{"id":8484,"date":"2021-08-02T17:24:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T09:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=8484"},"modified":"2021-09-21T14:17:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T06:17:52","slug":"saigon-resident-covid-19-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/saigon-resident-covid-19-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m A Saigon Resident Who Hears Ambulance Sirens Every 15 Mins, But I Know Things Will Get Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life isn\u2019t always bleak in Saigon, because we have resilient people<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Every aspect of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city and commercial center, has been transformed, thanks to the global pandemic. Overnight, the city that was always running with energy and motion sunk into stillness and uncertainty.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past 2 months, I have been waking up to an empty city bathed in deafening silence. Hardly any sounds reach me except for ambulance sirens, which trigger fresh horror every time they go off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They have become poignant reminders for us Saigon residents of the pricelessness of being alive. However, with every challenge comes an opportunity, and with every loss, revelation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amidst the bleak daily caseload numbers, here are some things I\u2019ve learned to be<\/span> grateful for<\/b>, and why I\u2019m confident things will get better if we stay resilient.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Saigon has never been this quiet, but it\u2019s a good time for self-reflection<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: Thanh Nien<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Saigon\u2019s roads are no longer what they used to be. No neon signs beckoning visitors. No familiar hoards of office people milling about the streets for lunch in the crowded city centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the pandemic struck, this was every commuter\u2019s dream. But now, the weight of reality has finally set in.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Thanh Nien<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In truth, I miss the sight of congested roads daily – the incessant motorbike honks which fed into the noise pollution and traffic I once described as the \u201cworst in the country\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

A part of me even misses the sight of spa staff vying for attention along Le Thanh Ton\u2019s sidewalks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Soha<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

It now seems that all that made Saigon the busy city it has been for centuries has vanished into thin air.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nBui Vien, Saigon\u2019s largest entertainment hotspot, is completely empty<\/em>
\nImage adapted from: <\/span>Vietnamnet<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When Bui Vien stopped blasting fiery tracks after sunset, and the Old Market no longer smelt of freshly butchered meat, all that remained in Nguyen Hue was the gentle sunlight gilding our skyscrapers. Like a sigh, the buildings exhaled an inscrutable sense of emptiness and loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing I\u2019m grateful for, is that during rush hours, you can now cruise the usually crowded roads without a commuter sharing your lane, taking in the serene beauty of the city that never sleeps.<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope, like with all naps, that my Saigon will come alive once more, someday soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ambulance sirens foreshadow cases but mean medical assistance<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: Dan Tri<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re in Saigon, you can guess how the Covid-19 situation is progressing based on the number of times you hear ambulances passing by.<\/span><\/p>\n

I personally don\u2019t count, because I hear them every 10 to 15 minutes. With each passing day, the frequency increases and the caseload climbs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Bao Gia Lai<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When the sirens go off, you know the ambulance is coming for someone who\u2019s just been found infected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time I hear an ambulance passing by, my heart seems to beat in time, due to the variety of dreadful situations the sound foreshadows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Bao Gia Lai<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Many of us can\u2019t help but wonder if it\u2019s coming our way, while some have readily packed their belongings – just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n

As harrowing as this sounds, hearing ambulance sirens every day is nothing compared to waking up to medical workers knocking on your door.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We\u2019re thankful, but worried when medical workers show up to help us<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: <\/span>Dan Tri<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

“When we wake up tomorrow, we should be grateful that no medical workers show up at our door yet,” is a saying that has been circulated widely among Saigon residents as of late.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Dan Tri<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

While we should be optimistic about Covid-19 treatment and recovery, I\u2019m also acutely aware of how deadly this virus can be. I remain thankful for our frontliners\u2019 sacrifices, and that I haven\u2019t had to call on them for assistance just yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Frequent mass-testing is exhausting but keeps us safe<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: Thanh Nien<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Within a duration of less than one month, I was summoned to do Covid-19 swab tests twice as the daily caseloads continued climbing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Thanh Nien<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I was in the queue with many other people, whose anxiety and fear were palpable even when our faces were shielded by face masks. Nobody said anything, but we all looked like we had the same question, \u201cHow did it come down to this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The post-test wait was equally excruciating. I recall fixing my eyes on my phone for the first 24 hours after the test, praying that I wouldn\u2019t receive a call or text notifying me that I was infected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At some point, my fear got so intense that even a promotional SMS notification made my heart pound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank God, I tested negative – twice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Thanh Nien<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

But like every other Saigon resident, though I understand the importance of the process, I crave a return to normalcy and no more requests for Covid-19 tests from authorities ever again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dine-ins and take-outs are out of reach, so everyone learns to cook<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: <\/span>Du Lich Festival<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Drinking or buying coffee from our favorite cafe while looking at the bustling streets is a Saigonese morning ritual that many locals enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: Afamily<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has outlawed this practice – along with the act of getting take-outs.<\/span><\/p>\n

With neither dine-ins nor take-outs available, what about the many city hustlers not used to cooking at home?<\/span><\/p>\n

A positive trend sparked by the latest outbreak is that many young citizens have ordered kitchen tools online to begin learning how to cook from scratch to pass the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: VnExpress<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

For this reason, I\u2019m thankful that I already knew how to cook.<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, being a full-time stay-home-chef entails needing fresh ingredients and supplies to make my own food.<\/span><\/p>\n

But grocery shopping hasn\u2019t been easy due to Covid-19 restrictions and limited food supplies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Getting groceries is no longer easy-peasy, but at least we can afford them<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nShoppers waiting to get inside a parking lot at a supermarket 1 day before Decree 6 took effect<\/em>
\nImage adapted from: <\/span>Dan Tri<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Securing fresh groceries these days is like conquering a survival RPG. Since all wet markets have been shut down to curb the spread of the virus, most Saigon residents resort to shopping online or at supermarkets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nGrocery shoppers queue to get inside a grocery store<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Dang Cong San Tp Ho Chi Minh<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

For many of us, lengthy waits at essential stores and price markups have become symbols of how drastically Covid-19 has altered our lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before Covid-19, we used to get in line to make payments after shopping. Now, we have to get in line in order to enter.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: Dan Tri<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With preventive measures in place, only a number of people are allowed to get into any store at any given time. It means that the length of one person\u2019s shopping time relies heavily on another\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nGrocery shoppers waiting to make payment<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Zing News<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though our city\u2019s leaders have assured us that there\u2019ll be no shortage of food, many people can\u2019t help but engage in the panic buying of supplies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Zing News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon to see no eggs, meat, or vegetables left on the shelves. Perhaps it is this fear of staring at blank shelves after a 15-minute wait at the entrance that induces many people to buy more than they need.<\/span><\/p>\n

This problem is amplified by the rising grocery costs in some supermarkets, especially for essentials such as vegetables or meat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Dang Cong San Tp Ho Chi Minh<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Anything can happen these days, given that<\/span>\u00a0Saigon records at least 2,000 infections on a daily basis. <\/a><\/span>Nonetheless, let\u2019s be thankful that we can still afford to buy groceries, even though it\u2019s much more inconvenient than before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, more than ever, I\u2019m also grateful that I still have a job that helps me put food on the table.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s hard to reach out to those in need, but people find a way<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nA priest bringing food to a quarantine facility<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Bao Moi<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

COVID-19 has hit people from all walks of life physically and financially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Millions of people have lost their jobs due to the hundreds of businesses that have been forced to close, while affected residents struggle to make ends meet.<\/span><\/p>\n

This also means that extending a hand to those who need financial help has become harder than ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: \u0110\u00e0m H\u00e0 Ph\u00fa<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With high-level restrictions in place, it\u2019s difficult to even emerge on the road, let alone visiting and helping people in need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, a heavy hitter in the charity sector, has called on every city resident to feed the nearest community in need that they can find.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: <\/span>\u0110\u00e0m H\u00e0 Ph\u00fa<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Despite stringent preventive measures, many local charity organizers are still pressing on to deliver charity packages to the people living below the poverty line, such as <\/span>a church that handed out charity meals through pipes<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing people going the extra mile to help those in need has restored my faith in humanity and a newfound appreciation for our community spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A newfound appreciation for life\u2019s simplest pleasures<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The pandemic has given many of us a renewed gratitude for the little things and important people in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

When all of this is over, maybe we\u2019ll have a newfound appreciation for life\u2019s simplest pleasures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rejoicing over a freshly assembled <\/span>banh mi<\/span><\/i> from a street stall, slowly relishing a cup of coffee at a downtown cafe, enjoying a run in the park, or relishing a traffic jam down to the last minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

Above all, we\u2019ll learn to treasure physical connections even more, thanks to the profound realization that smartphones and a virtual life can never truly satisfy us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unhesitantly and unreservedly, let\u2019s continue to show our gratitude to our frontliners, without whom a long-anticipated return to normalcy will never be possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, stay safe and stay in faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also check out:<\/span><\/p>\n