”France is going in lockdown again, I am sure about it.” My boyfriend has been saying that for months and unfortunately it turned out he was right. The numbers of Covid cases are going up by more than 30.000 per day and 58% of the intensive care beds are used by corona patients. On Wednesday the government announced a national lockdown and gave us a little over 24 hours before closing the country for at least one month. I am stuck at home (in Paris) and decided to share a lockdown diary with you on a daily base. What is it like to be inside for such a long time and what keeps me busy? At this point, I have no idea, but I will see what happens in the upcoming weeks.
The government gave the population exactly one day to prepare for lockdown. Right before opening hours, people were already lining up in front of supermarkets to get their groceries, clothingstores and hairdressers were full and even restaurants and terraces attrackted a lot of visitors. One last ‘normal day’ before we all have to stay in for a long period of time. Right now we know that the lockdown will last for at least one month, but it could happen that it lasts longer. For the French it is their second lockdown, for me, it’s the first because I was in the Netherlands during the first months of the year.
Last day of freedom
Just like a lot of Parisians, I went out yesterday to get a last bit of fresh air (as much as it’s possible, wearing a face mask). I did my groceries on Wednesday (right before the lockdown was announced), but I just wanted to leave the house one more time. I got a coffee at Starbucks and biked to the Eiffeltower, just because I could. Took the last pictures for my freelance job and filmed a little bit for my Youtube channel. As of today, I can only produce content within the walls of our apartment and I don’t think that the followers of WegwijsnaarParijs find it very interesting. (Luckily I still have a bunch of pictures to upload thse upcoming weeks).
It felt weird to be outside, but at the same time it felts so normal. The streets were busier than the past few weeks, but around the Eiffeltower it was quite calm. Personally I think it was a weird experience and it really felt like something big was about to happen.
Last meal
Last night I kept talking and thinking about going into lockdown at midnight. We could easily say it already started at 9, because that is the moment when the curfew started. (We’ve had a curfew for a week and a half now.) I kept looking at the clock, realizing that my freedom would be way less, the moment it turned 9 o’clock. It almost felt like new years eve, when you are constantly looking at the clock till the moment ‘everything changes.’ The difference: at new years eve, I am enthusiastic and looking forward to the ‘new chapter in life’ and this time it was all different. The lockdown feels like something big, while in reality nothing is happening and our world is just getting smaller. From now on we can’t go out on the street to go for a walk, when- and wherever we want, or sit on a terrace and that feels weird. Our ‘last night’ we wanted to do something special, so we ordered pizza. Just because we were able to walk to Domino’s without any problems.
Day 1
My goal for the lockdown is to stay productive. There is a big temptation to stay on the couch for four weeks (or in bed) to watch Netflix or play the sims. Activities that are fine on the weekends or during the night, but on weekdays I want to use my time wisely. I have made my list with lockdown goals right after the lockdown was announced. Now I just have to hope (and work) to reach them all. Day 1 kinda felt like a normal Friday. My boyfriend has been working from home more often lately, so it feels normal to have him at home. This morning I’ve started working from the bed on my to-do list and I have to say crossing off all the items went a lot faster. I have finished my entire to do list and feel like I’ve had a productive day. Writing new blogs, working on some ideas, a home work-out and a chapter of my French course. If I keep continuing working like this, I will reach my goal. 🙂
