In 20 19, due to job transfer, I came to Lesotho, a country that few people should have heard of. It is completely surrounded by South Africa and is the largest country in the world, China. Economically, she is recognized by the United Nations as one of the least developed countries in the world. Politically, a constitutional monarchy like Britain has its own king, but the prime minister holds the power. She also has a nice name: the country of the sky, because her average altitude is above 1600 meters, which is really the country of the sky.
This is a primitive society.
Although I did my homework in advance and knew that Lesotho was one of the least developed countries in the world, I was still stunned by the world below when the plane circled over Lesotho. There are no buildings except mountains and grasslands, only a few scattered small houses. This is a primitive society. This is my first impression of Lesotho.
"Welcome to Lesotho ~" At the security checkpoint, the security personnel at the airport enthusiastically told me that my intuition told me that this country can still be saved, and it is not used to extortion and bribery.
I like life here very much.
This time, it is a housing construction project, and all national universities have built dormitory buildings, which is also the athletes' village of the upcoming African Youth Games. As a good student, my favorite place since childhood is campus, especially when I step into the society after graduation. I miss the carefree campus life more, so no matter which city I travel to, the university campus is a must. So I really like my work on campus this time. If nothing happens, I will go to campus by bike.
When we first arrived at the project, we lived in a rented two-story villa. At first, I was shocked to see such a luxurious villa. Lesotho, which was originally thought to be a primitive society, actually has such a beautiful little house, and there are many small villas of this pastoral style, most of which are made of red tiles or sandstone and hidden in the village in a low-key way. Because the villa we live in is the official residence of senior government officials in our hometown, we pay special attention to the decoration and furniture. We also saw the fireplace in the Gryffindor lounge of Harry Potter, and imagined that Sirius's face would come out and talk to me.
We have several dogs in our villa, and we walk in the yard when we have nothing to do, and occasionally there are donkeys and goats as guests.
We are busy at work during the day, and after dinner at night, we will stroll in the yard to enjoy the night view and look at the stars. Because it is a rural area, the place where we live is very comfortable, without the noise and impetuousness of the city. With the person I like, I am willing to spend my life quietly here. "I really like life here," I often thought at that time. Although material life is scarce, I am particularly happy to eat a small packet of local biscuits and a sour green apple. Isn't this the simplest happiness of our childhood? Life is so simple but so happy. It was an unforgettable time in my life.
Later, we moved to the temporary housing near the university. Although the accommodation is not as good as the villa, our sense of happiness has not decreased at all. Every night, I always look up at the starry sky in the courtyard of the love stand, accompanied by crickets and occasional dogs barking. If it doesn't rain on cloudy days, I can always see the Milky Way hanging in the sky. I have never seen such a beautiful starry sky at home. Although there is Tianmu City Street in my hometown, the artificial starry sky is very different from the real starry sky in nature.
Where we live, the foreman also grows many crops. Besides dogs, kittens and Lu Hua chickens have joined our big family. Later, Lu Hua chickens hatched a lot of chicks, which chattered and were very lively every day. I always thought that we were living a Lesotho version of "the life we yearn for", which was even worse than the life that Huang and He Laoshi yearned for. I really miss my life back then.
It's time to leave.
I don't know why, good days are always so short. For various reasons, the university project stopped and there was no sign of returning to work. I was transferred to the headquarters in Maseru, the capital, and took over a small project. Although the capital is rich in material life, there are big shopping malls, KFC, steak and pizza shops, and several supermarkets in China, where you can eat Xerox chips, three squirrel nuts, Wei Long spicy strips, Master Kong instant noodles, all kinds of imported fruits, and my favorite roasted corn, but after all, I am tired of city life, and I don't like traffic jams in cities, which are crowded and hasty.
I flew directly from Kenya to Lesotho because I haven't been home since I went abroad on 20 18, so I have been planning to go home for a holiday at the end of March this year. Why is it the end of March? Because at that time, the epidemic situation in China was much better controlled, and the end of March was the beginning of spring in China. Spring is my favorite season. When the weather gets warmer, it won't be too cold without heating at home. There were many flowers in China at that time, and there were many fresh fruits to eat in that season. I can take my mother on a trip. Most importantly, I can visit my father's grave and talk to him in Tomb-Sweeping Day on April 5th. My father and I haven't seen each other for a long time.
When I was planning my holiday, I happened to meet a translator in the China Construction Third Bureau. Because of the myth of Vulcan Mountain and Thunder God Mountain hospital, I especially yearn for the construction of the Third Bureau, just for the myth of Vulcan Mountain and Thunder God Mountain hospital. To tell you the truth, I really envy the staff who support the construction of Vulcan Mountain and Thunder God Mountain hospital. I used to be a member of the "cloud supervisor", cheering for Xiao Huang, Xiaolan, fork sauce and spit sauce every day. When the motherland and the nation need us, if I can have the opportunity to devote myself bravely and retrograde like a medical staff, it will be the glory of my life and become an example worthy of praise and learning by future generations.
I thought "it's time to go", so I submitted my resume, participated in the online remote interview, and finally got the offer of China Construction Third Bureau. However, something unexpected happened, and I finally missed my myth.
Nothing
I received an Offer in early March, but I don't know why. I have been dragging my feet and didn't submit my resignation. I continued to work as usual until late March, and finally made up my mind to submit my resignation to the leader. But at that time, South Africa was already the country with the worst epidemic in Africa (until now), and South Africa entered a state of national disaster.
South Africa has always been my dream country and one of the main purposes of my work in Africa. A long time ago, I made a travel guide to Cape Town, South Africa, booked a plane ticket and chose a homestay in Penguin Beach, Simon Town. However, at the end of March, due to the epidemic, South African customs began to refuse entry to China tourists, and all the visas for China tourists were invalidated overnight. I had to cancel my trip to Cape Town, and I couldn't see Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, African Penguins and Seal Island.
Although we could not enter South Africa, it was still possible to transfer to China at that time. My plane ticket is on the 26th, and I told my relatives and friends at home that I would arrive home on the 28th. I was really excited before I went home, and I made a lot of travel plans after I got home. Even the things I have to do every day during the hotel isolation are clearly planned. I reported the time and flight home to the community, consulted the isolation in advance, made an appointment with my friends to eat Haidilao after isolation, and even arranged the vouchers.
On the evening of March 23, the President of South Africa made a televised speech and decided to close the country from midnight on March 26! At that time, I was still worried about luck. I thought my plane ticket was for the morning of 26th, and closing at midnight on 26th should not affect my flight. And I just changed planes in South Africa, and I didn't enter South Africa. Should not affect, I comfort myself.
On March 25th, when I was having lunch, I received a short message from the airline. My flight was cancelled because South Africa was closed! At that time, my heart was extremely collapsed. I don't know why, God wants to play such a joke on me! My plane took off on the 26th! Why can't we wait half a day? My mother is still waiting for me to go home! My myth is still waiting for me to join the job! My community has reported it! We're all out of tickets for Haidilao!
In this way, I hope that the flame of going home will be extinguished by the basin of ice water in reality. No light, no warmth, nothing.
Besides, after the cancellation of the flight, Qunar.com didn't refund my ticket fee. I tried every conceivable method and failed. I have no choice but to resort to law and sue Qunar.com in Beijing Internet Court. When I was in Kenya, the local people were very good at defending their rights. They always ask lawyers to write letters to take us to court. After a year's baptism by Kenyan lawyers and courts, I also learned that no matter where I go, I will not refund my ticket money. It doesn't matter. See you in court.
The nightmare has just begun.
At the end of March, after the big brother South Africa sealed the country, Lesotho's younger brother followed closely and formulated a series of sealing policies. This double blockade blocked the way for all China compatriots to go home, and there was no hope, so we were stranded in Africa and began a long wait.
During the closed period, our project also stopped, and everyone returned to the base to start home isolation. I turned sadness into motivation and became a form of learning hegemony. I arranged my daily study plan to be full, and started a day when I didn't listen to anything outside the window but read books by sages.
Fortunately, Lesotho is the last country with confirmed cases in Africa and one of the few countries with confirmed cases in the world. However, after the self-proclaimed country, the tense atmosphere immediately enveloped the whole Lesotho, especially the China people who witnessed the ravages of COVID-19 in China and the heavy blow and heavy casualties brought by COVID-19 to the motherland. Everyone is always nervous and dare not slack off. Every day the door is closed and the warehouse is full of food and water. We are going to fight a tough battle.
On May 13, Lesotho officially announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19. At that time, Lesotho had lifted the blockade and we had resumed our work, but the border gate was still tightly closed. Only trucks are allowed to pass between South Africa and Lesotho, and others are not allowed to pass. There is no news of any navigation at the airport. With more and more confirmed cases, I can feel that the local people are getting more and more nervous.
Medical masks and disinfectant have long been sold out, and people on the roadside are selling fancy cotton masks, which can't completely filter the virus. Everyone in the street and in the shopping mall is wearing a mask. Spray disinfectant every time you enter the store and even take your temperature. Sometimes you can spray disinfectant more than a dozen times a day. Disinfectants of various flavors and shapes are mixed in the sweat of my palm, giving off a pungent and disgusting smell. I feel my hands are rotten. After returning to the base, I will spray disinfectant from head to toe again. Shopping malls and supermarkets are restricted in flow, and customers have to queue up at the door. There is a long queue for withdrawing money from ATM machines. No matter where you do things, everyone has to line up and keep a social distance. In Lesotho at that time, the nightmare had just begun.
What kind of unprecedented danger is it?
What's wrong with us now?
To be continued, please look forward to "We are trapped in Africa under the epidemic (II)"