Surviving (and Thriving) While in Lockdown

Although coronavirus was increasingly becoming an issue in the United States, when we got to Argentina in late February, it didn’t seem to be much on anyone’s mind.

Our son’s first day of kindergarten was March 2nd. After we dropped him off at school, we headed straight to a private course we’d booked to learn about Yerba Mate, the traditional tea-like drink of Argentina. The traffic and crowded cafe made it clear that no-one was changing their lifestyle much yet.

The instructor was charming, and after demonstrating how to prepare the Yerba Mate she passed the cup over for us to drink. The tradition in Argentina, she explained, was to share straws when you drink Yerba Mate. I asked her if she wasn’t worried about coronavirus, and she just laughed it off. And so, we passed the drink around, sharing the metal straw with this lovely woman we’d just met.

The very next day the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Argentina. The next few weeks were quiet, and we didn’t hear much more about it. Events were still being held and people still kissed cheeks to say hello. The only communication from our school on the virus was a single email with an attached announcement from the Ministry of Health about preventative measures we should be taking.

One of the beautiful seven lakes along Rt 40.

Everything changed the weekend of March 14th. We decided to take an overnight trip to the nearby town of San Martin de los Andes. The route was called the Road of the Seven Lakes, and it’s a famously scenic drive that starts near Bariloche. It did not disappoint!

When we went out for breakfast in San Martin that Sunday morning, we learned from the news that Ecuador had just shut its borders. Chile and Argentina were following suit. From what we read, the last regularly scheduled international flights out of Buenos Aires before the border closed would be in just two days.

We spent a very long and tense breakfast debating whether or not we should try to return immediately to the United States. It wouldn’t be easy. We have a hundred-pound dog that most airlines don’t want to carry, even in cargo. And, we had a rental car that needed to be returned to Buenos Aires - a twenty-hour drive from Bariloche.

After consulting with trusted friends and family the rest of the morning, we decided we would lie low in Argentina until the virus passed. We reasoned that Argentina had far fewer cases of the virus than the United States, and the trip back would be expensive, chaotic, and in itself potentially expose us to the virus. And besides - we’d sold our house.

Argentina went into a national lockdown three days later, and it continues today. The lockdown is scheduled to lift on April 26th, but probably won’t. At best, we anticipate a slow and gradual removal of restrictions.

Other than trips to the grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies, we have to stay in our homes. Even those outings are only allowed on certain days, depending on whether our driver’s licenses end in an odd or even number. No walks or jogs, unless with a dog - and then only for 600 meters! Wearing masks in cars and commercial locations is mandatory.

There are police controls all along the major roads, and barricades have been put up to force traffic through check points. There are also controls at grocery stores to ensure it is your day to shop. Breaking quarantine is punishable by fines, as well as jail time of up to two years. To date, about 8,000 people have been arrested in Argentina for violations.

In addition, a week into our lockdown I got furloughed by my company.

As bad as all that probably sounds, being here hasn’t really been all that bad. We’ve heard stories about travelers being aggressively shunned in parts of Argentina and Chile as potential carriers of coronavirus, but haven’t experienced any of that ourselves. The Argentinians we know have been friendly and offered to help however they can, and the ones we don’t have been politely transactional.

It has also been gratifying to see that the quarantine seems to be working. The curve of the virus is now pretty flat in Argentina, with about 3,000 people infected.

For us, the worst part has been seeing the idyllic days of late summer and early fall pass by while we’ve been stuck at home. But our rental house has a big yard, and we’ve made a point to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the unusually mild weather.

And, for the first time in years I’ve been able to really slow down and explore other interests - like my new favorite: Instagram! I’ve discovered a whole community of like-minded travelers on Instagram and have been loving connecting with them.

And since Matt’s in the middle of learning to play the banjo, we’ve been doing an online bluegrass vocals course. We’re not the greatest singers, but we’re learning a lot. And channeling our inner Bill Monroe has been fun.

I’m also spending more creative time with our son, which has been a huge highlight of this quarantine experience.

Toys have been deemed “non-essential" and the sale of them is currently banned here. So we’ve been taking a more creative approach to playtime.

Matt’s sister gave us a recipe for homemade dog treats. Since they’re quite hard, Wolf and I used the recipe to make animals instead, which we then painted. When we saw how gnarly they looked, we decided they were all Franken-monsters - which, of course, made them even better. He plays with them all the time.

On other days, we’ve painted a totem pole, written haikus, and created and filmed obstacle course races. Wolf also does “science experiments” with random ingredients he mixes together, takes a thousand photos of the birds and bugs in our yard, and a few days ago baked a “monster cake” for his creatures to enjoy.

I’m excited to see what else we come up with in the time until lockdown ends, and I think we’ve set a new standard for after the restrictions are removed.

Obviously, we didn’t expect our first year in Argentina to be like this. But, that doesn’t really matter. Living abroad requires creativity, an adaptable spirit, and a healthy dose of optimism. All of which sure come in handy during a global pandemic when everyone’s world is turned up-side-down.

We’re tightly locked down, but still healthy, happy, and most importantly, together.