My boss sent me a rather rushed message last night regarding my work for the next day, the gist of which was; no school tomorrow. Please stay home.
This is because South Korea is on high alert at the moment, especially in my close area, due to the recent outbreak of the MERS virus*. This is pronounced like “Merris” for some reason, which to me sounds like a sweet old grandmother who bakes cakes, and sucks on extra strong mints in her spare time – but the reality couldn’t be further from that. It’s actually pretty serious, or at least that’s what I’ve been told…
Little is known about it other than that it is thought to have started in Saudi Arabia…possibly something to do with camels. Never did like camels – all that spitting always struck me as insanitary. I’m not quite sure how it all works, but I imagine the camel spat in someone’s eye, and then that guy licked someone, and so on, and so on…in time the camel had enough of being judged so took a flight to Korea, naturally one thing led to another and now…MERS virus panic in SK!
What does that mean for me? Well, I am forced to have the day off (BOOO HOOO, I’m crying a river over that one), and when I go out I am recommended to wear a face mask in case someone sneezes directly into my mouth at some point. It makes me look like a bit of a ninja, especially with sunglasses it just feels like a rather shit halloween costume…so I’m opting out of that. Instead I’ll just try my best not to kiss any camels should they start to flirt with me.
Wish me luck…
*Jokes aside, here is a link to a more credible source for information regarding the MERS virus, should go without saying that I urge everyone in the proximity to be careful – and should you spot any symptoms seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY.
www.facebook.com/storytimewithjohn
www.youtube.com/storytimewithjohn101
Please buy my collection of stories! Get it in paperback here – or on Kindle here! ALL proceeds go towards Macmillan Cancer Support!
John Lee Taggart 
what are you studying in korea? Sounds like such a fantastic opportunity 🙂
LikeLike
I work here! It’s a pretty wonderful place 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the funny masks people wear in SK. Also, kim chi cures everything. When I was there…kim chi was protecting people from SARS.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohhh! I should up my intake then! 😉
LikeLike
I love how you
a) slandered the name of camels. (I don’t much like them either. They’re the horse’s ugly cousins.)
b) Implied that a camel would fly on an airplane, and that one would flirt with you (On the plane I’m thinking. Mile hump club?)
c) Basically took the piss for the whole post and then got all solemn at the end.
Good read John! Stay safe mate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes…YES! Something went wrong along the way there…the camel is the hunchback of notre dam of the animal world…except not loveable in any way so…yeah, scratch that. I felt like people may get a little irate if I didn’t take it even a little bit serious – you know how it is. Mind with that said…mile hump club, hahahaha – new phrase for my vocabulary, appreciated!!
LikeLike
I like your style of wrapping information into humour. Thanks for sharing information about MERS
LikeLiked by 1 person
Appreciate it, thank you 🙂
LikeLike
MERS … interesting … including the pronunciation. Who knew? Now you do … and so do I.
Well, I know for one thing I will NOT be drinking raw camel milk or eating undercooked camel meat EVER, let alone pasteurized camel milk or well-done camel meat. No, not doing it no matter how much I like watching Anthony Bourdain shows!
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahahaha yes indeedy, stay away from all things camel!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Including camel toe … oh, did I just say that? Ooops!
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahaha, no comment!
LikeLike