Hello! And welcome to our Guide magazine Fall issue. Please download your copy here Fall Guide Magazine.
The “new normal”. I bet you have used this phrase to describe life post Covid-19. It is the term that most us are using to help us re-frame our current reality. It may not perfectly fit as a description, but it asserts that things will never be the same as they were before — and so, “welcome to the New Normal.” As lock-downs are lifted and loosened around the world, we are all debating how we can return to some semblance of normality. We all have had to re-imagine what life post Covid-19 looks like.
We are all placing much hope on quickly finding a vaccine for Covid-19; despite some reason for optimism, a viable treatment is still unlikely until well into 2021. This means that we will have to get used to and adapt to a very different lifestyle – in our homes, in our schools, in our businesses.
We have dedicated this issue of the magazine to re-imagining and discussing what the “new normal” for the community in Shanghai looks like. Members of our community share their experiences and describe the impact Covid-19 has had on their lives (page 9). Our counselors and experts share their tips on how to navigate a post Covid-19 environment on page 16 & page 28.
If you are anything like me, you will find that, in addition to seeking guidance to navigate the new normal, you are also starting to use new words and phrases. On page 15 we share some of the responses we have had from the community in terms of things they now say that would not have made sense at all in 2019.
Surrounded by uncertainty, it’s okay to admit that things are not normal and therefore seek to re-imagine what that new normality looks like. It’s okay to allow ourselves to grieve or to be scared. It’s okay not to be comfortable with what is going on. I like to think that as we reflect on this “new normal”, we do so not just from an individual perspective but also from a community perspective.
As I reflect on this year and look forward to the rest of the year, I am deeply appreciative that 2020 has provided us with the unique opportunity not only to adapt to a “new normal” but to go beyond and define a Better Normal for us as individuals, our families, our communities, and our environment.
Senait Petros Tekeste
CCS Executive Director
