Wednesday night. Just a couple more days till my 3-week staycation. In some other world, I’d be boarding a plane to Tunisia without a care… In this world, Tunisia is on full lockdown, and flying through Paris and Rome is a remarkably bad idea. On the other hand, we’re in an isolated Quebec town with no one to bother us.

Quebec is quaint. This is my first visit here: I’d originally planned to vacation in Montreal in July, so this is a bit ahead of schedule. Odd province. Some highways don’t have lane markings. The traffic lights look distinctively European. Even the architecture outside major cities is different. I was particularly amused by the fact that none of the French signs have English translations, even though they insist on having French versions of every English text and sign outside Quebec. Heh.

Our timing was fortuitous once again. We got here yesterday, and today Quebec’s government announced that this particular county will be locked down, with road blocks, travel restrictions, etc. This might be mildly paranoid of me, (hey, paranoia is just another word for survival) but I won’t be posting which tiny town we’re staying in. The Ontario plates are a dead giveaway, but we’d rather not get tracked down and kicked out of our beautiful AirBnB while we mind our self-isolation business for the next four weeks. It’s so bizarre to think of ourselves as virus refugees, living undercover in a locked-down town. As long as we don’t drive too far outside the town and keep to ourselves, we should be okay.

The condo is large and sunny and beautiful – like an Instagram post from the early 80s. The technology is delightfully retro. We’ve discovered an electric tea kettle that doesn’t turn itself off… I’ll just be boiling the water for my morning coffee on the stove, like an old-timey settler. (Then again, I’m fairly certain old-timey settlers didn’t have jacuzzi bathtubs. Ye gods, we’re spoiled.)

The world keeps getting weirder. South Africa’s police fired rubber bullets at those who insist on going outside. Turkmenistan banned the word coronavirus and will potentially arrest people wearing masks outside. The US is still a mess, with 5,130 cumulative deaths as of right now. (And only 112 in Canada.)

My gf’s close friend who stayed in Toronto said he’s developed a cough… He has a preexisting lung condition. Here is hoping it’s just a cold.