As I near my end of week 7 in quaratine, I cant help but think fuck! It is probably not the first reaction I should have but what a whirlwind this pandemic has been. Like most people when this first started, I thought it wouldn’t be that bad, it wouldn’t last this long, you know the typical things everyone first said. 7 weeks later and dang, this sh*t is bananas! Between lockdown in germany and the american news, it is hard to keep your head from not going crazy. I’ve been asked a lot of what it is like in so I thought I’d share since you know, I have nothing better to do right now!
First and foremost, yes I am remotely working from my tiny 22 sq meter german apartment, which I refer to as (my) german tiny living. I have been remote for over 7 weeks now and It is both a blessing and a curse to be working right now. As I am grateful that I am working and making money, I at times wish I was not working. Working remotely sucks, especially when you are in a tiny place like mine. I rented this place due to the fact that I am either at work, or I am out travelling so I would be spending very little time here. Jokes on me right! I can walk ten steps in any direction and I am at the end of my apartment, which is not great when you are stuck here 24/7. For Americans who don’t use meters but feet, think of it as a college dorm, maybe slightly larger. In other words, it sucks big time! I mean it’s cheap as hell, but I hate it right now. I hate it SO much! So for my mental health, working from home here has not been beneficial. So yeah I’m working, but it’s stressful. Not a medical field stressful (which I am glad I am also not working ing), but still stressful. Sometimes I do wish I wasn’t working and that I had a break but then again I’d probably hate that too with nothing to do!
What were quarantine conditions like where I am? Thankfully, Germany isn’t nearly as restricted as other countries like Spain or Italy, but we are more strict and we shut down quicker than other countries like England. For instance, I know my coworkers in Italy haven’t even been able to leave their apartments during all of this as they have been in full lockdown. Here in Germany, we can still go out as long as we social distance. The only thing keeping me sane at times is the fact that I can go out for walks/runs and the weather has been beautiful, in the 20s (mid 70s) for over a month now. Pharmacies and grocery stores remained open, though again they limited the amount of people in since they are tiny stores which would make social distancing hard as we don’t have giant supercenters over here! Restaurants were to be takeout only and even then, almost none were open. Germany has had a lot of cases, yes it is a large country, but the deaths have been very low. We were over 50,000 at one point and less than 2,000 dead which is much better than any other country.
What preventative measures have been taken? Germany started shutting down and taking preventative measures very quickly, quicker than most thought we even needed to. Right away grocery stores started limiting the number of, they put tape on the grounds to show how far to stand away, plastic barriers were put up in front of cash registers, employees started wearing masks and gloves right away, borders were shut, and transportation started to run less to stop the spread. From my understanding, there was never a supply shortage in my town or most cities here. Germany was very well prepared and right away they started limiting gathering and the best part? People listened and did not freaking protest. I am from Michigan for those who do not know and it sickens me to see how fucking stupid the people are there right now. They are protesting that they need to be open (to get haircuts or to go golfing really?!) as if they are the only ones who are quarantined right now. Like go F yourself. Here people understood the need to stay apart and they have. Which is one of the reasons the numbers here have been going down for weeks now, not the US which continues to skyrocket in numbers. My family wanted me to come home and honestly I feel a 100% safer in Germany than I would if I had to go back to a country that told me to inject disinfection. I think you get my point… and angry at America.
What are conditions like now at the end of april? They are slowly starting to open back up and part of it makes me nervous. As of this past Monday, stores smaller than 800sq meters have been able to reopen. Restaurants that were closed the past few weeks have started reopening for takeout only. Stores and public transit are now requiring masks at all times. Trains and busses are also supposed to go back to a more normal schedule as they are barely running now. Social distancing rules still apply of course but life is starting to slowly return to the city. I even saw one of my favorite bars doing cocktails to go since drinking in the streets is legal here, cough cough american get on board. We are having another soft opening May 4th where even more is supposed to slowly open. I believe that at that time, borders may also reopen soon. As of right now, I have not heard that they are extending the border closures, which have been closed since mid march.
What have I been doing to keep sane? Well I am working. I still work 8-5 which takes up most of my time. I have been facetiming and reaching out to people I haven’t talked to in ages which is also really nice. I’ve been busy and lost touch with a lot of people I didn’t mean to so this was nice to be able to reach out again. I’ve watched a LOT of netflix… like a lot. More than I should and proud of. I am in a class right now so i’ve been doing homework and reading which takes up a little time. I’ve also been doing online workouts and walks which kind of help but like not much.
I had five trips booked from march to may and every one but my first (as it was right when corona hit and I cancelled it) was cancelled. Part of my self identity is traveling. I know a lot of people are like oh I am a traveler but no, I am referring to something deeper. Traveling is ingrained in my body. It’s like a NEED for me, like I need to be out exploring and my body craves it. I have lost a sense of myself during all of this and I don’t know what to do at time. I would be out almost every weekend had it not been for this and it’s made me realize how much I rely on traveling to feel like myself and to feel alive. It sounds ridiculous and probably slightly annoying but I don’t care. I know there are people who get what I am saying. I know there are people who are dying from this, but it does not mean that my feeling are less valued or not worth as much. It’s hard when you do something and suddenly it’s taken away, whether that is traveling or not. I have been very unhappy in Germany and part of what keep me sane and not so sad is traveling, it was being able to leave Germany. Now I am stuck here and it sucks because I am so unhappy here and I can’t even leave if I wanted to with borders closed.
Anyways that’s been my experience in Germany. I have been able to go out, but not really able to see anyone. I was in quarantine for six weeks before I was finally able to grab dinner (sitting six feet apart of course) with a friend. It’s been rough but I think it’s been handled well and I hope to get back to some sort of normal life again soon. I was actually hoping to move out of Germany around this time but of course that was put on hold when all this started and I hope after this I can still get a position in a different country once this settles down… hopefully. Till then, I will be watching my netflix and daydreaming of places to go!
AJ goes abroad 