Chroniques Covid Chronicles Day 13

I’m not superstitious but here it all started on the Friday 13th and yesterday was the 12th and brought some nuisance and some really worrying news such as Clélia’s Best friend Giovanna aged 30 humanitarian officer blocked in Papua New Guinea as there are no more flights and she was supposed to Saturday. She has the triple nationality French, Italian and Swiss. France is ready to take her back but not her Swiss colleague who’s a young woman too …I might be biased by the nasty reports from Jack London but I really hope she gets back soon and safely !

In the morning news, Psychoanalyst Boris Cyrulnik commented on the tragedy and inhumanity of not being near our seniors and not attending their funerals. The BBC report on the task of Italian undertakers is really heartbreaking. While doctors and nurses are hailed everyday, no one thinks of this profession which is highly humane and should be regarded in a much more grateful perspective. For me, it was an eye opener.

However, our cocooning lives continue and we exchange with friends, family and and especially girlfriends groups or individuals in a totally new way.

We care for each other, try to cheer up friends who seem to be in lower spirits, we share tips, recipes but above all we laugh together, even share long distance coffee …dance or talk about it

Alors, note de la part de l’association des psychiatres :
Pendant ces moments de pendemie, et d’isolement..c’est normal que vous parliez à vos murs, avec vos plantes et leurs pots..
vous devez nous contacter seulement dans les cas ou ils vous répondent.
😂

Before reaching that stage, I’m confirmed in my 50 + years suspicion that housekeeping isn’t my forte and although I try to keep my flat organised and tidier than usual, I am defeated by dust, crumbs and flower petals everywhere I look….!

In terms of clothes, I’ve noticed that item do we are pretty much the same things I wash and where again. I don’t know why as I have lots of clothes but I keep wanting to wear pink and green and that’s been going on for over two weeks now! La Vie en Rose!

As for my agenda… I keep crossing operas and plays I won’t attend and replace them with time consuming teaching tasks… but I was pleased to hear from a colleague that our pupils were thrilled with my efforts to individualise their lessons in subgroups…so a typical day is waking up at 6-7, breakfast and online games such as scrabble and duel quiz, shower (well bath more often than not!), gym (I’ve added today some sun salutations… day 3 of this new trend….), get to work around 9:00, teach at 11:00, then at 2:00 till… well they depends. Today was 2 to 3, then I went to the farm and supermarket. I heard heart rending stories from shop assistants, all French, having maddening work hours and who see the same clients coming back every day…. in a shop which now limits to 150 the number of people, staff included!

Came back and taught till 7:45! Then dinner, cheering the medics, and finally blogging. Add a half hour chat with my beloved and it pretty much takes care of my day!

And while we worry about a lethal virus cosily in our Swiss homes, today saw the first death of by COVID + in Syria... I think about the sad resignation of Sana, a brave little lady among my students who is pregnant here and told me “my people are dying and no one cares”….

Tonight I’m writing this blog while supervising the recipe of a potato purée in Paris… and I’m finally getting ready for my reading time at 11:30 pm, this strangest March 25th I’ve ever spent….good night people, take care!