2020 in phrase books
Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of posting but things have been a bit hectic. We’ve been overrun at the refuge with ARAMIS pets—animals rescued from dead or sick owners who can no longer care for them. We’ve had so many come in we had to start turning them away, although I ended up bringing a few home. That’s really why I’ve been MIA. It’s a long story, but let’s just say it’s causing some ongoing problems with my landlord. I know some of my friends keep tabs on me here and I’m sorry for worrying anyone.
Anyway, I know there’s a lot going on, but don’t lose faith in keeping up with your practice. The universal language is more important than ever right now. I’ve made a little cheat sheet that could come in handy.
Peace, Jer
Useful Esperanto Phrases for the ARAMIS Crisis
Hello. Nice to meet you. Saluton. Mi ĝojas renkonti vin.
My name is ________. Mia nomo estas ________.
Are you hungry? Ĉu vi malsatas?
Are you thirsty? Ĉu vi soifas?
Can I help you? Ĉu mi povas helpi vin?
I have food enough to share. Mi havas sufiĉan manĝaĵon por dividi.
I know where we can find some clean water. Mi scias, kie ni povas trovi iom da pura akvo.
There is shelter not far from here. Estas rifuĝo ne malproksime de ĉi tie.
Let us walk together after dark. Ni iru kune post mallumo.
HUFFPOST PERSONAL
12/21/20 9:02 am ET Updated 1 hour ago
The ARAMIS Girl Speaks
Xiaolan Fraser
Guest Writer
For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt invisible. And at other times, I’ve felt too visible for all the wrong reasons—for the shape of my body, the colour of my skin. But like so many of us, I grew up obsessed by celebrity. I wanted to be the girl who stood out, who drew everyone’s eyes, the one everyone recognized as special. I wanted to be seen, to be somebody.
Needless to say, I’ve been cured of that desire.
Yes, I was working as a server at cipolla when Zhihuan Tsiang—the man identified by the World Health Organization as the real index patient—ate there on July 31, but I didn’t get sick. I only became aware of the public health advisory after I left New York City to go back to Lansdowne, where I was attending college. At that point, I self-quarantined myself for the recommended three weeks. I never developed any symptoms. And this was weeks after Mr. Tsiang ate at the restaurant and infected some of the other patrons and staff.
Later, I did get sick. Very sick. But only after I contracted the virus in Massachusetts in November.
I was not irresponsible, just unlucky. My actions were not criminal. By the time the insane manhunt caught the attention of people who suspected I might be ARAMIS Girl, I was already in intensive care. My parents were at my bedside, or as close to it as the doctors would let them get. I am grateful to the doctors and nurses at Boston Memorial who helped to keep me alive in spite of all the haters camped out in front of the hospital with signs saying I deserved to go to hell.
I do regret not coming forward sooner. I was scared of the death threats already circulating online and by what was happening to other Asian Americans across the country. I wish I’d recognized earlier that I might have been able to make a difference, but at a certain point I truly did not know whether coming forward would have made everything better or worse. Maybe I was being a coward.
For everyone online saying they hope I die of ARAMIS, I hope you never have to learn what it’s like to wake up to find out the entire world hates you. At least my experience has taught me one thing: I’d rather be unknown than infamous.
ELLIOT
DECEMBER 2020
Elliot was listening to his parents argue, except they would have called it a conversation. Gretchen was hunched over her coffee at one end of the kitchen counter, while Frank fiddled with some oatmeal on the stove. Elliot had his laptop open and was trying to keep out of it by avoiding eye contact.
“It’s just a matter of time before someone infects us,” said Frank. His striped bathrobe sagged open to reveal a white undershirt and flannel pyjama bottoms. “Or before looters break down our door.”
“Civil society hasn’t quite disintegrated yet,” said Gretchen. Her voice was shaky but still sardonic.