The Before Times

Over the past ten days or so I’ve had the creeping suspicion that we’ve been living in The Before Times and now we’re headed toward (or have already entered) a different way of life. Two weeks ago, I helped the youth group organize a fancy luncheon for all the senior citizens in our congregation, held at the church. Eight days ago, the girls did karaoke with a big group of friends in a stuffy, small room, passing a microphone around. On Tuesday, Jeremy and I went out to lunch in a crowded cafeteria. On Thursday, we went to work and taught classes at the uni as normal, even as I watched on Twitter and Whatsapp as the US locked itself down. The Finnish PM held a press conference that afternoon and it seemed like the situation changed in a moment.

(I don’t actually think the situation itself changed in a moment - I think public acknowledgement of the situation changed in a moment.)

Here’s what’s going on in Finland/Turku now.

We have 150+ confirmed cases, mostly in the Helsinki region. Gatherings of over 500 people are cancelled and some organizers are cancelling smaller events like concerts and plays. A few schools/daycares are closed due to specific students or family members being sick, but nationwide, as of right now, schools are still open. Public transport is still running, but on buses you can’t pay by cash, only mobile or card. Swimming pools are closed. Indoor exercise facilities are closed. School trips are cancelled. Church and church activities are cancelled. A few races Jeremy and/or I had already signed up for have been postponed.

Most significantly for our family so far is the fact that the university just announced a transition to online teaching over the next week, effective until the end of May. So our jobs just got…different.

It feels scary to see so many cancellations and changes happening and not know when things will get back to normal. I dearly hope they WILL get back to normal.