We’ve now been locked down for 6 weeks, and the sentiment in our home sort of shifted every two weeks. And since it’s been a couple of weeks since my first blog, I thought I’d provide an update to the Shanghai Lockdown 2022.
THE FIRST TWO WEEKS were about getting access to food.
Food scarcity has been a real issue in the city these entire six weeks. But we hadn’t yet gotten then hang of group buys, so in those first two weeks, we really got down the back of the pantry. We were cooking stuff we hadn’t known we had, like private label spam and unusual-looking vegetables delivered by the government. Never did our family worry about starving, so we were in a position of luxury. Mostly, I worried about my teams having enough food. You see, if one doesn’t live in a big enough compound, it’s difficult to achieve MOQ (Minimum Order Quantities) required to successfully post a group order.
We were thrilled when we finally delivered a big order of veggies, milk, meat and bread to everyone! And it was so heartening to see the lovely gratitude posts from our folks. Our McCann food delivery got a shoutout in the Wall Street Journal here!
IN THE SECOND TWO WEEKS, we turned our attention to the neighborhood.
Instead of just congregating online for group buys, we paused to think about who might need what. We dropped off toys at the doorsteps of those with little ones and gave gift packs to our security guards. These guys have really had it rough – they’ve been stuck sleeping in their security booth all these weeks, hand-washing laundry and eating whatever they could find.
And though Laini is too old for an Easter egg hunt, I found some plastic eggs and started a neighborhood hunt! Others joined in, and we soon had little ones running around (separately and with masks on) in glee!
Meanwhile, our sometimes three-a-day testing was reduced to 1-2x a day. Sometimes, we had to queue up outside, and other times we were allowed to do the NAT at home and either leave the tests outside for pick-up or even send a pic online.
THE LAST TWO WEEKS have been all about adventure!
We received a full, bloody (though, thankfully, plucked) rooster. Minki made a delicious meal – oh, how I love this man.
Our dishwasher broke, but that was no problem. We are accustomed to hand-washing dishes with just the three of us, anyway. Then the microwave broke. Minki did his best but Laini soon figured out a great hack for breakfast – Overnight Oats! This girl has proven self-sufficient, proactive and resourceful through every one of life’s challenges. She amazes me!
I started varying my workout, sometimes doing HIIT outside. Soon, I noticed neighbors peeking around the corner in curiosity, so I opened it up to free exercise classes. Now, I’m teaching four times a week and loving it! What a great way to build relationships within our community. Oh, and our hot water broke, too. So I lead classes right by a vacant house, where I pop in to shower. Yes, I saunter home with my hair in a towel and feel quite comfortable in my own skin these days.
Here’s a highlight – sometimes, the security guards join us our workout class.
Overall, our life is full. Pizza is actually very easy to make, so our Saturday Pizza/Movie night has continued with home-made ingredients. Laini’s started baking delicious cobblers, and I made jam when we received too many grapes in a group buy. Now in the last two days, COVID cases in Shanghai are going down and the city’s taken quite a hit in the media. Not everything was handled well top-down, but I am incredibly energized by the new relationships and creative problem-solving all around me. Oh, and springtime in Shanghai is gorgeous, no matter what the circumstances!
If you missed my first post about #shanghailockdown2022, here it is.