10 women, 10 tales of lockdown from around the world

Madrid, Spain

Olivia Simpson, 24

First stop, we checked in with Olivia, who is currently living in Madrid, working as a language teacher and translator. Spain has been one of the worst affected countries in Europe and was plunged into a tight lockdown on 4 March.

We asked Olivia to give us some insight into lockdown life, and how she has been keeping herself busy while stuck indoors:

“Quarantine has been very strict here in Spain, there is no daily exercise and we’re only allowed out to go to the pharmacy or the supermarket. It’s great that I’ve got my balcony as I can get some fresh air every day which keeps me from feeling too cooped up.

I’m still working which is great — it gives me a bit of structure, which I’d really be craving otherwise. In my free time, in the evenings and weekends, my housemates and I have created a podcast called “Honey We’re Home Pod”. In the podcast, we interview interesting people from around the world about their Covid-19 experience. So far, this has included actors, a member of the GB Paralympic team, and a Nobel prize-winning scientist (which was really interesting!) We’ve learnt about the way each person’s industry is being affected and what they’re doing personally to cope.

We also discuss books and TV shows, which is great because I’ve definitely been binging Netflix anyway, and if we say it’s for the podcast it feels like it’s more purposeful!

Since speaking to Olivia, lockdown restrictions have been lifted slightly throughout Spain. There are now different exercise slots for different age groups, meaning that most people can finally get some fresh air and exercise — we’re sure this has been enthusiastically welcomed!

New York, USA

Kat Shaw, 31

At the beginning of the pandemic, New York City was one of the worst affected places in the USA and the silent streets of Manhattan were documented in eerie photos which resonated with people around the world. In New York, lockdown came into effect at the end of March. 

We spoke to Kat, who is living in Brooklyn with her partner and working as a Marketing Manager, about lockdown life in NYC and how she has adapted her normal routine:

“One of the weirdest things about lockdown in New York is how quiet it is all of a sudden. When we go on our balcony, we’re used to hearing people, music, cars, and the subway train. But now it’s quiet. Just the train on occasion.

As for my routine, I’m lucky enough to still be able to do my job remotely — I’ve just had to adapt to working and living at home. I don’t have an office, which means I have to work from my living space. So, every morning I can pull out my laptop and that’s my working day started. From 6 pm, my work equipment gets put away behind the sofa so that I can separate my work from my relaxation time.

I’ve been making sure that I get some exercise every day (making use of YouTube classes so that I can keep moving and stay sane!) I’ve also been spending a lot of time on apps, mainly to stay connected with friends, both back home in the UK and here in New York.”

Brisbane, Australia

Lillian Elvin, 61

We spoke to Lillian, who has recently taken early retirement from her job as a district nurse in the UK to move to Australia to be closer to her two daughters. She told us that the pandemic hasn’t affected Australia quite as badly as some other countries — the government acted pretty early, and so it’s more of an ‘isolation’ than a ‘lockdown’.

We asked her how she was coping with lockdown so far and what lessons she had learnt from the experience:

“We haven’t been together as a family for over two years, so lockdown means I can focus on what I enjoy most: cooking, cleaning, and caring for my family. My daughter is heavily pregnant, so we’ve been busy helping her get everything ready for the baby. I’m so glad to be here to support her through this, and I know everything will be alright.

We were meant to be going to New Zealand to spend some time with our other daughter, which has been put on hold, but we skype her every day. I’m glad to at least be in the southern hemisphere, as I would have been very sad to be stuck in the UK knowing that my two girls are here.

I’m thinking a lot about all the people in the UK. I was a district nurse in the UK. I’m pleased that I’m not now, but I have got a yearning that I would like to help. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect, and I’m grateful for my lot.”

Newcastle, UK

Sonia Guest, 51

Here in the UK, we’re beginning to see lockdown measures gradually lift. This has provoked a variety of responses and confusion, but key workers like Sonia have been continuing to work throughout the lockdown period.

We got in touch with Sonia, a key Support Coordinator working in Newcastle and asked her what she was finding challenging about life in lockdown:

“One of the things I struggle with most at this time is being separated from family and friends. I’m used to seeing them often, and I’m finding it difficult being separated from that

In terms of work, I’m quite lucky that I’m actually leaving the house because I’m classed as a key worker. I’m able to go to work and break up the monotony of being stuck indoors all the time. I imagine that other people are finding that really difficult and I think that if I was to have to work from home for all of my shifts, I would find that a real struggle. I’m still going out and I’m talking to others, and I suppose others haven’t got that luxury.

I’m conscious that we really don’t know how long this is going to go on for, and that it’s going to be more and more of a struggle the longer it goes on. Like lots of other people, I hope that it’s all going to be over with soon and we can get back to some sort of normality!”

Ohio, USA

Jannelle Brannan, 23

The USA is currently the worst affected nation in the world and responses are varying from state to state. Jannelle tells us a bit about the response where she lives in Ohio.

Jannelle had recently left Spain, where she’d been teaching English to go home to Ohio, so we asked her a bit about her experience and what lessons she felt she had learnt during lockdown:

“I was teaching in Spain until I was advised to leave by the US Embassy on March 20. By March 21, I was back in the US in my home state of Ohio. I was on lockdown in Spain for a week, and I’ve been on lockdown in Ohio since March 23.

I’m incredibly lucky to be, currently, in an area with few cases. My community has been very good and banded together, for the most part, to work towards keeping each other safe and healthy. Most people are following orders, using masks and taking other precautions when out, and staying home for the most part. I think that I’m lucky to live where I do because it’s enabled me to stay safe and healthy. Though I am worried about what happens next, as we are about to reopen the state and many people are starting to not take it as seriously anymore.

I evacuated Spain to come back to the US, and the small town I was in has had a surge of cases. The difference in how much people were working to keep each other safe and healthy is so very clear between Spain and the US. While my specific community’s response has been commendable, I worry about the states that refused to close or are demanding to reopen. Overall, the US isn’t in a great position, but who knows what time will tell us. I hope we can (start to) care about others’ wellbeing as much as our own in the coming months because we’ll need to rely on each other since it doesn’t seem this is going away any time soon.”