During the time off from school, we had to do lots of assignments via e-mail. Maths was the hardest because we had to learn new concepts all by ourselves. For biology, we had to learn 10 chapters by ourselves and take quizzes. I procrastinated much more and it made things stressful. When you have the whole day off, you stay up late and then wake up late. Then it becomes hard finding time to fit your homework into your day. It's a vicious cycle. We have to take our temperatures before school. It's another thing I have to think about when I wake up really tired every morning. It's a hassle for my parents because they have to wake up early, too. I wore a mask for the whole day on the first day of school, but now I don't even wear it on the school bus. I'm not as affected by the whole Sars thing as my mainland cousins are. They have to list who has been to their house and if they've had visitors from overseas. If so, they have to be quarantined at home for 10 days. I'm less worried now that the cases are declining. But when I go out, I'm still careful. I go crazy with hand-washing and I carry hand wipes with me. I make sure that the fork is not touching the table - off the napkin wrapping - when I pick it up at a restaurant. After I touch things at home which have been outside - like my phone - I wash my hands numerous times. We clean the floors with a bleach solution and my mum uses alcohol on the curtains because germs are easily caught in the folds. Maybe this was Mother Nature's way of telling us to observe personal hygiene. I went to New York during Easter. We didn't realise - until we got on the plane - that we should have brought masks. We didn't know the thing had escalated so much. If we did, we may have stayed in the US or Canada. On our way back, all the flight attendants were talking through masks. My dad thought it was very rude. Returning to Hong Kong was always like coming home, but now that most people are wearing masks, it's become so unwelcoming. You can't see the old familiar faces anymore. I hope when I go to the US this summer, people won't treat me in a hostile way. I hope the whole epidemic will blow over at the end of summer. As told to Niki Law. If you have a story to share, contact niki.law@scmp.com
