The Passion Games

Do you know this feeling when you wake up in the morning, fully energized and ready to go to work?
And you think “Hmmm, I just had this nightmare about a global pandemic, where we would all stay at home…ALL THE TIME…” and you think…”I’m going to pretend that life is normal…”. 

You get up, have a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed in your work clothes, you put on make-up and you have your usual cup of coffee.

Then you realize “Bloody hell, I didn’t watch a movie. I didn’t dream of this nightmare. No. This is real…”.
You suddenly notice that church bells are ringing at 6 AM and a lot of different birds are chirping too. You notice that something is off. And you are not dreaming any longer. 

You are in the middle of a global pandemic. Not a movie. It’s the week of the passion of Jesus Christ and the world is in a state of global mindfulness. 

Sometimes, I wake up thinking that it was a bad joke. Thinking that somebody will say “APRIL, APRIL”. But April Fools Day was cancelled this year.

We changed our clocks to summer time and I didn’t notice because alarms are overrated when you work from home.

The Army has been called in to help the hospitals in Switzerland. A first since THE WAR.

Wimbledon will be POSTPONED for the first time since THE WAR. Even Queen Elizabeth II addressed the nation. We are in a real crisis.

People are losing lives, jobs and certain global politicians spread rumors and misinformation. 
One could despair.

I decided to take baby steps to help you and myself maintain sanity in this crisis. Last week, I shared 20 Quarantine Recommendations.

I want to share with you 20 more ideas to deal with the crisis. If you try out one recommendation a day we should get through to my birthday together. 

My Quarantine Tips for Holy Week AKA The Passion Games (“Passionsspiele”)

21) Structure Your Day Like A Monk. Follow our #Rockmeretreat structure with me from Tuesday onwards. Setting a routine adds discipline even if you have to work from home. This is officially now termed WFH, not WTF.

Here’s a also helpful book Daily Rituals: Women at Work and top tips on working effectively from home by @newinzurich.

22) Listen to Live Readings. Set aside some time in your routine for enjoying the arts – this crisis has given rise to narrations, podcasts and radio shows as people find new avenues for positive expression. A few interesting examples you can integrate into your daily life are the SRF Radio Play, author Thomas Meyer’s live reads and author Saša Stanišić’s “Literature in times of uncertainty” charity reads for women’s shelters over on Twitch. If Shakespeare is more to your taste, Sir Patrick Stewart is narrating the Sonnets on his personal Twitter.

23) Read Different News Channels. With certain global politicians causing chaos with rumours and bad information, it is essential that you verify any “facts” from various reputable sources. That is why I recommend reading or watching different news channels – not only will you stay updated on what is happening in various sectors of the world, but also remain aware of the facts about the unfolding pandemic. Stay up-to-date with the Covid-19 situation in Switzerland here. Republik magazine is also running a newsletter to keep everyone in Switzerland informed. Businesses and the financial sector have been hit hard by COVID-19 related shutdowns and quarantines, so CNNMoney Switzerland’s newsletter is a good way to stay on top of the news coming out of that sector. Whichever source you go for, it is generally a good idea now to double check from another trusted source – forwarded email chains are not a good example of that!

24) Go on Treasure Hunts. Who doesn’t enjoy the thrill of completing tasks and checking them off? That sounds like an average work day but it’s what you do on a treasure hunt! You can see that the principle is the same, so why not reward yourself by creating and completing hunts for yourself?

• Take a Shopping bag and aim to either recycle glass, enter a supermarket, go to the post-office or pharmacy.
• Reward yourself at home.
• Look determined when you see police.
• Wear a Face Mask. 😷

25) Practice a new language you wanted to learn or take an amazing online course. For people struggling to find productive ways to spend their time in quarantine, learning a new language is a great way to engage yourself in a meaningful activity. If you are an expat, perhaps you can even utilise some time to perfect your grasp of German! Other people can find value instead with studying towards new skills, online courses are an amazing option for them. You can sign up to this fantastic offering for Expat Coach training by Sundae Schneider-Bean.

26) Take A Virtual Museum Tour. As I mentioned earlier, CNNMoney Switzerland is a good new source. You can add “good tour guide” to that list as well, their recommendation for virtual museum tours is a lockdown-friendly way to get your fix of European art and history. You can even play art games on their websites! The message here, which I would like to amplify, is that engaging with the arts and doing things you would do normally (albeit in a different way!) is an important way to maintain your mental health in these dire times.

27) Buy Paper Books in the Neighborhood. Paperback sales have shot up by 35% due to the imposition of isolation/quarantine rules as readers finally get to reading everything on their bucket lists. The Hirslanden Bookshop has been closed due to the pandemic, however you can still order books from them via phone or email and they will deliver to your home or by post. I think this is an opportune moment for escapism into those books you have been meaning to read for years, what about you?

28) Check Your Immigration Status by Host Country. Update permits and passports. As an expat, you will be facing a time of unprecedented uncertainty and stress because of the whole Covid-19 situation, you may even find yourself forgetting some important appointments! Therefore it would be a good time to check up on whether your permits, visas and passports are all updated and not nearing expiry.  Become Local is the name of Sonia’s company but she helps with ALL immigration into CH…not only local hires.

29) Claim Daily Indemnity Insurance Compensation. Check if you are entitled to daily indemnity and report your doctor ordered corona quarantine as an “accident”. An example from AXA-Winterthur would be here.

30) Clean Up Your “Command Bridge” every night. On a spaceship you also need to make sure that nothing flies around. I also shut down my 3 computers on Friday night. I find decluttering very helpful at all times but I noticed it helped me cope with insomnia too. Now you have no excuse to avoid that clutter you have been meaning to clean for ages, remember that this might boost your productivity and your feeling of accomplishment.

Decluttering also allows you to disinfect the most used areas of your house: your bathroom and kitchen. We must do as much as we can to prevent the virus from spreading, both outside and inside the home. Click through to read up on and motivate yourself to clean! One post is using Feng Shui as a basis for decluttering.

31) Through Family Dinner Follow the Space Mission Expert Advice. You have only been in isolation for a few weeks and already you feel like things are getting out of hand for you – imagine those people who live quarantined from the rest of the world for months and years! I am of course talking about astronauts in space – SRF Forward has a great video with tips taken from information about how astronauts handle isolation and how we can use that advice for ourselves.

32) Pretend You Are A “Star Wars” Character. Ensure you build a cleaning station for missions to Earth 🌍. If you don’t know what “Star Wars” is, now is the perfect time to find out by watching the original trilogy.

33) Hire a Deep Cleaning Expert. With so many spaceships and space stations leaving their planets to explore the far reaches of the galaxy, they surely must have a very efficient cleaning regimen to prevent filth and disease. This is definitely the right time to learn to be experts in cleaning. Maybe afterwards we will gain new appreciation for the cleaning crews on the Death Star who kept it so clean!

34) Build Your Own Face Mask. An unfortunate reality of the pandemic and medical crisis is that there is a severe lack of PPE and face masks in both the general public and the medical community. We can play our part in easy the load off production and allowing healthcare workers and doctors and nurses access to medical-grade masks. All you have to do is build your own! The instructions in this video are not that difficult, I am sure you have basic skills with a needle. Not only are you protecting yourself with this action but protecting countless others – an important role in flattening the curve.

35) Blow out Eggs and Create Easter Decorations. This is a tradition from my childhood known well in German speaking countries. Usually it’s done during the catholic fasting period and we’re a bit late for that but maybe your kids are bored after such long periods of homeschooling and they need a project for “Good Friday”. Check out Eier ausblasen – Ostern Lifehack – Anleitung and Color unicorn easter eggs with shaving cream 😍 

36) Paint Anything with Water Colors, Crayons and Paper. Who is ready to learn a new creative hobby? It is inevitable that during this period where everyone is supposed to be home, that you will become agitated, bored or even depressed. Hobbies are a great way to stay active and positive and what better way than with art? Follow these simple tutorials with watercolors and you can be on your way to painting self-portraits, still life or even the landscapes you can see out of your window!

37) Engage The Wildlife. Birds of various kinds have been spotted in Zürich over the last week. It’s fun for kids (and adults) to feed and name them. I’m feeding a black raven and named him “Franzerl”. I’m standing at the window shouting “Franzerl, Franzerl”. Obviously his lady raven will be named “Sisi” if she ever shows up at my feeding station. Watch those videos of how the animals are secretly taking over the world.
Coronavirus Lock down effects on animals (Part-1)
Dolphins and fish: nature moves into spaces left empty by Italian coronavirus quarantine

38) Buy Vouchers to support our Hairdressers. If we are able to ride out the lockdown period at home in comfort and financial security, spare a thought for those whose livelihood depends on things being open – hairdressers for instance cannot work from home! Let us be part of a supportive community and bolster each other. Annette Ramme is someone who could use that support in keeping her business running. Mention @angieweinberger for a 20% discount if you buy before 19 April 2020.

39) Have a Virtual Beauty-Day with the Girls. Drink Champagne and put on a FACEMASK (of the other kind). Self-care comes in many forms. It can be in the form of hobbies, learning or even sleeping. Sometimes, though, self-care comes in the form of a facemask. Maybe this weekend you can round up the girls, your go-to group of friends (on video conferencing of course!) and relax with some soothing and nourishing face masks. Maybe ask if your partner is interested in it as well, their skin will definitely need some hydrating!

40) Apply a Handmask. practice “Hand Discovery” with a Partner or a child. My hands are very dry from washing them about 30 times so I made a hand mask and then applied the discovery method to my own hands. This is a method we learn at the RockMeRetreat. For now, you can just massage your hands, apply a fatty cream, put on plastic gloves and soak while you are watching ….(enter your favorite Netflix show here).