Most of my focus recently has been on my photography. I have always loved capturing moments with my camera but for the first time I'm learning more about my camera and its capabilities. Wow! The photos I can capture now are so much better. I'm still far from being a professional photographer but I can see my growth in just the year that I have been learning.
Current events here in Korea... Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)! It is actually looking like we are on the downside of being in this crisis, thank goodness. 179 people diagnosed with the virus, over 13,000 were subject to quarantine and 27 people have died from this virus - mostly elderly with underlying medical conditions. The numbers seem high but when you think about the actual population of South Korea the numbers are minimal. When it first came out in the media that this virus from Saudi Arabia was now in Korea, I had no fear and thought "no problem." South Korea is a very health conscience country and will handle this with the upmost professionalism - unfortunately initially more emphasis was given to preventing panic and it was not handled properly.
(Yahoo News Photo)
I made minimal change to my daily life because of MERS - I still have not taken public transportation yet, I have not gone to the open markets and I am more aware of who is around me. The initial outbreak was in the area that I live in so that is why I have been more cautious. Other than that, I still travel here and even joined a photo/blogger tour group a couple of weekends ago of Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. I will also be posting my experience and photos from that tour. When I went to Seoul with a friend after two weeks from the first diagnosis, it was strange not to see crowds of people or a lot of traffic. Many businesses, schools and other organizations were closed down and if they were not, it was advised to go straight home to avoid further spread of this virus. People are still being cautious and life here has not returned back to normal yet. I believe the initial fear is done and I'm starting to see more and more people out, even some without masks but continuing to wash hands thoroughly and often just like I am.
