without mask

So finally the government’s mask recommendations in Japan has changed. To put it simply, when there before was a please-wear-a-mask-everywhere-policy, there is now a please-where-a-mask-at-your-own-discretion-policy. Together with many others I have not yet fully embraced the new “freedom” of not having to wear a mask everywhere, but still there has been a visible shift in mask wearing practice, both for me and for the people around. When I before could go a whole day without seeing a naked face, I now see what people actually look like on a daily basis, and surprisingly that has come to give me quite a few conundrums.

I have gotten so used to seeing everyone in a mask that I have started to recognize people from their eyes or hair or clothing instead of their faces. Also, since I started to interact with my son’s friends’ moms in the playgrounds or at the community center during the pandemic, I have no idea what they actually look like. So imagine my surprise (and embarrassment when trying to hide it) when suddenly there are a bunch of maskless mums that I do not recognize sitting around the sandbox and one of them calls out my son’s name, or when I meet someone in the grocery store who seems to recognize me, and I cannot for the life of me remember that we have met before. I have come to feel that when I see a face for the first time it is like all the other characteristics I have used to recognize someone are gone. Slightly exaggerated put, it is like I am meeting people I have never met before and the only way to remember them is by finding out which child belongs to which parent.

I guess it is a matter of time and practice until I get used to quickly connect a new face to an old acquaintance, and by then maybe I will also have formed a new habit of going around everywhere without a mask. For now though, I am grateful that the policy is changed and that hopefully my son does not need to wear a mask and spend all of his kindergarten days with masked teachers and fellow students. And that he can see his dad’s smile when out and about exploring the world together.

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