Hello everybody,
I hope that you are doing fine, keeping yourself and your closest safe. I know this is a hard time for all of us (maybe not for introverts, they have it business as usual – just kidding), but for people who used to go out, visit bars, events and drink coffee with their friends regularly, this is indeed profound shift. Suddenly we are advised to stay home, keep distance, and reduce social contact, as all of a sudden someone ordered us to change everything that makes us human.
My quarantine story begins at the beginning of March when I decided to visit my family in Bosnia for a short 7-day break from my ECS experience. The previous two months were spent in good energy. Me bouncing between my youth center and place of my work, intertwined with an occasional day trip with my Slovenian friends. The year was supposed to be good, but then came March. The situation started getting out of control in Italy and then in Germany, France, UK… then the first cases appeared in Bosnia. The next moment the whole continent was on lockdown, borders were shut, businesses closed. We were ordered to stay put.
I’m one of the lucky people that live in the house, although living in a flat has its advantages. My family has a house and a fairly big plot of land surrounding it. Next to it, we have a river Vrbas flowing. Perfect place to be when once in a century pandemic hits. To be honest I don’t have a feeling that I’m quarantined. Most of my days are being spent outside. I mow the grass, plant the seeds for the upcoming season, and trim branches. If I’m not doing that, then I’m grocery shopping with my mom. I have a daily ritual that formed during this pandemic, and I hope it will go away when this crisis passes. Before setting behind my laptop for a movie or a YouTube video on a late afternoon I have to have energy drink and chocolate beside me. I don’t know why that is, it’s stupid and unhealthy but it tells us how we form strange habits when our daily lives are changed in some extreme way.
Nights are reserved for books, movies, and video chats with friends and family. Because we are living through a pandemic of a deadly virus, my reading choice is following the same cliché. Right now I’m reading A. G. Riddle’s book “The Atlantis Plague” which talks about, yeah you guessed it, a pandemic of a deadly virus.
In this time of self-isolation, we have the perfect opportunity to think about ourselves and reflect on our lives. I’m grateful that I got the chance to volunteer on ESC project through MCT, it fundamentally affected the way I look at certain things, in a positive way of course. When this „disaster” passes, I can’t wait to return and continue our solidarity campaign.
Until then, I advise you to follow the instructions of health experts, wash hands, keep distance, and stay safe. Nasvidenje!
Mirsad Mešić
Projekt je financiran s strani Evropske komisije. Vsebina objave odraža izključno stališča avtorja. Nacionalna agencija ter Evropska komisija nista odgovorni za kakršno koli uporabo informacij, ki jih objava vsebuje.
