March 17, 2020July 6, 2020 Amy

Stuck at Home

Canada, Honduras

Political Unrest in Honduras

During the two years we lived in Honduras, we experienced several episodes of political unrest and subsequent lockdown orders to stay at home. We were instructed to prepare for these periods by stocking up the pantry with food supplies, making sure we had enough fresh water (the tap water is not safe to drink in Central America), purchasing extra medicines and filling up the gas tank (in case we had to evacuate.) This is not unlike the present #socialdistancing and #staythefuckhome situation we are experiencing due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The street protests could quickly spiral out of control. Major roads were blocked with burning tires and makeshift barricades. This caused chaotic traffic jams which lasted several hours. Then mobs smashed the windows of big box stores in order to loot whatever they could find (flat screen TVs, mattresses, donuts, and pizza?) We were advised to stay inside our gated community for our own safety.

I was glued to my Smart Phone. It constantly hummed and chimed announcing new messages on my What’s App groups.  Addicted, I checked social media all the time – which only increased my sense of panic. I would put my phone down for 10 minutes, only to find 50 unread messages and 2 missed calls! The sheer volume and pace of messages received made it impossible to separate the rumors from the truth. I was swamped by information overload. My anxiety spiked.

We were told to stay home and lay low – for our own security. At first, this was very difficult for me to accept. It felt like an attack on my personal freedom! Tegucigalpa had little to offer in terms of social activities and outings, I was just starting to get into a routine, and now the net was drawn even closer! I went through a roller coaster of emotions: panic, anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, numbness, shock, incredulity, and finally acceptance. But we got through it. We survived! Below I will share some tips for coping.

Lessons Learned

As the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic started to hit home with school closures and social distancing here in peaceful Canada, I felt the panic and anxiety return. So, I sat down and brainstormed a list of activities to do at home – both with kids and for myself. The list ranged from cleaning out the cupboards, furniture shopping on Pinterest, filing my taxes, to making a Photobook.

Trust me, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of boredom and ennui. While on posting, in the beginning, I instructed our nanny to take over everything: she cooked, cleaned the house, did all the laundry and even took care of the kids! I started to sleep-in, binged on TV in my pyjamas, and ate junk food all day long… Very quickly, my days were empty of meaning and I felt useless. In order to keep busy; I took back some of the responsibility for the chores from the nanny. I began with the things I like doing the most like baking and recreated the dishes I craved from home. And then I experimented with new recipes which included exotic local ingredients (from perfect chocolate chip cookies, spaghetti carbonara, passion fruit cake, watermelon gazpacho, chia pudding, homemade tortillas from scratch, to sopa de frijol con yucca.) This gave me a sense of fulfillment. Afterwards, I invited the neighbors to taste my new creations (sharing was a shoe-in to overcome isolation.)

My Tips

Below are some activities which helped me overcome the feeling of ennui while we were obliged to stay home in Honduras.

• Schedule phone dates; with friends and family overseas, by setting a time and date we both made sure to be available and shared our personal experiences with each other. Talking things through helped me escape the feeling of being trapped inside a fishbowl. This in turn allowed me to calm down and adjust my attitude.
• Play outside; our gated community of Quinta Bella in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was located on a cul-de-sac where children could safely play together and blow off some steam. I would sit on the front steps and chat with the neighbors. (The kids kept busy with their bikes, scooters, chalk, soccer and basket balls, bubbles, tag, hide-and-go-seek, nature walk, garbage collection, etc.) Today, we must also keep in mind healthy social distancing. But get out anyway and breathe some fresh air!
• Read; fiction, non-fiction, biographies, graphic novels, anything that tickles your fancy but NOT SOCIAL MEDIA. Once you are immersed and whisked away into another time and place – the topics of political unrest or virulent virus are off limits.
• Exercise; take a walk outside, run up and down the stairs, have a dance party, follow an online exercise course, Cosmic yoga. It is proven that exercise helps relieve stress and when you are focused on the physical activity it gives the little hamster in your mind a much-needed break. The release of endorphins also helps lift your mood.
• Listen to music, audio books, the radio, Spotify, meditation on the Calm app, a podcast, anything but NOT THE NEWS. Having something to focus on while I completed household tasks stopped my mind from wandering all over the place (and down into the rabbit hole that is worry.)
• Enjoy the small things: family movie night with popcorn, a picnic lunch under the kitchen table, improvised music shows, a castle made from an old cardboard box… It is good to throw in a bit of spontaneity and have fun!

Make a Schedule

Finally, I made a schedule. It is very tempting to stay in your pajamas and binge watch on Netflix all day but trust me, the novelty wears off quickly! Choose realistic activities so that you will stick with the schedule. Remember that your new routine is a work in progress and it is okay to adapt to the whole families’ needs over time. Here are some schedule suggestions.

Please feel free to add your ideas and share your daily routine in the comments below.