As with many things in life, the corona virus (or Covid-19) came slowly and then all at once. It began as something abstract and far away and was suddenly in our city, affecting our lives. It took a couple of weeks of crazy before I eventually started taking notes of the daily changes. Hourly sometimes. And so I apologize if this post (the first of many, perhaps) comes across as a kind of bullet point list of events, but this was the only way I could keep track of the changes amidst the crazy--and monotony.
Thursday, January 30 First confirmed case in India
February 14-17 Vacation in Goa
Sunday, February 23 I'm not sure, but I think this was the Sunday (maybe the week before?) that the missionaries were told not to shake hands with people anymore. They could do prayer hands or bump elbows as an alternative. At the time, it felt like an overreaction.
The following week, the missionaries were standing at the chapel doors to squirt hand sanitizer on everyone's hands before they went in.
Wednesday, March 4 The schools began to take the children's temperature upon arrival. They could be sent home for having a temperature or exhibiting signs of sickness (coughing, sneezing, etc.) We were also sent a mandatory survey from CISB, asking about recent travel, as well as the travel of people we had recently associated with. CJ and I had had a play date with someone from Hong Kong a week before, but they had been in India for two weeks already. Did that count? It was unclear.
Friday, March 6 CJ's school postponed Indus Day indefinitely.
Her school has an annual celebration with a full program performed by all the students: dances, plays, songs, etc. CJ was assigned as narrator for the first grade play (since she did such an awesome job for her dussehra play) and had been practicing her lines for weeks. And then one of the student MC's had to drop out and the school asked CJ to step in. The amount of lines she had to learn tripled; we practiced everyday on our drive to and from school. She almost had all of them down when they postponed Indus Day due to concerns about having the entire school community gathered together (thanks covid). Since they said it was "postponed" and not "cancelled" CJ held out hope that Indus Day would be reinstated and asked me everyday if it was happening again.
Saturday, March 7 Brandon and I put the girls to bed and left H in charge while we walked to a nearby restaurant for a dessert date. Little did we know that it would be our last date out in a long time.
Sunday, March 8 The ward installed a hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall outside of the chapel. We were putting some on when our local area seventy (who is in our ward) commented that it wasn't really hand sanitizer, but some kind of knock-off so it may not do anything. It made us laugh and shake our heads. People were already stocking up on basic essentials so we had already learned by this point to read the labels before we bought something that claimed to kill germs.
It was Women's Day--they asked us to wear pink and all the women in our ward gathered for a picture. We are standing in front of the mission office building, across the parking lot from our church building. All of this will be torn down for the coming temple.
In sacrament meeting they announced that there was going to be a baptism right after church; they even passed out invitations to everyone as we were leaving the chapel. (We obviously did E's baptism wrong. Don't invite people in advance--do it the day of! And do it right after church when people are already there!) We weren't sure about whether we were going to stay or not, but when I noticed that one of the missionaries was trying to play the piano, I volunteered my services. We also didn't realize until the program began (because the family dynamic is a little odd) that we are friends with the Dad and brother of the boy who was baptized, so we were happy to be there to support them.
Afterword there was a catered lunch for everyone (see? we did it wrong!) and it was fun to hang out for a while. Of course, we were all standing around together, squished in a room to watch the baptism, and then standing in line to get food. Plus, the majority of the people ate with their hands, (we ate with the little spoons they put out for the ice cream). I remember commenting to one of the missionaries that it was ironic that they couldn't shake hands with anyone, but everything else we were doing was ok.
Monday, March 9 There was a cholera outbreak in Bangalore that affected a complex that houses a lot of expats. After googling the symptoms of cholera (it does not sound pleasant), we hope it doesn't spread.
First confirmed case of Covid-19 in Karnataka (the state we live in) and it was in our city, Bangalore. An expat had traveled back to India from the US and tested positive a week later.
Just as I was going to pick up CJ from school, I got an email: as a precaution, all students kindergarten and younger had no more school until a time yet to be determined.
Tuesday, March 10 We woke up to an email from E's school saying that all elementary school-age kids no longer had school. H, being a middle schooler, still went as normal. At the time, when there was only 1 case in a city of 13 million, canceling school seemed like an overreaction.
Coincidentally, Brandon had the day off work for Holi--the holiday where everyone throws colors at each other (most of those festivities were cancelled, btw). Aside from taking a lunch break with us, he worked from home all day. Once Covid came to India, his job became even busier than before.
Wednesday, March 11 I took the girls to Toys R Us so E could pick out a birthday gift for her friend and then we just looked at toys for a while. This used to be a favorite past time for my kids, but it's definitely been a while since we've killed an afternoon looking at toys. The employees hovering nearby was especially annoying given Cov-19.
Brandon said we should get an office chair because he probably would need to start working from home soon. Usually I hem and haw about making big purchases, but after only a few minutes of looking online I bought him one, delivery set for the following week.
Our ward Whatsapp had frequent posts about supposed "Covid cures." After putting up with it for a few days, I finally started to speak up and tell people all their claims weren't true. Here were some claims that were posted: hold your breath every morning for 10 seconds (if you can do that you're fine!), don't eat chicken or eggs (when in doubt, go veg! Also, I stocked up on both since the rumors made the prices go down), drink hot lemon water, drink tamarind water, homeopathic arsenic (seriously?!), vitamin C, citrus!
Thursday, March 12 I took CJ to a play date and E tagged along with me to book group. Much of the conversation devolved into talk about Covid-19.
First Covid-19 death in India occurs in Karnataka.
The Church announced all church meetings would be suspended and church services would be conducted at home.
Friday, March 13 All schools for all grades throughout the city are cancelled. The Indian school calendar ends in April, so Indian schools are presumably closed for the year. It is unclear when international schools will open again.
So we began home school with all three kids, which also happened to be the day our apartment management decided to start installing our breaker stabilizer. It had been sitting in our entry way waiting to be installed for almost two weeks. This meant that the kids were trying to do school work while people were drilling into our wall. Thank goodness it was only for an hour or two and then they called it a day. Of course, whatever they did messed with our air conditioning, so we ended up calling them back to fix that, too. A few hours later and we got it all sorted.
India also suspends all visas.
Saturday, March 14 Pie Day! I found a place nearby that had pies on the menu and I ordered a few slices (and a piece of flourless cake for myself) to be delivered. They were delicious!
We learned that Karnataka decided to close all malls, cinemas, bars, shopping centers, etc. Since the majority of the places we shop at (including grocery stores) are located within malls, this was going to be an adjustment.
Our apartment complex (Windmills of Your Mind aka WM) announced that they were closing the pool and clubhouse--including the library--starting immediately. As soon as I saw the announcement I ran to the club house as fast as I could. When I walked in, the security guard said all club house services were closed. I explained I was going to the library, and I could see that there were still people inside it. I promised I would be very fast. He said I could go as long as I was out by noon--giving me about ten minutes. I grabbed six books and hoped they would be enough.
Our neighbors, the DeHarts, had accidentally bought a 25 kg baf of rice and offered to share some with us; they gave us two 5kg bags
E was invited to a good friend's birthday party and was excited to go; Brandon and I talked about whether it was wise for her to go or not, but we decided it was worth it see her friends since who knows when the next time would be?
We couldn't stay long because our family was also invited to dinner with Brandon's boss. The dinner went late, but the food was amazing! Also--this was the last time the kids and I would leave our apartment complex for the foreseeable future.
Sunday, March 15 Church services at home, but we invited the DeHarts to join us. E gave a short talk and then our neighbor gave an interactive lesson.
I think it was sometime this week that we stopped taking the elevator altogether. We are on the third floor, so although this took some getting used to, it wasn't too bad. Actually, we were grateful that we had the option of avoiding the elevator--and the people in it.
India reaches 100 cases of Covid-19.
Monday, March 16 The older kids' school said they would ease into the school work and they weren't kidding. The previous week they only gave lessons for the core subjects, but this week the kids also had all their "specials:" art, technology, PE, yoga (for E), drama (for H), Spanish (for H) and Hindi (for E). The work they were doing from the week before doubled, and I was not prepared for it. Luckily, E didn't need any help with her Hindi. And hopefully she never will....
Tuesday, March 17 A repair person came to install the pipes into our wall, and then another came later to patch it up. Would they install our breaker stabilizer anytime soon? I wasn't counting on it.
Brandon told me that this was going to be his last day going to work; starting tomorrow everyone would work from home. We have an office in our apartment, but we have used it as a storage room up to this point. So the girls and I (H was still doing school work) spent an hour moving boxes, clearing off the desk, and cleaning until it was a functional space again. We even found his office knickknacks from his desk in Moscow and put some out for him. The timing could not have been better because the office chair we ordered arrived just the day before.
Wednesday, March 18 Brandon's first day working from home. He was having some internet issues, so I tried to have the kids take turns doing assignments on the computer and turning the internet off of devices not being used. That got old real fast.
Since Brandon didn't have to go to work and the kids didn't have school anymore, it was by default our driver's last real day of work. We could always call him to take us somewhere if needed to (we are not allowed to drive here), but he needs enough of a heads up first in case he's visiting family or otherwise not at home.
We told H that he couldn't play with random kids around the complex anymore since we can't be sure how careful their families are being. From this point forward, we are only going to interact with the DeHart kids.
Thursday, March 19 Our cleaning lady came as usual and asked to speak to me: the other family she worked for wanted her to become a live-in so that they could limit exposure in their house. (They had a newborn so they were extra concerned.) However, this meant that she wouldn't be able to work for us anymore. Brandon and I had already discussed how this was probably the last week to have her come, anyway, but that we should continue to pay her regardless of whether she could come or not. She fell to her knees when I told her that we would keep paying her salary.
Painters came and painted up the wall in our entryway, so at least it looks nice, but the breaker stabilizer won't get installed anytime soon....
The DeHart's bought little tea cups for us all to use for sacrament meetings together, but India's prime minister announced a curfew for the coming Sunday, so we won't be doing church together this week.
Saturday, March 21 We celebrated a birthday! We had big plans to play laser tag or go bowling or to a movie, but none of that was possible anymore. So we started the day with a scavenger hunt throughout the apartment which lead to the ultimate prize: Poptarts! (It's a good thing we had already bought all the presents before the malls closed and shipping stopped!)
Karnataka closed its borders for 10 days to try and keep Covid-19 at bay.
All non-native missionaries were told to go home; one senior couple from America decided to stay a little longer to help sort out the logistics of getting people home.
Sunday, March 22 Janata Curfew ("the people's curfew"), which means a country-wide lock down from 7 am-9 pm. No walking around outside, no going to the store, no nothing.
The ward tried having sacrament meeting via Zoom for the first time. They asked me to play piano for the songs, but it didn't work great. People didn't mute themselves, so there were a lot of solos happening. :)
The DeHarts had the great--and depressing--idea to exchange emergency contact info of family members in the US in case either of us needed to track down people for the other.
At 5 pm, everyone went to their balconies and doorways to make noise in solidarity and appreciation for those working to end Covid-19. Unfortunately, after the curfew was over there were reports of people celebrating in the streets.
A person that lives in our building went to the hospital to be tested for Covid-19. He had flown back to India from the US a week prior. I began to freak out.
I messaged the DeHarts to tell them about the possibility of our upstairs neighbor having Covid-19 and decided that the kids shouldn't play together anymore.
Monday, March 23 I introduced daily chores into the kids' routine. While they were doing school at school, they weren't home until about 5:30 pm and didn't have time for both homework and chores. But five people make a lot of mess and heaven knows they've got the time now, so daily chores it is!
Brandon gave up on trying to make the internet in the office work, and set up a folding table in the play room so he could plug in directly to the router. This works great for him, not so great for the kids--although they quickly adapted to playing quietly, or playing elsewhere.
Tuesday, March 24 WM decided that delivery persons were no longer allowed inside the complex. Any deliveries have to be picked up at the entrance gate. Whereas we are still trying to stock up on some things (milk, peanut butter, soap, etc.) this can make for a great workout!
Brandon decided to make a grocery store run. He went to one of the more internationally-focused grocery stores in the area and was able to stock up on some things that are harder to find (ie canned goods, frozen food, etc.)
We learned that the person in our building who was tested for Covid-19 came back with a negative result, but would quarantine himself in his apartment for two weeks just to be safe. I did not realize how stressed out I was about this until I heard that he was ok. It was like a weight I didn't know I was carrying was suddenly off my chest and I could breathe again. (Maybe not the best metaphor given the symptoms of the corona virus.)
Wednesday, March 25 Prime Minister Modi announced a total lock down throughout the country for three weeks.
Thursday, January 30 First confirmed case in India
February 14-17 Vacation in Goa
Sunday, February 23 I'm not sure, but I think this was the Sunday (maybe the week before?) that the missionaries were told not to shake hands with people anymore. They could do prayer hands or bump elbows as an alternative. At the time, it felt like an overreaction.
The following week, the missionaries were standing at the chapel doors to squirt hand sanitizer on everyone's hands before they went in.
Wednesday, March 4 The schools began to take the children's temperature upon arrival. They could be sent home for having a temperature or exhibiting signs of sickness (coughing, sneezing, etc.) We were also sent a mandatory survey from CISB, asking about recent travel, as well as the travel of people we had recently associated with. CJ and I had had a play date with someone from Hong Kong a week before, but they had been in India for two weeks already. Did that count? It was unclear.
Friday, March 6 CJ's school postponed Indus Day indefinitely.
Her school has an annual celebration with a full program performed by all the students: dances, plays, songs, etc. CJ was assigned as narrator for the first grade play (since she did such an awesome job for her dussehra play) and had been practicing her lines for weeks. And then one of the student MC's had to drop out and the school asked CJ to step in. The amount of lines she had to learn tripled; we practiced everyday on our drive to and from school. She almost had all of them down when they postponed Indus Day due to concerns about having the entire school community gathered together (thanks covid). Since they said it was "postponed" and not "cancelled" CJ held out hope that Indus Day would be reinstated and asked me everyday if it was happening again.
Saturday, March 7 Brandon and I put the girls to bed and left H in charge while we walked to a nearby restaurant for a dessert date. Little did we know that it would be our last date out in a long time.
Sunday, March 8 The ward installed a hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall outside of the chapel. We were putting some on when our local area seventy (who is in our ward) commented that it wasn't really hand sanitizer, but some kind of knock-off so it may not do anything. It made us laugh and shake our heads. People were already stocking up on basic essentials so we had already learned by this point to read the labels before we bought something that claimed to kill germs.
It was Women's Day--they asked us to wear pink and all the women in our ward gathered for a picture. We are standing in front of the mission office building, across the parking lot from our church building. All of this will be torn down for the coming temple.
In sacrament meeting they announced that there was going to be a baptism right after church; they even passed out invitations to everyone as we were leaving the chapel. (We obviously did E's baptism wrong. Don't invite people in advance--do it the day of! And do it right after church when people are already there!) We weren't sure about whether we were going to stay or not, but when I noticed that one of the missionaries was trying to play the piano, I volunteered my services. We also didn't realize until the program began (because the family dynamic is a little odd) that we are friends with the Dad and brother of the boy who was baptized, so we were happy to be there to support them.
Afterword there was a catered lunch for everyone (see? we did it wrong!) and it was fun to hang out for a while. Of course, we were all standing around together, squished in a room to watch the baptism, and then standing in line to get food. Plus, the majority of the people ate with their hands, (we ate with the little spoons they put out for the ice cream). I remember commenting to one of the missionaries that it was ironic that they couldn't shake hands with anyone, but everything else we were doing was ok.
Monday, March 9 There was a cholera outbreak in Bangalore that affected a complex that houses a lot of expats. After googling the symptoms of cholera (it does not sound pleasant), we hope it doesn't spread.
First confirmed case of Covid-19 in Karnataka (the state we live in) and it was in our city, Bangalore. An expat had traveled back to India from the US and tested positive a week later.
Just as I was going to pick up CJ from school, I got an email: as a precaution, all students kindergarten and younger had no more school until a time yet to be determined.
Tuesday, March 10 We woke up to an email from E's school saying that all elementary school-age kids no longer had school. H, being a middle schooler, still went as normal. At the time, when there was only 1 case in a city of 13 million, canceling school seemed like an overreaction.
Coincidentally, Brandon had the day off work for Holi--the holiday where everyone throws colors at each other (most of those festivities were cancelled, btw). Aside from taking a lunch break with us, he worked from home all day. Once Covid came to India, his job became even busier than before.
Lazy breakfast since school was cancelled
Wednesday, March 11 I took the girls to Toys R Us so E could pick out a birthday gift for her friend and then we just looked at toys for a while. This used to be a favorite past time for my kids, but it's definitely been a while since we've killed an afternoon looking at toys. The employees hovering nearby was especially annoying given Cov-19.
Brandon said we should get an office chair because he probably would need to start working from home soon. Usually I hem and haw about making big purchases, but after only a few minutes of looking online I bought him one, delivery set for the following week.
Our ward Whatsapp had frequent posts about supposed "Covid cures." After putting up with it for a few days, I finally started to speak up and tell people all their claims weren't true. Here were some claims that were posted: hold your breath every morning for 10 seconds (if you can do that you're fine!), don't eat chicken or eggs (when in doubt, go veg! Also, I stocked up on both since the rumors made the prices go down), drink hot lemon water, drink tamarind water, homeopathic arsenic (seriously?!), vitamin C, citrus!
Vindication! Spotted this in the local newspaper.
(Nope, don't know why its sideways.)
(Nope, don't know why its sideways.)
Thursday, March 12 I took CJ to a play date and E tagged along with me to book group. Much of the conversation devolved into talk about Covid-19.
First Covid-19 death in India occurs in Karnataka.
The Church announced all church meetings would be suspended and church services would be conducted at home.
Friday, March 13 All schools for all grades throughout the city are cancelled. The Indian school calendar ends in April, so Indian schools are presumably closed for the year. It is unclear when international schools will open again.
So we began home school with all three kids, which also happened to be the day our apartment management decided to start installing our breaker stabilizer. It had been sitting in our entry way waiting to be installed for almost two weeks. This meant that the kids were trying to do school work while people were drilling into our wall. Thank goodness it was only for an hour or two and then they called it a day. Of course, whatever they did messed with our air conditioning, so we ended up calling them back to fix that, too. A few hours later and we got it all sorted.
India also suspends all visas.
Saturday, March 14 Pie Day! I found a place nearby that had pies on the menu and I ordered a few slices (and a piece of flourless cake for myself) to be delivered. They were delicious!
We learned that Karnataka decided to close all malls, cinemas, bars, shopping centers, etc. Since the majority of the places we shop at (including grocery stores) are located within malls, this was going to be an adjustment.
Our apartment complex (Windmills of Your Mind aka WM) announced that they were closing the pool and clubhouse--including the library--starting immediately. As soon as I saw the announcement I ran to the club house as fast as I could. When I walked in, the security guard said all club house services were closed. I explained I was going to the library, and I could see that there were still people inside it. I promised I would be very fast. He said I could go as long as I was out by noon--giving me about ten minutes. I grabbed six books and hoped they would be enough.
Our neighbors, the DeHarts, had accidentally bought a 25 kg baf of rice and offered to share some with us; they gave us two 5kg bags
E was invited to a good friend's birthday party and was excited to go; Brandon and I talked about whether it was wise for her to go or not, but we decided it was worth it see her friends since who knows when the next time would be?
We couldn't stay long because our family was also invited to dinner with Brandon's boss. The dinner went late, but the food was amazing! Also--this was the last time the kids and I would leave our apartment complex for the foreseeable future.
Jana, our friend from Moscow, sent us Russia's 2020 Eurovision selection.
It was the most startling thing we had seen all day.
And now we can't stop watching it.
Sunday, March 15 Church services at home, but we invited the DeHarts to join us. E gave a short talk and then our neighbor gave an interactive lesson.
I think it was sometime this week that we stopped taking the elevator altogether. We are on the third floor, so although this took some getting used to, it wasn't too bad. Actually, we were grateful that we had the option of avoiding the elevator--and the people in it.
India reaches 100 cases of Covid-19.
Monday, March 16 The older kids' school said they would ease into the school work and they weren't kidding. The previous week they only gave lessons for the core subjects, but this week the kids also had all their "specials:" art, technology, PE, yoga (for E), drama (for H), Spanish (for H) and Hindi (for E). The work they were doing from the week before doubled, and I was not prepared for it. Luckily, E didn't need any help with her Hindi. And hopefully she never will....
Tuesday, March 17 A repair person came to install the pipes into our wall, and then another came later to patch it up. Would they install our breaker stabilizer anytime soon? I wasn't counting on it.
Brandon told me that this was going to be his last day going to work; starting tomorrow everyone would work from home. We have an office in our apartment, but we have used it as a storage room up to this point. So the girls and I (H was still doing school work) spent an hour moving boxes, clearing off the desk, and cleaning until it was a functional space again. We even found his office knickknacks from his desk in Moscow and put some out for him. The timing could not have been better because the office chair we ordered arrived just the day before.
Wednesday, March 18 Brandon's first day working from home. He was having some internet issues, so I tried to have the kids take turns doing assignments on the computer and turning the internet off of devices not being used. That got old real fast.
Since Brandon didn't have to go to work and the kids didn't have school anymore, it was by default our driver's last real day of work. We could always call him to take us somewhere if needed to (we are not allowed to drive here), but he needs enough of a heads up first in case he's visiting family or otherwise not at home.
We told H that he couldn't play with random kids around the complex anymore since we can't be sure how careful their families are being. From this point forward, we are only going to interact with the DeHart kids.
Thursday, March 19 Our cleaning lady came as usual and asked to speak to me: the other family she worked for wanted her to become a live-in so that they could limit exposure in their house. (They had a newborn so they were extra concerned.) However, this meant that she wouldn't be able to work for us anymore. Brandon and I had already discussed how this was probably the last week to have her come, anyway, but that we should continue to pay her regardless of whether she could come or not. She fell to her knees when I told her that we would keep paying her salary.
Painters came and painted up the wall in our entryway, so at least it looks nice, but the breaker stabilizer won't get installed anytime soon....
The DeHart's bought little tea cups for us all to use for sacrament meetings together, but India's prime minister announced a curfew for the coming Sunday, so we won't be doing church together this week.
Morning walk around the complex with the girls.
Saturday, March 21 We celebrated a birthday! We had big plans to play laser tag or go bowling or to a movie, but none of that was possible anymore. So we started the day with a scavenger hunt throughout the apartment which lead to the ultimate prize: Poptarts! (It's a good thing we had already bought all the presents before the malls closed and shipping stopped!)
Karnataka closed its borders for 10 days to try and keep Covid-19 at bay.
All non-native missionaries were told to go home; one senior couple from America decided to stay a little longer to help sort out the logistics of getting people home.
Sunday, March 22 Janata Curfew ("the people's curfew"), which means a country-wide lock down from 7 am-9 pm. No walking around outside, no going to the store, no nothing.
The ward tried having sacrament meeting via Zoom for the first time. They asked me to play piano for the songs, but it didn't work great. People didn't mute themselves, so there were a lot of solos happening. :)
The DeHarts had the great--and depressing--idea to exchange emergency contact info of family members in the US in case either of us needed to track down people for the other.
At 5 pm, everyone went to their balconies and doorways to make noise in solidarity and appreciation for those working to end Covid-19. Unfortunately, after the curfew was over there were reports of people celebrating in the streets.
A person that lives in our building went to the hospital to be tested for Covid-19. He had flown back to India from the US a week prior. I began to freak out.
I messaged the DeHarts to tell them about the possibility of our upstairs neighbor having Covid-19 and decided that the kids shouldn't play together anymore.
Monday, March 23 I introduced daily chores into the kids' routine. While they were doing school at school, they weren't home until about 5:30 pm and didn't have time for both homework and chores. But five people make a lot of mess and heaven knows they've got the time now, so daily chores it is!
Brandon gave up on trying to make the internet in the office work, and set up a folding table in the play room so he could plug in directly to the router. This works great for him, not so great for the kids--although they quickly adapted to playing quietly, or playing elsewhere.
Tuesday, March 24 WM decided that delivery persons were no longer allowed inside the complex. Any deliveries have to be picked up at the entrance gate. Whereas we are still trying to stock up on some things (milk, peanut butter, soap, etc.) this can make for a great workout!
Brandon decided to make a grocery store run. He went to one of the more internationally-focused grocery stores in the area and was able to stock up on some things that are harder to find (ie canned goods, frozen food, etc.)
We learned that the person in our building who was tested for Covid-19 came back with a negative result, but would quarantine himself in his apartment for two weeks just to be safe. I did not realize how stressed out I was about this until I heard that he was ok. It was like a weight I didn't know I was carrying was suddenly off my chest and I could breathe again. (Maybe not the best metaphor given the symptoms of the corona virus.)
Wednesday, March 25 Prime Minister Modi announced a total lock down throughout the country for three weeks.