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| A time of change |
I am sure many of us could have not imagined the situation we are finding ourselves in at this moment in 2020. All our lives have changed, some overnight, others in the last few days and weeks. Some countries seem to have been able to contain the virus for now, others haven’t been really hit yet, and others like Italy, Spain and many others are in the middle of a crises of their health care system and many lives are lost. Some people have described it as a war, a war against the virus, a virus with so many unknowns. Many people around the globe are working so hard to keep people alive, to treat people in hospitals or temporary created ones, to keep our food and medical supply flowing, to study the virus, to create test kits and hopefully in 12-18 months down the road to find a possible vaccine. But what is happening until then?
Let me tell you a little story of how I have experienced the first encounter with coronavirus. On the 2nd of March I had gotten a message from Ryanair on my phone, that my flight from Valencia to Naples was cancelled on the 28th March. I was almost in tears, as this was the first real holiday I had planned for a long time with my best Irish friend Anne Marie. We both had been studying so hard, and we had been looking forward so much to meet up to spend a few nice days together and to visit the beautiful Amalfi coast. But I could have never imagined that just 12 days later, I would find myself in Spain in a complete lockdown for 14 days which most likely will be extended until the 12th of April, and maybe more weeks to come.
The 2nd encounter was really that we had gotten a little warning just two days beforehand, when the Universities in Valencia were considering to shut down their campus completely, which I was very grateful for. So, I decided to follow my gut feeling and went for our weekly food shopping earlier than usual, to buy fruits, vegetables, rice and some cookies. Friday afternoon the Spanish government announced the lockdown, which would start Saturday in the evening. So, Alfredo and myself sat down to discussed what to do. We decided to leave Valencia, pack some stuff for work and come back to our country house outside of Murcia. Just 24 hours later, the official lockdown started on the 14th March in the evening. We then only realised, how infectious and dangerous this virus really was. Just one week earlier, I had found a 2nd hand car in the North of Spain in Asturias, and we spontaneously decided to get the train on Saturday morning (7th March) up to Oviedo. We stayed in a nice small cosy hotel up there, and looked at the car on Monday morning and bought it.
I love my small 2nd hand car, a Fiat 500. We drove back along the coast up North and the scenery was stunning. I felt it looked so Irish and the energy up there was so nice, and I loved to drive my new car.
But only on Saturday, when the lockdown started, did I realise how we had exposed others, and how exposed Alfredo and myself had been in the last week. We had been sharing a train with other people for 8 hours, we had stopped in Madrid to change the train (even if it was only for 10 minutes), we had touched many things through our trip even if we washed hand much more than usual throughout the trip, and we had been eating out lunch once.
We had tried to buy hand sanitiser in Valencia and in Oviedo, but none was available. After coming back from Asturias, I had been going into the library of the University in Valencia to write my PhD. Looking back, I was thinking, OMG, that really had not been the best idea. Anyway, this is the past, but the only thing what we can do now is hoping that other countries, other citizen and other people worldwide can learn from our experience. Prevention is the way forward, that is the most important thing we can do against this virus in my opinion, but not only preventing ourselves, but protecting others!
I am impressed here in Spain since the lockdown started how disciplined the people really are. I would like to share some small stories around Alfredo’s family and how social distancing is practised. I found this very impressive and some people are really leading by example. Alfredo’s Mum lives in an apartment in Murcia, and Alfredo’s sister is going food shopping for her. She is putting the shopping back in the lift, presses the button for the 4th floor and rings her Mum to take it out of the lift. People are making personal sacrifices to protect their loved ones. That is love! Social distancing in the time of coronavirus is love. Here in the country house we have also family living next to us. However, we are also practicing social distancing, we are not eating together, we keep at least 2 meters distance when talking to each other and are very careful with sharing any spaces. We did set up a small room upstairs for Alfredo’s cousin to come there for work, as she needs to have internet access, which we do have. But we are not using this room, that is now converted to her office during the week. I think many things can be done if we are careful and respectful and follow the health guidelines given to not spread the virus and to protect other people. My parents have decided to go out for food shopping only once per week including bread and only in one supermarket. I am very grateful that they are so responsible.
I had not left the house for shopping for 9 days, but yesterday I decided to go to buy fresh vegetables, fruits and some fresh bread. I had a small shopping list from our neighbours next door and from an old man further up the road. It was ‘an experience’ to go shopping for the first time in lockdown. I have to say, people were very respectful, the small indoor market had people outside who managed the queuing to make sure we all had at least 2 meters distance from each other, and only a limited amount of people was allowed to go inside.
It worked really well. I overheard conversations, that many people had actually send their shopping list by WhatsApp and some stalls prepared it for their customers, so they just need to pick it up. That was a very sensible approach! I loved it :) The small stalls itself had all barriers set up to have some secure distance to their customers and people were really careful. Here is a picture from the small stall we usually buy our fruits and vegetables from.
During the time the lovely older lady prepared my fruits and vegetables, I had a very strong feeling which came up. I felt so deeply grateful and lucky, that I was able to buy such tasty food for us in the time of the coronavirus. I was so lucky and fortunate to be able to have fresh healthy food, to have a beautiful house in the country side to stay, to have our own field in front of the house to go for a walk, to have a fireplace to be warm, to have running water and a water heater and to have Alfredo and not to be isolated alone.
I had to think back about my experiences in Nepal, about all the stories people told me during my research about their encounter with the earthquake, about their struggles. I felt so privileged and spoiled, and we really have nothing to complain about. We can critique politicians, other people, other countries, but what really counts is that we understand that we are in this together! Not one person, not one country can solve this fight against this virus.
I decided to have a second stop at the local bakery. When I walked through the small little alleyways in Bullas, they were empty. It was a very strange atmosphere for a Saturday morning I have to say. When I was able to see the bakery from a distance, I saw people queuing outside with at least 3-4 meters distance between each other and it turned out only one person was allowed to go into the bakery itself.
That was really lovely and it worked so well. So impressive! However, when walking back to my car I thought to myself ‘do I really need to go to Consum (Spanish supermarket) to buy some blueberries? People who know me, I love to have blueberries in my breakfast. But I decided against it, and thought the exposure to people in two places and to expose myself to them was enough. I was so lucky to have other tasty and healthy fruits to eat.
Once in Trinity college during my Master studies, a colleague from India said to me ‘Kerstin, you are a real world citizen’. I have never forgotten her words, and she maybe didn’t imagine how right she was. I do really feel like a world citizen, maybe it had grown in me as I lived in various cities and countries, had made friends there, felt home in some places, but each place has occupied a small space in my heart, some more than others. If somebody asked me where my true home is, I sometimes don’t know what to say. Ireland is still my home, because the energy and connection with the Irish people and people who live there is very special, but still there are many more places around the globe including Spain, Nepal, Vietnam, New Zealand, Laos, Germany and many more where I can also call my home. Yes, I still have a German passport, but I do feel like a world citizen. So, for me it is as difficult to see that Italy and Spain are suffering so heavy and heart-breaking from this coronavirus then China did, and all five continents might in the unforeseeable future. There is no solution for just one region, for one country, or for one continent. Even if it is a difficult time, but this is also a time of hope, of change, change for a cleaner environment, change of economic policies, change how we live our lives, change to a more sustainable life and to stop this society of consumption, and a time to create new values, to stop focusing on economic growth and to put humanity and nature first.
With love from Spain to all my family and friends around the world. Stay safe and healthy!
Kerstin
