Living abroad during a pandemic
To be honest, when we decided to pack up and move abroad last summer, a world-wide-viral-outbreak was not exactly on our radar. I am the daughter of a career pilot. I took flying lessons from my dad when I was in high school as a part of my senior project. One of the lessons he taught me as a beginner pilot was to always, "plan for the worst and hope for the best." That phrase has followed me through life, including as I packed far too many suitcases for our family of four to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to our new home. We planned the best that we could for potential emergencies, but I can guarantee you, a world pandemic is not something I had on my mind as I was packing. My husband might disagree, based on the CVS receipt I came home with after assembling a “just in case we need this” medicine kit. But, that kit is for another post, on another day. So far, we have used very few things in it, but what we have used, we have been very thankful for!
So, to take the issue at hand, I have discovered that living outside of your home country during a world pandemic is - interesting to say the least. It is different in ways that I didn't know it would be. I never knew that I would gain this sort of knowledge during our travels, but here we are. So, for what it is worth, here are my thoughts:
Language
One of my biggest observations has been how language affects our response to a crisis. In some ways, since we are safe and sheltering in our home here, it can be quite nice to not be fluent in the language of the country that you find yourself in. Ignorance can, apparently, be…bliss (as the saying goes) in times like this. Sure, we need to know the big issues, but the fact that we don’t pick up the chatter and general conversations that people are having about everything they have heard about Covid-19 is, in a way, pretty nice. It helps to squelch any potentially fear-inducing comments (especially for our girls). We have plenty to read on social media if we want to hear what the general public is saying. The downside to not speaking the local language very well is that…well, the flip side of what is nice about it. We don’t hear a lot about what is going on. It is strange when you know there is a world-wide crisis, but you don't know what the current local situation is. To solve this disconnect, we have come to rely on local friends who share information with us as it comes out. Even so, that feels like it has been sparse unless we are actively seeking it out. The big things we know as of today: there can be no gatherings of over 50 people, high schools have been closed (but other grades are still in school at this point), and we should continue to wash our hands. That's about it.
Supplies
It has been interesting watching our fellow Americans back in the US panic - mostly over toilet paper. It is puzzling to watch from a distance. It is especially interesting to hear the responses and comments of people from countries other than America as they watch the news and hear about empty shelves, long lines and, of course, the notorious shortage of toilet paper. The hoarding of all.the.things. in America feels like it is magnified by the fact that we are living in a place that people aren’t really doing that. Sure, there are a few sparse shelves here and there (pasta and canned goods are what I noticed last night when we took a trip to the grocery store). But, for the most part, people are buying what they need or maybe a bit more. A few friends have told us that they haven't done anything special at all - nothing extra. To be honest, I have wondered in some ways if this response of significant hoarding in the United States is a product of affluence - and space? Many people in the world don’t have the means to buy months and months of groceries and toilet paper - nor do they have the place to store it, with living spaces being smaller. So, when I think of people buying out wholesale big box stores that are intended to primarily meet the needs of businesses…it makes me wonder. I suppose, to some degree, people in every country seem to be taking part in this in some way. Whether it is called hoarding, bunkering, or my favorite…hamstering (thank you to the Netherlands!), the magnitude of this behavior in some countries more than others is what has struck me the most.
News Sources
So, living in an EU country is interesting when it comes to searching out news sources. Because of EU regulations, there are some news sources out of our home country that we can’t access. Honestly, its not just news sources though. Sadly, I can’t even access the Pottery Barn website when I feel like mentally redecorating my home. Sigh. But, I digress. We have a few amazing friends here in Sweden who keep us updated to significant local changes (so thankful for this!). We also have friends and family in the States who give us useful updates from what they are hearing and reading on local news stations. It helps us feel connected in some way, even when we are so far away.
The Limbo Curve
Have you ever played the Limbo game at a party? It is super fun - if you are flexible enough! The problem with the game right now is that we are playing with this notorious curve. We have all heard the phrase mentioned or seen the hashtag “flatten the curve”. This is accomplished by social distancing, staying home, closing schools, not gathering in large groups - 500, 50, 10? How many people is too many? Two? It all depends on where you live. More and more, we are watching Americans post on social media about how outraged they are that people are still going out in public or going to parks, etc. And yet, here we are - we just came home from a park, our schools still have children in them, and many people are still going to the office each day. In some ways, it feels like living in limbo between two countries - hearing the rules that our fellow Americans are following and yet living in a country with different rules. If I am being honest, I have felt torn as to which way I should lean. Honestly, I think we are doing our best to fall somewhere in the middle. Especially because we have one daughter who falls in a higher risk category, we are taking a few more precautions and self-quarantining a bit more than the local people are. I have affectionately called this place we are in "quarantine-ish". I'm not sure how long we will be able to keep the "ish" on our quarantine. But, I do know that we will continue to seek out updates as the local situation changes and if we need to, we are prepared to fully shelter in place and quarantine at home - abroad.
