Family Travel. Pandemic.
The Loss of Most of Our Belongings: A Pandemic Story
We had nothing left but a few suitcases of clothes. We had to start again.
Through my tears, I told my husband I was at my limit. As we sat together on the couch, reading the Vietnamese news on our phones while simultaneously reviewing updates from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, I cried and feared a panic attack for the first time in my life.
I felt like a weight was sitting on my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to read one more report about how entire towns were put under quarantine or how foreigners were subjected to 14 day stays in small hospital or hotel rooms after being deemed a close contact of a close contact.
Vietnam was the first country, after China, to begin closing schools. As the principal of a small international school, our doors closed quickly and without much warning in early February. A few late nights later, we were successfully navigating the very new waters of remote learning.
As one week moved into the next, as the pandemic began to spread from China to the rest of the world, we watched from our home in Vietnam. We were worried about our family and friends in the U.S. We were left wondering if we would be able to go home for our…
