In spite of all of this, I really do doubt that the case numbers will ever surpass the United States. In my opinion, American media has focused heavily on Brazil, where the virus is taking an especially devastating toll on poor and indigenous communities, in part to draw attention away from the recent spikes at home. Nonetheless, the US has well over double the number of cases as Brazil despite having just 1.5 times the population. I’m not saying this to minimize the severe situation in either country, but I do think presumptuous American notions of Brazil being a lawless, almost war-torn region are affecting the overall perception of the situation here. I personally think the two countries are much more similar than different in terms of their handling of COVID-19 as of June 2020.

My daily routine is pretty similar to what it’s been the past few months. I usually work in the mornings, get lunch, go for a walk as long as the weather is good, come back for dinner, and then sometimes work in the evenings. As I’m sure is the case with many people, weekdays and weekends for me have really blurred together, especially since I do some of my teaching on the weekends.