No, we haven’t cracked because of the self-isolation and social activity withdrawals. It is true that we weren’t mentally or emotionally prepared for a shutdown of life as we know it on this global scale. After giving it some thought, however, we realized that we prefer things now, rather than how they used to be.
Here’s what we liked and would love too keep after the lockdown is over:
Appointment Shopping
Long queues, slow shoppers and crowded aisles are just some of the things that get on our nerves. With the new system, we know exactly when we should arrive and how long we’re allowed to spend looking for flour and toothpaste. Because time is limited, we have gotten better at creating lean shopping lists. We seem to be saving money too.
More Family Time
We take them for granted because, well, they’re just there. And we acknowledge that they can get on our nerves sometimes. But this opportunity to spend time with our family has shown us that there’s more to them than meets the eye. When else were we going to try recreating difficult recipes together or annihilating each other’s armies while playing Risk? But most of all we’re grateful for the heartfelt conversations that we’re having.
Digitally Catching up with Friends and Loved Ones
Zoom isn’t new, neither is Facetime, Facebook Messenger or Houseparty etc, but we have rediscovered these tools. We’re making more time to call and chat with the people we care about. Before the world descended into a pit of uncertainty, we always felt that there would always be another road trip or lunch together. Now that everything is up in the air, we’re making an effort to connect. It helps remind us and our chosen ones that we are not alone.
Our Priorities are Straight
We always thought we would learn French and organize our closets if only we had the time. Well, we got handed bucket loads of time and we still didn’t do the things we said we were going to do and we realized that we didn’t really want to do them in the first place.
But we did catch up on Netflix
Our little hearts and heads are full of beautifully created media, and some really strange ones (we’re looking at you Tiger King).
Less Pollution
Fewer cars on the road and slowed down manufacturing has meant that the world’s major city skies are noticeably less polluted. We really hope that there is some way to make sure that this doesn’t change when the world starts going back to pre-COVID-19 life. Unfortunately, we are also seeing more litter in the form of masks and gloves. Be a decent human being and throw your used items in a trash can.
Better Online Payment and Contactless Delivery
Kuwait has always been quite progressive in the digital payment arena, but the current crisis has really pushed vendors and sellers to tweak and improve the system even more. Even companies that have very little digital presence are using bank links that can be sent to your phone so you can pay using your card without ever touching a Dinar. To complement this, many have implemented contactless delivery, where items are left at your doorstep. Our only concern is figuring out a better way to tip the wonderful people who are fearlessly making sure our groceries and necessities get to us.
Hygiene and Health took Center Stage
Yes, even before the pandemic we washed our hands, but maybe we did it too quickly. We tried to make healthy choices, but not most of the time. Now that we are looking at how fragile human bodies can be, we’re more invested in making long term choices that will protect us.
Face Masks
It looks like face masks are here to stay for a while. They are uncomfortable, but maybe normalizing them is a good thing. It might be a good thing if people wore them when they were sick to reduce spreading germs and viruses. But mostly we want them to be a thing on dust days.
Neighborhood Walks
Before the world changed, we loved walking in Salmiya, and after the full lock down we did our best to get some sun and exercise in the allotted time. It made us appreciate it even more. It is the perfect way to wind down after a long day and catch up on some audiobooks or podcasts.
Is there a positive change that you would like to make sure stays? Slide into our DMs on @bazaargram and let us know. Photo donated by artist to the United Nations COVID-19 response team on Unsplash.
