Business as Usual

[Teacher Mark 53]

[GabiandVi 34]

I was in China during SARS. It was surreal. The memory that sticks out the most was my trip into Beijing. I hired a car and driver to take me to get my yellow fever vaccination and then on to the Benin Embassy to get my visa. The highway, the busiest highway in the world according to some statistics, was empty. As we drove through the toll booth at the entrance to Beijing, I saw three or four people standing around in white robes with white doctor's hats on their heads and white masks on their faces. In absolute silence, the driver slowed down and lowered my window. One person in white stepped forward raising a laser-like gun and pointed it at my forehead, coming just an inch or two from touching me. She stepped back, lowering the gun. The driver raised my window and we drove off, picking up speed.

Beijing was like a ghost town. It was the best day I ever had there.