This is one of my “DURING SARS” photos.
I was in mainland China when SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) broke out there. It was one of my unforgetables of that country particularly Shijiazhuang City. We were out of work for 3 months. Our employer , Paul, was so pathetic that he cut our contract 3 months before it was to expire and then he also did not pay us those months. Good thing China food is very cheap we survived. We continued staying in the apartment until the end of the contract because we won’t go back to our home country. Liza (the cute girl in white beside me) and I agreed that we really won’t be going back to the Philippines for two reasons:
1. We don’t have enough money saved that will support us if we have to reapply from the home country.
2. We don’t like the thought of being quarantined in Manila. Though we were not sick but am sure we will be quarantined because we would be flying in from Beijing or HK.
3. We were positive we could find work in other schools of which our employer did not ever imagined that we could do it.
4. SARS is not a reason for us to be sent back to the home country because we were not sick (though we had cough those times but no fever) and there was no circular that foreigners must leave the country.
Well then, Liza and I did not leave and just as we were allowed to go out, we went to the PSB or Police Security Bureau (an office that will issue a residence visa/working visa/ and or business visa and in just a few days, I had a call that a school would like to hire me. Of course I was accepted.
I gained weight so much during the SARS period because no work but we eat 3 times a day and if possibly we were not allowed to go out. But you can see locals doing daily exercise morning and evening. The only little game i do those times was badminton. 
This photo was taken on a Saturday. We were going on to the park on the height of spring time. We decided to spend the Sabbath at the park. The flowers were just so beautiful. A neighbor, Cindy and her son went with us. In this photo, there were 4 of us teachers, all Filipino and the others were our students. They were the brave ones who visit us daily as they are bored in their homes too. 2 months were declared NO CLASS. Good thing these guys were not sick of anything so they were welcome at our apartment anytime.
The neck is almost gone. Blown away by the wind.
