The pandemic has affected each of us on different levels. The situation surprised us and we had to change our way of thinking and acting in order to face the obstacles. Although we are all together during this period of history, each person has had to live through different things: illness, anxiety, loneliness, new routines or uncertainty. However, we also notice that hope has not disappeared and that many are trying to find the positive side to their own experiences.
Some people around the world have shared their experiences during the last months with us: the positive and the negative. They told us the way in which the threat of the coronavirus changed them by making them adapt and transform their lives. Some of these stories can resonate with us and others can teach us to be more empathetic.
Gianina Valenzuela, Santiago-Chile
My experience with Covid-19 was not good at all. It began in my aunt’s house and we had direct contact with my relatives there. They all tested positive and therefore everyone in my house took the test. At first, we tested negative, except for my little sister and my mother. They isolated themselves as much as they could. My little sister was considered asymptomatic, but one day she had a very strong backache; my mother had a lot of headache and fever, both of them lost their taste and smell.
As the days went by, I tested positive. The first day I had a lot of fever, body pain and headache. Then my brother tested positive; he was very bad, he was hospitalized. He had Covid and pneumonia, and doctors put him on oxygen. It was the most difficult thing, since we were all sick, and in quarantine, and we couldn’t be with him. I felt that everything was very complicated in general as a family.
At the moment, we are fine. The most difficult part is over, and the important thing is that we are all together now. My brother will need treatment for his lungs, which was already done when he was hospitalized, but now he will have to be reexamined when all this ends, to see how much damage is there and what measures must be taken, since, due to the contingency, he couldn’t continue at hospital. Emotionally, I was more affected when I saw my brother like that, but we had to encourage him. I think everything we went through brought us closer as a family.
Yesenia Garcia, Sao Paulo-Brazil
My routine changed because since March 12th I’ve been working from home. Due to the quarantine, dance schools, gyms, theatres, museums and cultural venues are closed. These external limitations have represented a great impact for me because, as I live alone, I had to face loneliness. I realized that I had made an effort to have a cozy place to live and I was not enjoying it; I began to appreciate the balcony. I got tired of being strong and self-sufficient for everything; like never before, I cried because I was not in Venezuela near my family.
At first it was a disaster. I woke up and started working in my pajamas, and I had no schedule at all. I didn’t have a space to work, no table, no chair. There were moments of anguish, thinking about getting sick when I was alone. There, I said: stop. And well, after that, another moment of reflection came and a certain calm that is where I am now. Is there a coronavirus? Yes. Is it something I can control? No. What’s within my reach? Take care of myself. How do I do it? I have a routine, very similar to what I used to do, but at home.
It’s been days that have gone by like a roller-coaster ride, and I decided to live one day at a time. There are worries, but in the difficult moments I remember: I am Venezuelan and I have survived many things, I arrived here with two bags and a broken heart, with only knowing how to say “bom día” and “obrigada”. And that did not stop me. So, I keep moving forward.
Erick Ovalles (The Drill), Brooklyn-USA
The pandemic brought us a very necessary pause to reflect and redirect our lives, in my particular case, I took a twist on work and adopted another position and other sources of income, which makes me feel more comfortable in my work and offers me more time to dedicate to my family.
Emotionally, I found the love of my life and married the woman who is now my beautiful wife. As a famous adage says: “The desert of many can be the oasis of others”. We have known each other since she was 5 years old and I was 12, but we reconnected in the pandemic for a favor she needed precisely because of the economic problems caused by the virus.
I have been living in New York for 17 years, and I have known the city for 30 years, and I have never seen anything like this, neither in Hurricane Sandy nor in any other catastrophe. Seeing Manhattan as a ghost town was something I had only seen in the movie of Will Smith’s I Am Legend. Regarding the spiritual, I had the opportunity to reconnect more with our Lord Jesus Christ and understand, once again, that everything in this world is changeable, mutable and passing and that He is the One and permanent.
Andrea Marino, Treviso-Italy
Even though Italy was one of the most affected countries by coronavirus, it was mostly in Milan. I live quite far from there, so we weren’t that affected. I am a dentist and obviously I stopped all activities, and we went to the office about three times in three months, when people called and had an emergency. Mostly I just stayed home. My brother and his girlfriend (we are three who live at home) did continue working, because they work in a company that distributes food and that did not stop in Italy.
My house has a pretty big garden, so I dedicated myself to do the orchard and to organize the garden. I also read and watched movies; the time was practically not enough for all the things I had to do. I enjoyed being in the house, being able to fix a lot of things I had pending. Work stopped, but now everything is slowly returning to normal.
Concerning relationships, my boyfriend lives far away and we didn’t see each other, we just called each other. His grandmother asked for me every day, and well, explaining to the children and the elderly that we couldn’t go out was complicated, as it was also difficult for those who couldn’t be together. Quarantine is not the same for everyone. There are those who have gone through little bit better moments and those who have gone through worse moments, and fortunately none of us got sick.
Ingrid González, Bogotá-Colombia
In this quarantine, I have learned how to deal with myself and realize that I have a lot of mental strength and discipline. As a ballet teacher, my challenge has been to keep the classes in the virtual mode. I have classes with kids, pre-teens, teens and adults, so for me renewing classes and keeping the students’ interest has been partly exhausting, but always achieving the goal of teaching and seeking to change the dynamic.
Every day I do exercises, following two accounts on Instagram; the first one I was 100% in was the account of some Spanish twins, very strong and demanding. Now I am with two Mexican boys who have a longer routine and that also leaves me exhausted. However, I find time to walk and clear my mind in the street, always with due moderation.
I’ve used my time to practice and record voiceovers, a nice hobby that requires a lot of practice. On the other hand, the kitchen, which has always been a very good ally of mine at all times, has given me the opportunity to expand my menu, and I’m even experimenting with leaving aside meat to detoxify the body for a while. I’ve been doing this for a week now, and so far, I’ve liked the decision.
Alejandro Marcano, Santiago-Chile
For more than four months, I’ve been in quarantine. I am considered a high-risk person due to my disability, so I was sent home from work from the very first moment, but with the fortune that I can do my job from home. However, I had a hard time adjusting to the routine because it was completely different. At first, my back hurt, and I understood that I did not have the chair and the conditions to work from home. Then I brought the tools from the office: my ergonomic chair, my footrest, and a bigger monitor for the computer.
I understood from the first moment that I had more spare time. I used to spend about an hour and a half on the trip to work, so I obviously have more hours to rest now, and I also use them in useful things. I have invested my time studying another language and doing courses. I knew that I was going to spend a lot of days indoors, and the best way to not see it complicated was to keep my mind busy.
That’s how I realized that, in this process, I had to work on my emotional balance. The biggest lesson was that many people are exposed to the virus on the street because they have no other option than to go out and work, and others are unemployed. I am fortunate to be in my house, protected, with all the comfort and to have a job; I only had to work on my emotional tranquility and spirituality. All this is a process that escapes from our hands, and we do not know how long it will last. The only way is to work patiently.
Image credit: Christo Anestev
Excelente 💪🏼