Covid-19 diary

With all that's going on right now, I think it is important for each of us to reflect and be grateful of what we have and what we learned from this global pandemic. So here's my take.

I vividly recall the moment as I was sitting on a cafe bench in early March, reading the news of the reported death by covid-19. It was a few weeks before the global acceptance that this was a pandemic threatening our very humanity. I had just decided that I will continue my second phase of fieldwork in a remote field site (which was halted later when NZ announced a full lockdown), and was having my last cafe brunch for another long while.

As an environmental science graduate, I always wanted to see the world population reduce during my lifetime, because humans are taking over too rapidly for our own good. But now that we are suffering the deathly consequence our lifestyle of living in dense populations and tampering with nature in ways we shouldn't, I found myself grieving. I found myself grieving for thousands (at the time) of strangers who were helplessly and abruptly witnessing death in their households. It was as if everyone started being able to see Thestrals (sorry, had to add a Harry Potter reference in there).

I think this is because I have lost loved ones before, and I know exactly what it feels like when someone leaves you before you are ready to lose them.

And now, I am one of the many international students unable to go home to be with family. With all international borders closed, I don't know when I will actually live the life of a newly wed (I just got married in Feb this year but returned to NZ to continue my PhD for at least another year).

Over the past 2 months, the world stood still. It was as if we went into a concerted hibernation. I felt a strong unity among a whole species, one with lots of differences in opinions and lifestyle choices. Although, I'm not going to lie. It was eerie. It was like the whole world was filming a dystopian post-apocalyptic movie. Empty shelves, abandoned highways and tourist hotspots, wild animals exploring the ruins of a society once powerful and dominating.

However, I have come to a realization that this is something we have no control over. I always believed that nature has endless ways to balance itself. All in good time and good reason. And if we don't respect our limits as a species, we will suffer the consequences. Whether we see it or not, and whether it makes sense or not, there are consequences.

What makes me happy is the way people comforted each other and made each other smile. We reconnected more, we made fun of ourselves more, we exposed our vulnerability and relied on each other for support. But most importantly, world nations and occupational nations and voluntary nations are working hand in hand regardless of the shade of skin or the schools of belief or the sound of our languages, to make this pandemic a little less difficult to bear. And in response we receive care and sympathy, even though we all suffer in our own ways. So I end my train of thought on a feel-good note - I have faith in humanity.

PS. Happy International Nurses Day!