Days without wings_A COVID-19 quarentine diary: "The silent market"

[helgalubevi]

Preface I've been living as a digital nomad since 2017. I lived in more than ten countries before I arrive in Vietnam on 25.01.2020. On 28.01.2020 Vietnam decreed the closure of the border with China after the news about the appearance of a strange virus in the Wuhan market. On 1 February all flights from China, Macao, Taiwan were suspended. Subsequently, the flights and the border with China were opened, but the situation kept changing. The restrictions on the entry in Vietnam were changing accordingly to the number of cases growing in different countries. Thus, Koreans and Europeans were also banned from entering the country at the beginning of March. On March 22nd, all foreigners were forbidden to enter the country. In 28.03 activities such as gyms, cinemas, tourist sites, massage parlors, karaoke, and others were closed. On 01.04 Vietnam decreed the total lockdown implementing the social distancing measures. Since then, people can only leave home to buy food and medicine. The restrictions imposed by the country totally changed my reality, my plans and my life as a digital nomad. I decided to write this diary to report these days and somehow continue to travel within an apartment of less than 32 square meters. Da Nang, 03.04, The silent market I didn't hear the alarm go off. I guess that somehow I've got used to waking up with the noise of the neighboring building, which started every day around seven in the morning. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the sun was already high and I had arranged to meet Lena, my Canadian friend, around 10am. It was 10:15 a.m. and there were two messages from her on my phone asking me if our meeting was still up. I answered "yes" and she just wrote to me saying that she was leaving her place. Since 01.04 everything is closed in Da Nang, except hospitals and markets. I live near the Bac My An market and luckily some tents remain opened. many stalls closes at the market the market before social distancing measures I meet Lena a few minutes later. She seems a bit apprehensive and not very comfortable with the market mess. I think for first-time shoppers, the Bac My An market is a bit scary indeed. Everything is exposed on the street: fruits, vegetables, tofu, fish, crabs, chicken, and pork corpses... You can see chickens and ducks that are sold alive too, ready for the slaughter. The first time I saw the meat part of the market I knew that probably I would start a vegetarian diet in Vietnam. I explain to Lena that all the food is fresh and she can buy it without fear. I never buy meat at the market, I don't have the courage... And seeing the live animals waiting to die has made me lose the taste for meat. this is how I became vegetarian in Vietnam We buy fruit and veggies, we talk a little about all this madness. I've known Lena since I lived in Chiang Mai. We both lived in Thailand for a year and I met her again here in Da Nang. We have never been very close, but we have a great affection for each other, so I feel very happy to see her familiar face after some days locked in my apartment. I tell her that I set up a routine for my days and try to keep myself busy. I explain that I am apprehensive about the visa issue and that I've been talking to the Brazilian Embassy. I tell her what I have been doing to stay positive and that the idea of not traveling anymore distresses me a lot... I see that Lena has the same concerns, but we don't have much to improve each other's lives. We say goodbye without a hug and I decide to walk around the market a little more. Many tents are closed and I realize that the prices a little more expensive too. I go to Bac My An market almost every day and I already know some of the owners of the stalls. Most of them don't speak English so the purchase is often done on a mime basis, which is very funny. happy days before corona Inside the market, there is a part where the only food is sold. That part is completely closed and that gives me a squeeze in my heart. I see that people don't have the same willingness to play or smile anymore because we are all covered in masks. the market before social distancing measures To enter the market it is mandatory to wear a mask and pass alcohol in your hands. Walking through the semi-open market, with few stalls offering fruits and vegetables, reminds me of Palestine and the central Hebron market. It is funny to live a war, where the enemy seems to be invisible... just a little virus! It's funny how the work becomes necessary to bring us some sense of normality. After picking eggs, fruits and vegetables, I come home. But I take a long way because I want to walk a little more and be outside the home. The streets are pretty quiet and this tightness in my chest gets a little more strung out. To see the streets like this, quiet, even more in Southeast Asia is a way too strange. Around here I got used to the noise of the horns, four people on a motorcycle, old bikes with women in their triangle hats. It's very strange to see the streets in silence and walk through a kind of abandoned city. I return home and feel extremely tired. I have understood that quarantine is a distracting exercise, so I try to occupy my mind with everyday tasks, such as tidying up the bed, cleaning the house, cooking. I'm not very hungry, I confess, so I wait for hunger to arrive to prepare something. Meanwhile, I work a little more. I've been making a list of all my projects that were stopped. I've been working on them. One book, two websites, organizing the travel photos. I have to travel another way because now nothing bothers me more than this, this feeling that I'm stuck and I can't buy a ticket anywhere else. make the bed... do some exercises I've gotten used to the home office and the work at home. I even like it, because now everything is very quiet and I love the silence to write. I have also been forcing myself to do exercises at home because I know they are important. My routine includes yoga, abs, glutes or arm workouts, and jumping rope. Jumping rope, in particular, is therapy! Because I sweat and spend more energy then it does me a lot of good. I found a channel on Youtube about the jumping rope that has been teaching me a lot and I am following the challenges. After the exercises, I do meditation and take a bath. Yesterday I agreed to talk to a friend in Brazil about a project she is developing and needs help with the content. We talked until late. While I was having dinner in front of the computer screen, she was drinking coffee in Brazil. It was fun. We talked about the coronavirus situation in Brazil and we laugh loudly when we got into the conclusion that this virus acted like our moms punishing us "so, now, you go to that room and think about all your attitudes". We agree that as human beings, we do need to think about what we were doing for a while... We finished talking very late and it was a very productive meeting. We were both excited. I turn off the computer, watch some stupid video on Youtube, brush my teeth, let the sleep come. I realize that quarantine is an exercise of discipline and focus on distraction. Otherwise, your head and your thoughts will take over. I don't know if I enjoy it, but someway somehow I fell like I need it.