“It’s gonna be hard but I’m faithful!”
Rachele is a final-year Psychological Science student at UNIPD. She is from Parma, Italy. (Head to the Gallery to meet her!)
Alison: Please introduce yourself.
Rachele: Ciao! My name is Rachele and I am from Italy. (Feel free to pronounce my name as you wish, I know people usually struggle a lot with it!) I’m a Bachelor of Psychological Science student in my final year at the University of Padova but I’m originally from a small town near Parma – yes, where they make parmigiano and parma ham, basically.
Alison: News about the coronavirus in Italy has been circulating around lately, could you tell me about the situation from your perspective?
Rachele: To be honest, it’s quite hard to explain what is going on here at the moment. I’ll try my best but the situation is as serious as it seems. You can’t really feel it if you’re home all day long and you don’t step out of the door, as I am and we are all trying to do at the moment, but personally I can perceive it is not to be underestimated, not at all.
Hospitals are overcrowded, personnel is working long and exhausting shifts to provide care to everyone, and unfortunately doctors have to select whom to cure since there’s no room for everyone. It feels like a nightmare, really. That’s why we’ll be put on lockdown until – hopefully – April 3rd. This means we’re highly recommended to stay at home and head out only in cases of necessity, like if we needed anything at the pharmacy or to go grocery shopping. Some companies and factories are still open and a lot of people are still going to work, including my Mum (miss you!) for example, who works in public administration, although people are advised to work from home if they have the opportunity and tools to do it.
The fact is, more and more people are getting infected, the situation is critical and we are all doing – or should be doing – our best to stop this virus from spreading.
Alison: What are the local people’s attitudes towards this pandemic?
Rachele: I think now we got that it’s quite a big deal and the whole country is working to provide help and support, both to the government by following the guidelines provided and the sanitary system through fundraising campaigns.
I’m sorry if I am too outspoken, but we did underestimate the problem in the beginning. From my point of view, you just think that it’s impossible, it’ll never happen to you. And then here we are, sitting together at a restaurant, and suddenly we receive a message that says we’ll be put on lockdown for a month. Sounds crazy, right? That’s how things went and I mean, nobody could have predicted such a plot twist but that’s the way it is, we have nothing else to do but to cope with it now. I might be the very first who feels guilty for that, I admit I seriously downplayed the signals. But now we all have the chance to make up and give our own contribution to solve the issue. I think we are starting to understand that focusing on the same objective by making small sacrifices will lead to great outcomes in the long run. Fingers crossed!
Alison: Thank you for being so honest and candid. All of us should learn to take precautions and be resilient. Anyway, how are you holding up?
Rachele: In terms of health, I’m grand (which for people who live outside of Ireland: that means I’m fine!) I decided not to return to my hometown where my family is at the moment but rather to stay here in Padova in quarantine. Although we are allowed to go home, it seems pointless to unless there is an emergency – that’s why I hope to stay up here until April 3rd, which will mean that everything is fine down in Parmigianoland.
This was a hard choice to make but I didn’t feel like rushing home like a lot of people did. Just to clarify: I don’t judge those who did, I feel them, 100%. I’m very worried about my grandparents, as everyone else here is, ’cause elderly people are the most vulnerable. In terms of mental health, I’m trying to be as energetic as I always am, staying positive, and keeping myself busy. I’m focusing on academics, taking up activities I have previously quit, like exercising and reading, and something I’ve never done before, such as watching TV series on Netflix (believe it or not…) and keeping a diary.
I find this very useful because when you have a lot of free time like I do now, you tend to overthink, overthink, and overthink again. It’s really hard, but it’s good to – at least try to – put things straight in your mind. I’m also doing pointless stuff like making hair masks, playing the drums with no drums (fun fact: old empty boxes kinda work), and cooking (which I’m still really bad at).
Alison: I’m happy to hear that you try to maintain a positive attitude despite the pandemic. It makes everything easier in a way.
What is the Italian government doing at the moment? Do you think they are doing enough, or at least the right things, to tackle the issue?
Rachele: So, as I said, we are locked down at the moment and most commercial activities are suspended. The situation is not easy to deal with but I think they are tackling the issue in the best way as they can. You know, it’s really hard to balance this sanitary emergency and the economic wellbeing of the country. I think they’re trying to cope, really, we all are. It’s gonna be hard but I’m faithful!
Alison: Fair enough. Is there another problem you see in this pandemic, perhaps a social one?
Rachele: What I see, at the moment, is a general lack of TRUST. The virus is spreading everywhere and people are still acting as if it isn’t their problem, as if the virus stops at the border. We did not really trust the signals and we paid our price. I think that’s one of our biggest problems nowadays and it has become apparent after the outbreak. We are so lost sometimes that we are not even able to discern who should be trusted. I’m thinking about all the fake news that is circulating about the virus. I think that’s part of a wider issue deeply rooted in our contemporary, individualistic society. That’s not my own thought, but what many are thinking.
Now that we are forced to come face to face with ourselves, now that we can’t be embedded in our network of social relationships and are forced to be physically disconnected, we finally realise the importance of the concept “others” in our lives. No Skype call or Facetime or Messenger of whatever will ever be able to replace someone’s presence. I now realise how important eye contact, hugs, kisses, and physical contact are and how many social practices we tend to take for granted. I think – if I can condense it in a word – we’ll (re)learn to value “otherness”. That’s also my wish.
In terms of economy, well, I’m not the best person to express an opinion about it but I suppose it’ll be pretty hard. I do hope we’ll be able to face the economic consequences as well as we’re facing the sanitary emercency, that’s all I feel like saying.
Alison: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Rachele: Yes, definitely. To all my international friends, especially those who live in Europe. Guys. Please. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE PROBLEM. I was you two weeks ago and I wish someone told me what I’m telling you right now. I would’ve acted more consciously. So please, follow your government guidelines and do not complain too much about events being cancelled. We’re all making sacrifices. A wee (little) sacrifice a day keeps the doctor away, as the old proverb says (kinda). I’m sure we’ll catch up and have better times to do all the things we were meant to be doing right now. Health always comes first. Also, do not panic, there is gonna be food and supplies for everyone so avoid bulk buying! And if you ever need someone to talk to, even for no reason, yeno your wee Italian friend is always here! Sending a whole lot of love and hugs, can’t wait to hold all of you tight for real!
Thank you so much for this opportunity!
Alison: Thank YOU, Rachele, for sharing this. Meanwhile, take good care of yourself and I’ll see you when things get better!
Speak Your Mind 