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¿De que manera el coronavirus le está afectando su vida en este momento? Cuéntenos sus experiencias, sensaciones/emociones, y pensamientos.
Cada 7 de diciembre, en mi país, quemamos al diablo. Es una costumbre que viene de los tiempos coloniales y es previa a la celebración de la Virgen de Concepción que es el 8 de diciembre. En la foto pueden observar una piñata que lo representa y que fue quemada en una hoguera que encendimos en la calle. Este año, a pesar de la pandemia, lo hicimos con mi familia. Fue una quema muy breve, no como otros años, cuando sacamos mucho papel para realizar una fogata que dura bastante tiempo. Todos sentimos que ese ritual abre el tiempo navideño. A pesar de ello, muchas otras costumbres ligadas a la religión católica se han suspendido. Lo que no ha desaparecido es el impulso de la población por comprar productos. Los mercados están abarrotados, los centros comerciales también y no digamos las calles de la ciudad con un gran número de vehículos circulando. Pareciera que no existe en COVID-19. Las personas que circulan con suerte usan mascarilla, pero la distancia social se les ha olvidado. El gobierno no interviene porque es necesario que la "economía" se reponga y se fortalezca. Los intensivos de los hospitales ya están saturados. Lo que vendrá dentro de quince días será tremendo. A menos que lo oculten y digan que aquí, como siempre, señoras y señores, no ha pasado nada.
December 23, 2020
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
As we are entering the ninth month of the pandemic here in Europe, I would like to look back. Sars-Cov2 has started affecting me personally in February. Disruptions in the supply chain of face masks used at my workplace forced us to stop seeing patients in mid-February. This was a big blow to my postgraduate program since I had already gotten flack and blocked from seeing patients for three months in 2019. We had to close the University from March to May during the first wave of the pandemic. Those were difficult months for me. I am someone who is used to keeping busy in order to help me with my mental health. Summer brought some better days and made us able to see friends. The constant stress and the mounting death toll around the world have made keeping up with the information a complete nightmare. Experts feel like they are too scared to utter the words "we don't know". We humans have been too terrified to hear them anyway. It was clear to me in September that a second wave is on the way. I found the month of September and October very difficult. Social media and news have made me tired and I have run out of outrage about the state of the pandemic and our way of organizing the human populations. I have gone back to a full-time work mode last month of November. It's helping me keeping busy but it also means that I come in contact with a lot more people and taking more risks. I don't like it but I have no choice. There is a lot I want to say but I guess I will have time. I am still traveling between the two cities where I work and live which are Paris and Amsterdam. The differences are interesting and very telling. I will try to talk about it soon.
December 12, 2020