Our lives are largely predictable. At any given time of the day, I could usually tell you were I will be and what I will be doing. I have certain TV programmes that I watch regularly and I go to bed at more or less fixed times every day of the week. On Saturday nights I watch rental movies and eat the same food that I buy from the same vendor every Saturday, after hiring the movies first. I travel the same route to and from school a few times every day, except Sundays when I only move out of my house in cases of emergency. My teaching schedule only changes if a class is cancelled. I teach children's classes by first checking homework, then doing new work from the books, then playing some vocabulary game for a few minutes at the end of the lesson. Adult classes consist of first having a brief chat, then doing work from the books, then ending with a conversation session for the last 30 minutes or so.

This obviously routine nature of my life is nonetheless punctuated by elements of surprise and unpredictability. I occasionally realize that I am living in a different country where, despite being used to it for the most part, there are many things that I do not know or understand. I still do not have enough control over the language to explain a problem with my computer, or engage in a conversation about local or world affairs. I discovered the other day that traditionally a go-between is required to ask parents if you can marry their daughter.

For months I have planned a week's holiday at the end of this month. But how was I to predict that a global epidemic would considerably alter my plans. First, South Korea was no longer an option for a holiday and so I decided to travel around Taiwan. Now, that plan is in jeopardy as the SARS epidemic spirals out of control, with no end in sight. I am still going to take my week's break, but may well be spending it in my house, following the same Sunday routine that I usually do when I'm not on holiday.

The difference between a prisoner and me is that I can choose my prison.

18 May 2003

Dion Marc Delport

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