and Friday nights I met with Lolita, Blanca, Lena, Julia and Padre Jorge to practice some songs in Spanish, and then on Saturday night we performed the songs at a fiesta celebrating Padre Jorge's birthday and the opening of a new elder daycare center in Miramar (a suburb of Guaymas). Lots of hugs and kisses all around, even from the Padre.
Meanwhile in Mexico City they're taking the flu very seriously: people are wearing masks in the streets, schools have been shut down and churches have been canceling mass. Then last night a category six earthquake struck close enough to be felt in the capital, and people were evacuating. What to do?
Stop the presses! It's getting hard to keep up with reports now. Schools and cinemas throughout Mexico are closed today. And the casualty count jumped from 100 to 149 as of midday today. That's how many people have died of flu-like symptoms, but only 20 had been confirmed swine flu victims, last I looked. Travelers coming home to Scotland, Canada and Spain have been quarantined with symptoms, and governments in Japan, China and Korea are planning to quarantine and examine anyone returning from the US or Mexico. The tourism industry, already reeling from the economic downturn, takes another one in the chops.
Reports say most of the victims have been younger people, whose stronger immune systems overwhelm their lungs with antibodies and suffocate them (to put it in very unscientific terms). Older people who have been through other flus and respiratory illnesses have less robust responses that don't overcompensate, and they are more likely to survive.
A mask telegraphs to the world that you're not available for kisses and probably wouldn't welcome hugs. Next we'll do away with handshakes, which originally were meant to convey that we weren't carrying a weapon (just germs). High fives will have to go, too. Maybe winks will be the new friendly greeting.
FYI: I've been advised the new, more health-conscious way to sneeze is not into your hand, since you're unlikely to always have immediate access to wipes, liquid cleaner or soap and water. Instead, use the inside of your elbow.