A Typical Day in Quarantine

On Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m., under normal circumstances, I would be sitting in a lecture hall full of students. My best friend, Roman would be sitting beside me, both of us trying to figure out what exactly is happening in front of us. Now the only other person in the room is my girlfriend, Anna. We both stare into our individual screens, immersed in our own remote lecture podcasts. On a normal Tuesday morning it would have been a 5 minute walk from my flat to the hall – now I’m in my “office” in 30 seconds. Instead, I am stuck at my parents’ house in Aargau, where I haven’t lived in 3 years, surrounded by 4 screens that take up the entire dining table; meals have been moved to the tiny kitchen.

I drift off, wondering what I could do today. Play the piano, eat my parents’ delicious cooking, go for a walk, work out… just like every other day.

Just now my mom walks into the room, phone in hand, speaking Chinese to my uncle and his family in China. As she approaches me, I see my little cousin’s round, adorable face on the screen, sideways. My cousin hasn’t quite figured out technology yet, but she is giving it her best. A big smile breaks out on her face as she sees me. When asked to speak English, my cousin bravely introduces herself: “Hi. I am Kate.” Anna answers in the best, admittedly very bad, Chinese she can muster, “Nihao. Wo shi Anna.” I don’t think my cousin understands her, but when she is told that her English is very good, a smile lights up her face. My uncle informs us that things are looking up in China and assures us that life will be better soon. That we, too, will get through this. I really hope he’s right.

As my cousin says goodbye, I wonder what I could do next. Work out, I guess. I dearly miss playing badminton, the feeling of jumping high into the air and smashing the shuttlecock downwards with all my might. I will do a dry run today, footwork probably. I hate footwork. It’s boring. But having nothing better to do, I might as well exhaust my legs. The lawn offers only a tiny space of freedom, a small green patch where I lunge back and forth, my exhaustion almost as visible as the neighbours craning their necks over the hedge and out of their kitchen windows. Quarantine is apparently boring enough to watch a random guy swat around with a badminton racket. I miss going to practice and playing actual badminton in the indoor arena with my teammates; my strongest opponent now is the wind. I should have cherished every second more, but who knew.

The things that keep me busiest at the moment are: Virtual conferences, virtual classes and the piano.
My favourite apps are: Instagram and Spotify (there are so many good playlists!)
One movie I recommend: The Pianist. (I really love Chopin)
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Food, all sorts of, I’m not picky.