Erasmus is the opportunity to travel, experience a different culture and meet new people, right? Well, that clearly is not my experience at this moment in time. Spain is in lockdown (their idea of it, anyway), I am working from home and nobody knows when this is going to end.
Spain is now the third most affected country in the world, with nearly 20 thousand confirmed cases. I work in an international team with people from Germany, France, and Italy. A few weeks ago I tried not to read too much about it but it was such a conversation topic in our office that eventually I got sucked in. It was a weird experience seeing the fear in Bilbao, and particularly my office rising as cases in Spain kept increasing until they eventually reached my city. They then kept growing, while in the meantime my social media feed said nothing about it as my friends from the United Kingdom, United States, and Lithuania weren't in the same position just yet. It was quite an isolating experience when friends and family didn't want to hear about it back when it seemed like something that would just go away soon.
Days went by and Basque Country became one of the three areas most severely hit by the virus. I was relieved that the only public place I had to go to was the supermarket and that wasn't too often. I was also glad that my office was within a walking distance so I didn't have to use public transport. Numbers kept increasing and they didn't feel like just numbers anymore. We were now discussing how many cases we'd see in the city before we told our bosses we didn't feel safe coming to work anymore. Thankfully, it didn't come to that and we were told to start working from home on the 12th of March. I was lucky that I did my shopping that day because the following morning the government announced the lockdown beginning on the 16th and panic buying began. I didn't get to see empty shelves, people with masks filling up their trolleys with food and supplies to last them weeks, or cashiers refusing to take cash straight from the hands of the customer.
Day five of the lockdown and our boss has just informed us that due to the current crisis, customers aren't ordering as much, the company is earning less and as a result, our hours and pay are being reduced by half. All of my team aside from the Italian girl have now moved back to their countries. However, since it's not known how long it will last, we are all still paying our rent in Spain. Not an ideal situation to say the least. I'm thrilled to say I've been blessed with the most understanding, generous, and kind landlord I have ever had in my life, and I've had a few. I know that with her support and God's provision I'll be fine, even in a time such as this.
Spain is now the third most affected country in the world, with nearly 20 thousand confirmed cases. I work in an international team with people from Germany, France, and Italy. A few weeks ago I tried not to read too much about it but it was such a conversation topic in our office that eventually I got sucked in. It was a weird experience seeing the fear in Bilbao, and particularly my office rising as cases in Spain kept increasing until they eventually reached my city. They then kept growing, while in the meantime my social media feed said nothing about it as my friends from the United Kingdom, United States, and Lithuania weren't in the same position just yet. It was quite an isolating experience when friends and family didn't want to hear about it back when it seemed like something that would just go away soon.
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| Members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) disinfect the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport during a partial lockdown as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Barcelona, Spain March 19, 2020. © Nacho Doce, REUTERS |
Days went by and Basque Country became one of the three areas most severely hit by the virus. I was relieved that the only public place I had to go to was the supermarket and that wasn't too often. I was also glad that my office was within a walking distance so I didn't have to use public transport. Numbers kept increasing and they didn't feel like just numbers anymore. We were now discussing how many cases we'd see in the city before we told our bosses we didn't feel safe coming to work anymore. Thankfully, it didn't come to that and we were told to start working from home on the 12th of March. I was lucky that I did my shopping that day because the following morning the government announced the lockdown beginning on the 16th and panic buying began. I didn't get to see empty shelves, people with masks filling up their trolleys with food and supplies to last them weeks, or cashiers refusing to take cash straight from the hands of the customer.
Day five of the lockdown and our boss has just informed us that due to the current crisis, customers aren't ordering as much, the company is earning less and as a result, our hours and pay are being reduced by half. All of my team aside from the Italian girl have now moved back to their countries. However, since it's not known how long it will last, we are all still paying our rent in Spain. Not an ideal situation to say the least. I'm thrilled to say I've been blessed with the most understanding, generous, and kind landlord I have ever had in my life, and I've had a few. I know that with her support and God's provision I'll be fine, even in a time such as this.
9If you make the LORD your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
Psalms 91:9-11
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