Life in the time of corona(virus)

Here is Vicenza (Italy), what about your city?

As the days unfold and the ever-famous COVID-19 insists on floating around in our lives with unending news of infections in different corners of the globe, we are reflecting on the role that each of us can play to meaningfully and positively contribute to the situation.

These are certainly unusual weeks for all of us, even more so for some of us. For the ALDA staff who is in Vicenza, Italy, in one of the three “yellow areas” or “yellow zones” constituted by the Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions, these are especially weeks of attentive observation.

Of course, first and foremost there’s attentive observation of the rules and recommendations brought forth by the government to minimise the risk of contagion, be they more or less intuitive or easy to follow. While we do wish we didn’t have to postpone our ALDA events, cancel our travels and do without many other forms of aggregation in our work as well as personal lives, this is part of what is asked of us as good citizens in this peculiar moment, and it goes without saying.

Another type of attentive observation we are exercising, then, is perhaps just as important: that of our immediate surroundings, of daily life in Vicenza and all other towns and villages we live in.

Squares aren’t empty, shops and supermarkets are operating normally, none of us has had any issue with food shopping. On the other hand, outside the pharmacy near the office a sign has been hung, “Out of disinfectant gel”; many of us are working from home to avoid contact with public transportation, protect family members from potential contagion, or else; and those who have had to take a train have noticed how much emptier than usual it was. 

Schools and universities are closed for the second week in a row, though some are attempting to conduct online classes and exchange assignments with the students. Many people are rethinking their upcoming holidays. Customary hugs, kisses and handshakes are highly reduced. The list could go on.

Life is different, that’s for sure. We could be tempted to say “worse”. Yet, we also feel that this is an important occasion to consider how precious our relationships are; how special and great it is that, in ‘normal’ times, we can express love and affection in simple daily gestures, gather together freely to learn something new, enjoy someone else’s art, make new connections, start collective projects, host an event… It is a time when we can feel relieved that we have a government we can trust, and rejoice in all those comforting aspects of our daily and not-so-daily life that derive from democracy.

We know that, while there are risks we shouldn’t (and won’t) underestimate, we are safe. 

 🔊❓Enough about Vicenza and its surroundings, though! Now we would like to hear about you, too. How is it where you live, what’s the situation like? Are your schools operative? Is your life impacted by the spread of COVID-19, and if so, how? We are a community and we are here to connect!