Living abroad in the times of pandemic
Leaving your comfort zone and moving to a new country brings many challenges and I recall this first period of being new to a country as quite difficult, yet exciting. But my move took place in normal circumstances and I can only imagine the confusion, stress and loneliness of people who are new to (any) country in the times of Covid-19. New rules, written and not, possibly a new language – there is a lot to absorb and from my experience it takes a couple of years to feel that you are fluent in your new reality. What if you haven’t even started on learning the basics and you suddenly need to keep up with new lockdown rules every week, in an unknown environment and a health system that is completely new to you? It also takes a very long time and effort to make friends in a new place and build your local network. And it’s clearly impossible to even start doing it if you can’t have usual interactions with people. It is difficult enough to stay in lockdown and not see y...