For years, expats and locals have been telling us to look for the silver lining in our decision to move here. But June 2021, makes it nine years since my husband and I relocated to Argentina, and I'm still waiting for the silver lining in the sky.
Don't get me wrong. It's not all doom and gloom down here. We've been spared a lot of the social and political drama that occurred in the states in 2020. We both have stay-at-home jobs with flexible schedules, plenty of food, our physical health, and most importantly, each other. I even published a new novel, which you can buy by clicking on this link. And I received my first Covid vaccine this month. But our mental health, at least mine, is another story.
Dealing with sh*tty neighbors who are constantly vandalizing our property and attempting to break in is stressful, especially since our home has become our proverbial prison. Granted, we have plenty of creature comforts and I've always been a homebody. But I do miss the days where I had the option to go out and explore the city, go shopping, or even travel. But that's not possible right now because of several rotten apples.
After months of people doing whatever the hell they wanted, the Argentine government noticed that the rate of infections had gotten out of hand and finally imposed a phase I quarantine towards the end of May and again in June of 2021. So, basically, it's like we're reliving 2020. But it was inevitable since a lot of people started walking around without masks or any regard for social distancing. And as you'll see from the numbers below, Cordoba and the country in general have been experiencing a seesaw effect in the number of daily cases.
- On May 20, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 35,884, of which Cordoba had 3,516.
- On June 2, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 35,017, of which Cordoba had 4,996.
- On June 3, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 32,291, of which Cordoba had 5,145.
- On June 12, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 18,057, of which Cordoba had 2,701.
- On June 13, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 13,043, of which Cordoba had 1,555.
- On June 15, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 21,292, of which Cordoba had 2,655.
- On June 17, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 23,780, of which Cordoba had 3,055.
The quarantine was met with heavy resistance from locals, particularly from business owners who seem to care more about their businesses than everyone's lives. This level of ignorance seems to be common among a majority of the locals. Even the people we know or work with would rather break the rules and the laws in order to "have fun." This only serves to delay the country's return to a sense of normalcy like back home in the United States, Israel, and New Zealand.
Reasoning with anyone here is pointless and only results in conflict. A lot of the arguments I've had with the locals have stemmed over the fact that they firmly AND MISGUIDEDLY believe in one of three things:
- The virus is a hoax
- Getting infected is inevitable, even with precautions, so why fight it?
- If it happens, it happens
In Cordoba City and the overall province, the infection rate has skyrocketed. The same can be said for all of Argentina. And while the quarantine has helped those numbers go down a bit, the people who have refused to wear masks or continue to gather in groups have turned 2021 into a really bad year for the population in general.
Sadly, I know a lot of our Argentine friends think we're insane for being so guarded, and this has led to a different level of social distancing that we will most likely never recover from. But as I've mentioned in other posts, my main priority will always be the safety of my husband and myself. Anyone who feels offended by how we go about staying safe or our decision to follow the health protocols, can suck it. There are still plenty of potential friends out there when all of this is over. But we only have one shot at life.
In the meantime, while we wait for the world to return to normal, we've been keeping busy with work, special projects, and celebrating the holidays a little early.
Although Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are still several months away, they always take place during the Argentine spring and summer months. So, when the summer heat combines with the heat from the oven, our home turns into a volcano. Besides, we're used to the chilly weather in the states during the holidays. So we decided to celebrate a mini-version of these festivities during the Argentine fall and winter months. We already had Halloween in May and plan to celebrate Thanksgiving in June and Christmas during my birthday month of July.
So, in retrospect, I guess the silver lining was right in front of us the whole time. And yes, we might be alone again, but in the words of Seven of Nine, we will adapt.
