Blog entry 1: What it’s like for a Houston educator living in a country on lockdown

By Isabella Zamora

Monday, March 9: Keep the mask for coronavirus

Monday played out as a normal day for me - teaching in the morning, quick lunch at home before private lessons all afternoon, and then grocery shopping for the week before dinner. There had been buzz for weeks about COVID-19, but no one in Madrid seemed too concerned. Everything was business as usual. In fact, I had just participated in the Madrid International Woman’s Day march the day before with thousands of others marching down Madrid’s main avenues to the city center.

Meanwhile, the scary, and very real, effects of COVID-19 were unfolding in other countries. At this point, things had escalated in Italy, but it was just far enough away that somehow it made it easier to detach ourselves from the severity of the situation.

In school, the vocabulary words for our young students included different tools and accessories used in a doctors office. One of the other teachers jokingly said “Mantener la máscara para el coronavirus” (Keep the mask for coronavirus). We just giggled to each other and moved on. How naive we were.

Come Monday night, while grocery shopping, I noticed more hustle and bustle at my neighborhood market. I pulled out my phone and saw notifications about the Community of Madrid releasing information about school closures for the next 15 days. This was the first sign of things getting “real” and people were starting to prepare. The schools were going to be closed starting Wednesday to begin the “reinforced containment” efforts in the city.

The next seven days were a blur with new information and abrupt city wide changes every hour.

Tuesday, March 10: There was an anxious energy in the air

I arrived at school for the last day before schools closures and there was an anxious energy in the air. Teachers were discussing the recent news regarding a significant increase in cases of the virus in Madrid since the first known case just two weeks prior. Classrooms were nearly empty due to many parents who decided to keep their children at home. I left school that day hesitantly telling my teachers “hasta luego” because no one really knew when we would be back in school.

Next, I began my preparation for two weeks off. I grabbed a new book and some craft material for the students I tutor outside of school. I figured they might enjoy a little more to do while school was out. Instead, my roommates and I have been the ones making the slime and painting with watercolors because the chance to see my students would never come. Families in Spain were not making any exceptions and immediately limited their interactions with outsiders as much as possible.

Thursday, March 12: Staying in Madrid was an easy choice for me

Rumors began to spread about border closures and travel restrictions being placed on Madrid. At approximately 2 a.m. Madrid time (technically Friday), President Trump announced travel bans from Europe starting Friday. The information was very vague and with fear of not being able to get home, many of my friends packed up their lives within hours, abandoned their apartments, and caught the first flight they could back to the states.

The choice to stay in Madrid was easy for me as there was going to be no outrunning this virus. The situation in Madrid was developing by the hour as more and more cases were confirmed.

Friday, March 13: ‘State of Alarm’

The Spanish government announced a “State of Alarm” indicating all bars, restaurants, stores, gyms, cinemas and nearly all other businesses would close for at least 15 days. Grocery stores, pharmacies and hospitals would remain in operation and any other activity outside of our home was strongly discouraged. This began the viral campaign to “Quedate en casa” (“Stay home”). An effort to encourage citizens to refrain from being in crowded areas or using public transport. What started as a seemingly “normal” week ended with almost complete lockdown of the entire city of Madrid.

Saturday, March 14: We’re about to start our quarantine

Saturday in Madrid was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day. My roommate Maddie and I “escaped” our apartment and spent hours in the park soaking up as much sun as we could while we still had the chance.

The realization of the impending lockdown was beginning to weigh heavy on our shoulders and was just around the corner. Our neighborhood that is usually bustling with people shopping, walking their dogs, or grabbing drinks with friends was quiet and sidewalks were nearly empty. We walked home as the sun was setting on a gorgeous day and noticed signs on the outside of businesses that read “Volveremos mas con más fuerza” (“We will come back stronger”).

Tomorrow begins the 15 day quarantine. The citizens of Spain have been asked to stay home unless necessary to obtain food or medicine. I sat on my apartment’s small terrace and watched the entrance of a grocery store across the street as people made last minute purchases. The people stood in line spaced apart from each other then filed into the store only a few at a time as to refrain from any close contact in the aisles. There was no panic, no crowds, just a few people in, and a few people out purchasing only what they needed and nothing more.

Monday, March 16: We have become the epicenter of this pandemic

This time last week looked a whole lot different than today. We are only a few days into the 15 day lockdown and there is no way to tell how the world will look when this lockdown is over. The numbers of those needing treatment for COVID-19 in Madrid is still rising. In a week, we have become the epicenter of this pandemic.

I try to focus on just one day at a time now and keep my mind busy with reading and connecting with friends and family back home. I have encouraged my friends to take this seriously and learn from the mistakes I made not taking precautions sooner. I see on social media people joking about quarantine and it can feel infuriating. Ask anyone, I’m really good at taking naps and love a good Netflix binge but when I think about how many days of this lockdown we still have left, it’s suffocating.

A week ago was a normal day for me. I was going to work, making plans with friends and riding the always busy metro to the gym. I had no idea this routine of mine, that can feel somewhat mundane at times, was actually such a privilege. Today, the city of Madrid is closed down and confined to our homes with the risk of being fined by police if caught outside for anything other than food or medicine.

The streets are eerily quiet to the point that having the window open in our living room means our TV or music will echo through the entire street. We had a neighbor complain about noise the night before because playing a card game at our dinner table echoed out the window so much it was disturbing him two floors down. That’s how quiet our streets are now. In a city that hardly sleeps and loves to socialize into the wee hours of the night, it is a ghost town now.

The new social hour for everyone happens around 8 p.m. for us now. At this time all of Spain goes to their terraces to clap and cheer for the medical professionals, grocery store workers and service workers still working during this lockdown. It turns into a sort of dance party on my street with people playing music from their terrace so we can dance and sing. This lasts about 5ive minutes every night and has turned into the absolute highlight of my days. It is an incredible feeling of unity connecting with my neighbors in this way while still physically distant from each other. Today everyone left their terraces yelling “Hasta manana!”.

About Isabella Zamora

Isabella Zamora is a born and raised Houstonian currently living in Madrid, Spain working as a Language and Culture Assistant with the Spanish Ministry of Education. Isabella is a graduate of S. P. Waltrip HS located in Northwest Houston and of the University of St. Thomas. While completing a BA in Psychology she committed four years working as a medical scribe in Houston area Emergency Departments. Isabella decided to move to Spain for the cultural immersion and as a gap period before returning to the US to pursue a career in medicine. She intends to use her experiences abroad to be a well-rounded and globally aware provider in a city as international as Houston. Until a week ago Isabella was working in the classroom with students in an English-language program but schools are not scheduled to open again until April, or until further notice. She is currently on lockdown in her apartment in the city center of Madrid for a least 15 days.