Are you tired of hearing about COVID-19 aka the Coronavirus? Meeeeee too.šIt's quite literally everywhere. Because every company in the world has decided to tell you how they are handling the viral situation via email, I thought I'd share how our world in Sofia is changing too. So this blog entry will have a split focus:
1. What is going on in Sofia, Bulgaria with regards to the virus?
2. How are we handling the changes?
Going all the way back to February 2020 (which feels like last year at this point), my family and I took a short trip to Athens, Greece just because. One of the advantages of living in Europe is the cheap airline tickets ($30 roundtrip) for quick weekend visits, so we indulged. The day before we left, Matt was sitting on the public tram enjoying his morning commute to work. The tram tends to be crowded during the morning work rush, but Matt had scored himself a seat to kick back and relax before starting his busy schedule of back-to-back conference calls and meetings. As the small streetcar began to resemble something of a mule cart, an older man leaned over Matt holding onto the railing that runs along the ceiling with both hands and COUGHED directly on Matt's head and face. Like emptied his phlegmy lungs onto Matt with no effort to cover his mouth. Nothing. Offensively gross, right?š¤®š” I'll give you a second to pick up your jaw.
The next day, Matt began to feel symptoms of a cold coming on. It wasn't terrible, and he didn't want to cancel a short trip especially if he was having a mild allergy attack. Sometimes, it's hard to distinguish allergy symptoms from "oh no, I'm getting sick." We hop on our flight to Athens and had a marvelous first day. Pics below of our sights.
By that evening, he told us his energy was spent; he needed to rest. We made our way back to the hotel to re-energize the batteries for Day #2, but that night was going to be a loooooooong night. I began to start showing signs of a fever. Chills then burning hot. I took two hot baths in the super-sized executive suite tub but couldn't rid myself of the chills. Eventually, the idea to wear the hotel robe under the blanket covers in the bed popped into my head just so I could have another layer to keep me warm. I knew, in that moment, that whatever Matt was experiencing had now made its way to me. Morning came, and we struggled to leave bed. How terrible is that, you know? On vacation with limited amount of time to explore, and you fall ill. We really didn't want to miss anything because our instincts told us we were not coming back to Athens for a long while. There are too many other places in the world to see instead, and this was already our second visit. So we pulled ourselves together, put on a smile, and started the day. Walking all over the city left us short of breath. We took frequent breaks to catch our breath and even drank vitamin shots to boost the ol' immune system, but by 3pm we were pooped. Our flight didn't leave until 10pm that night to head back home. We took ourselves back to the hotel lobby which looked like a shopping mall with miniature chocolate shops and jewelry stores. Laying around on the lobby sofas, we tried not to fall asleep for fear of looking like hobos loitering on private property. The hotel bar chiseled away a few of our hours of what seemed like endless waiting until it was an appropriate time to leave for the airport. It's sad to say our weekend in Athens was spoiled all because some jerk couldn't cover his mouth.
So all this to say -- we're not doctors, buuuuuuut we're pretty certain we suffered and recovered from the Coronavirus before it became trendy. We shared every single symptom that has been reported in the media and on medical sites including the following pink eye symptoms. For weeks after, we had a deep dry cough that felt like your insides were going to come right out of your mouth. Taking walks around the park left me short of breath. It took nearly a month to fully recover just in time for Christopher to also get sick. Keep in mind, this kid has only been sick maybe two times in his entire existence. Fortunately for him and others, the Bulgarian government decided at this time to shut down the schools for a second flu vacation stating that Type B Influenza was prevalent, and they haven't opened since.
I need you to keep in mind that by this time in February, the Coronavirus was really just a pandemic in China that was "under control." Our symptoms seemed like those of a simple common cold. Looking back over the last month, the current situation is becoming clearer every day. This virus had spread across the globe before we ever knew what was happening. Reporting numbers of those testing positive is guaranteed to be behind what the actual numbers are.
So, this brings me to what is going on in Bulgaria.š§š¬ As the virus began to spread throughout the world, Bulgarian leadership continued to boast that the country had zero confirmed cases of COVID-19. The keyword here is "confirmed." In fact, every EU country surrounding Bulgaria was reporting cases but not Bulgaria. On social media, the public openly joked that you can't confirm cases if you're not testing. More recently, President Trump stated we would have fewer cases if we did less testing. Bulgaria apparently felt the same. Eventually, the Ministry of Health extended the school closure to include all cultural venues including cinemas, museums, and sporting events. Days later came the official State of Emergency declaration. The list of forbidden territories was growing each day. Next to go were the city parks and open garden spaces. They implemented early senior hours at the grocery stores from 830am -1030am. Lastly, they shut down inter-city travel for non-essential employees. Stories have been shared on social media that describe how the police are checking for official travel permissions from those who arrive in Sofia on train. If they don't have the appropriate paperwork, they are not allowed to leave the train station. Up until the parks were closed, the world still felt relatively normal. Most companies were finding ways to ensure business could keep running with their staff working from home. In the evenings, the parks were packed with people trying to get out of the house for some fresh air before having to repeat their new routine the next day. It was at this moment that the government decided to close the parks and enforce the closure by having local law enforcement patrol on foot, in cars, and on horseback. They did create one exception though: if you're a dog owner, you may walk your dog in the parks. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! We happen to have two dogs! I consider this my "get out of jail free" card.
At this point, Matt is working from home and slowly going insane. Our apartment is 90 square meters and does not leave a lot of room for personal space. While he is on work calls ALL DAY LONG (no bloviating here) in the living room, I'm still trying to carry on my daily activities even as simple as washing dishes or making dinner. New Game: Try unloading the dishwasher without making a sound. I bet you can't do it.š¬ Lately, I've been focusing my attention on new delicious recipes. Check out my photo reel below.
Christopher's amazingly proactive school immediately saw where the world response was heading and invested in e-learning. He now has his full school schedule through Google Classroom and meets for class throughout the day on Zoom. The school year is almost finished, and he loved the idea of working at his own pace. I especially love it also because now I'm privied to all the juicy details on how school was for the day and what he is actually studying in class versus our usual exchange below:
"How was school today?"š¤©
"Fine."š
"Whatcha learning in class?" š
"Nothing." š
Me: š¤Øš¤š
With a better understanding today of what is going on now, we hope everyone stays safe. Walk your pup, and get some Vitamin D.
