Covid-19 in NYC: our community shares stories of quarantine and self-isolation. Today, meet Montserrat, from Chile

The Covid-19 pandemic is dramatically reshaping life in New York. Beyond the headlines, members of our community share their first-person accounts on how they are navigating the outbreak

Written by Maria Pyaterneva

How are you dealing with quarantine itself? What are your feelings and fears?
I am following up on all the same recommendations that everyone should. Some of them are: stay home as much as possible, don’t bring your hands to your face, wash your hands for at least 30 seconds, disinfect everything that you bring home from outside, keep 6 feet away from people.

I’ve been very concerned and sadly surprised about how some people have behaved confronting this pandemic; depending on how you see it and where do you want to pay attention. On one hand, there’s a sense of support and community service. I love to see how people are standing up and supporting small businesses, artists and freelancers. Others are offering free online classes and services, or “pay what you can”. On the other hand, you are also confronted with a sense of selfishness that’s hard to understand. There’s also anguish when you think about other countries and their scarce resources. Like everything, and everywhere, you can focus on the side that you want to see and move on. I am the type of person that tries to see both sizes, most of the time, and sometimes that’s too much to bear. I define myself as an introvert and an empath, and that mixture is a little bit difficult to practice during this time. In the past week I was very down and this affected my mental health, so I decided to cut to zero my time scrolling through social media platforms. I obviously fear getting sick and losing my life or my partner. As an immigrant, I have to say that the hardest part is to think that something can happen to our family in Canada or Chile, and we can’t travel to help or see them. But regardless of having a hopeless and anxious daily feeling, there’s a part of me that knows that I will react extremely well to any stressful situation. I am an immigrant, a woman, a Latina, I am wired to adapt and to toughness. As immigrants, we are resilient, and we can do everything in our power to help our families, confront any type of catastrophes or just learn to be alone with our thoughts in self-isolation. We grow like desert flowers, bringing beauty and even humor in the darkest moment. It’s an important time to be alive, and learn to manage the vulnerability and the strength it is part of our lifetime, a sort of call to our generation, where we will take the best of our past and make our lives beautifully in the present, and bring it to the future.

How are you coping with stress?
I am doing an exercise routine from youtube, with many South American and Latin moves that I loved, it’s called Cardio Latin Dance Workout. I just found them the other day. And my friend Marielys Burgos is offering online yoga classes. You can follow her on Instagram. I am also practicing breathing exercises, and I feel very fortunate to keep having my therapy sessions, now online. I have to admit that almost daily we are watching all the Marvel movies, and we are having a daily dose of chocolate. There’s something about action and fight that uplifts our humor. But calling and messaging family and friends have always a calming and relieving sensation, and it’s the most regarded coping mechanism. I would love to learn about self-sustaining methods or circular economy, pollution, fast fashion and how to repurpose clothing,

How are you working from home with kids/with your family members?
This year I am studying part-time and working independently in my craftivist practice (a form of activism that is centered on practices of craft, like embroidery). In our home, there are three of us, my partner and I, and our dog. I’ve been working from home for more than a year. My partner has been working from home since almost the beginning of March, and we have been trying to adapt to sharing spaces and chores. 

How are you spending your time?
My daily routine now is more interrupted by constant calls and answering messages. I am continuously online reaching out with loved ones, and it has been hard to concentrate, so I set up daily goals, and play it day by day. As it is hard to concentrate, I am taking a lot of time on finishing my writing assignments. But my day, in general, goes like computer time (answering emails, doing school assignments, publishing posts for my business), then lunch and a walk with our dog, and then reading, embroidery time, and movie time to end the day.

How the pandemic is affecting your short and mid-term life goals?
Well, I was about to start giving workshops in Manhattan, expanding my idea of offering affordable embroidery classes for women in all five boroughs, but now that needs to be postponed. I am more concerned about the lack of face masks for doctors, and how I can bring embroidery kits to women that need to have a distracting and rewarding activity during this difficult time. I am reacting to the present and generating income with new ideas. And there are a few projects that I hope to launch once the pandemic is over. My plans haven’t chance, they are postponed, and I am trying to think about this time as a great opportunity to use my resources in a better way.

Are you still applying for jobs? Are you doing job interviews?
No, I decided to work independently many months ago. Because of the Covid-19, I am now adapting my products and services. I’ve been studying part-time reading and writing classes since the beginning of this year, and that has been taking a lot of my time since I really want to use this opportunity to improve. 

Do you have any tips/secrets to go through these hard times?
Humor! Use memes, videos, comics, books, podcasts, any form is welcome. Ask for what you and your body need, and communicate that to your loved ones. Like “I need a hug”, “I need time alone”, “I need to talk to my family every day”, “I need you to take care of the lunch”, “I need to take a nap”, or “I need to come up with a plan for the worst scenario” –  it really makes a difference, because it allows you to feel safe. Gratitude. I really like to see how we acknowledge the work of grocery store workers, truck drivers, nurses and doctors, factory workers, pharmacists, janitors, and garbage collectors, caregivers, farmers, delivery employees, teachers. I hope that after this pandemic is over, we can keep this gratitude towards their job. I’ve been taking two minutes of my morning routine to say thanks.

What do you miss the most now in your daily life?
Walking in the streets feeling secure.

What resources do you need now to feel more secure?
To be honest, I am very appreciative of what I have now. I can’t wait for the moment when I get to have the right to vote.