Quarantine Diaries

How we are coping and being creative in the first two weeks

Two weeks have passed since we stopped sending our daughter to school and taking the semi lock down seriously in Malta – and – I’m still adapting to this huge change, to this global Covid19 quarantine situation. We live in an apartment and I am finding it challenging to be indoors within the same walls for so many hours, when I’m used to being out driving around meeting people and being so active, but thanks to full co operation and communication with my family and keeping up good practises as mentioned in my PREVIOUS BLOG POST I am doing OK so far and taking the opportunity to see the positives!

Humanity Coming Together

Out of a crisis that we are all experiencing, humanity has never been more unified and concerned about saving lives possible as it has been in the past few weeks. There is this global feeling of unification, people joining forces in compassion, in prayer and good intentions, that I really hope will continue going forward, and the world as we knew it until now, will never be the same through many people’s eyes and hearts. We are seeing Planet Earth breathe again with pollution rates lowering phenomenally, cleaner seas, mammals, birds and fish roaming more freely. We are seeing wealthy people donating funds to people less financially stable. Hotels which are empty from lack of tourism being converted into health venues to cope with the rise in numbers of cases. The list is endless!

Thanks to the dedicated doctors, nurses and hospital staff working round the clock in some cases, sacrificing and risking their own lives for others, thousands of affected people by the virus are being treated and cared for. Unfortunately, thousands of lives are not making it and my deepest sympathy and condolences goes out to all who are experiencing these heart breaking moments. It will be a while until we can all practise hugs and kisses comfortably with one another and attend large events but I know that we will survive this and I pray for all of you out there, experiencing this pandemic in your own personal way that you find the strength within You to fight for your life with the strength of a warrior that You are. You can do this!!! #Together we will get through this!!

Economically

Economically of course, I am concerned because my small businesses have been affected like every single economy has – and because this has never happened before, we cannot forecast how long it will be until the economy, our lifestyles and our income will get back to “normal” again.

In Malta, where I live, the local government has announced certain measures to help alleviate the population from its budgets.

Companies and self-employed persons experiencing a significant downturn in turnover and facing substantial cash flow difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic qualify for a benefit. Such economic difficulties must be declared in an online application form which is required to be completed and submitted to Malta Enterprise Corporation by 15 April 2020. The banks are also looking at reducing loan amounts.

GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES AND FACTS from pwc.com

• Liquidity injection and bank guarantees of up to €1.6bn consisting of:
• Deferral of tax payments as previously announced (resulting in expected deferred tax payments estimated at between €400m and €700m)

• €150m of bank guarantees
• €750m of soft loans
• Possibility of requesting a three-month moratorium for both personal and business loans.
• Provision of guarantees by the Government of up to €900m thereby making credit of €4.5bn available.
• €210m of funds (equal to 1.5% of Malta’s GDP in 2019) being made available to cover expenditure resulting from COVID-19.
• An additional €35m have been added to the health budget to fund additional expenditure necessary for acquiring health related equipment and supplies required to fight COVID-19. Government is also committing to increase this amount should this become necessary.

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, HERE’S A LIST OF NEW THINGS I HAVE DONE IN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS BECAUSE OF QUARANTINE/ PARTIAL LOCKDOWN

I would like to highlight these things I did this week with my family and I would like to thank Corona Virus for it. Silver Linings yes, silver linings …

Things I did this week that I would have not made time for otherwise:

1) I Learnt How to Bake a Cake!

Yes guys! In my entire 44 years of human existence, with the exception of my younger school days for during home economics lessons, I must admit embarassingly, that I’ve never been interested to bake my own cake. Maybe it’s because it incorporates so much mess in the kitchen or maybe because I love to help the economy by buying ready made ones?! Erm yeah aha.. This week I overcame this fear of Baking a Cake! Thanks to the simple instructions on an overseas call via Whatsapp, with my brother Kitos in Ibiza who we called in utter state of panic, we did it, step by step. Cake baking with my daughter was so much fun – and in the end – a success and I will remember this moment forever! The appearance left much to be desired and has so much room for improvement lo .. but the great feeling of excitement, satisfaction and pride I felt was inexplicable. Thank you #CoronaVirus! First cake of my life 😉

2) Learnt How to make so many cute Arts & Crafts

If you are following our Quarantine days on Instagram and Facebook stories, you must have noticed how I’ ve taken home schooling and also learning arts and crafts very seriously. By following some awesome videos on YouTube and instructions from the online portals from Luna’s school teacher, we are dedicating one to two hours of study, and creative projects every day. We have also been engaging with other mummies and children to join in the fun by creating Challenges for all kids worldwide to participate!

In just one week, we learnt some new math syllabus, Maltese words, science facts, how to make mini notebooks, flying fish, rainbow paper butterflies, Easter bunnies and rabbits with toilet paper rolls!! I am finding this precious time so tiring,  yet extremely, rewarding and it has also made me appreciate the hard work and dedication by all teachers and people involved in the education sector. There is sooo much work, dedication and patience involved. Thank you teachers! Thank you Corona Virus for this insight.

3) I was forced to Join tiktok the Social Media Platform I had not joined yet!

I was trying to avoid committing to ANOTHER social media platform BUT my 5 year old daughter Luna insisted. She suggested  that we download the app to try out some funny posts and dances.  So, considering the fact that we were gonna have hundreds of hours of spare time, I totally gave in to her request.

I downloaded tiktok app and after 2 days of nervously trying to understand how it works, and following YouTube instructions, we posted our first cute post and here it is! Do Follow our page HERE , Like and comment, especially if You are on TikTok and stay tuned for more from the Ahlgren household haha! Thank you Corona!

@graziellecamilleriThis is how we keep our vibes high during quarantine! ##dance ##firstpost ##tiktok ##covid19virus ##motherdaughter ##wowyoucanreallydance♬ Wow you can really dance – marjoleinalberts

4) Started Singing Practise

Since I have so much free time, I thought I would dedicate some time to singing again. I downloaded lyrics of some challenging songs and practised for a few hours. Next week, I might even set an online lesson with my tutor Gillian Attard at La Voix Studios in Malta who is providing online coaching! As I always say, where there is a will, there is a way. Now is my Time to hone this skill I enjoy a lot. I might need it in my future life path, which might change drastically with all that the world needs right now. Who knows right! Thank you Corona!

5) Started Reading a Book and Following Influencial People I admire with a strong Mindset

For those of you who follow my blog posts and my travels know how I am obsessed with archaeology, spirituality, the study of alternative medicine, the mysteries of the Pyramids of Giza and Mexico and I have been blown away by my recent travels to Egypt! So it came natural to me to come across one of the world’s most impressive authors, an archaeologist by profession – David Hancock known for dedicating over 10 years of his life proving theories about a Lost Civilisation dating back approximately 12,000 years ago, writing books and giving insightful lectures and mindblowing TV interviews about this thought-provoking, niche interests all linked to humanity and its evolution.

During quarantine in my humble home, when I have some “Me” time, some breathing space to do something for myself, I am loving reading a very interesting book I ordered online from Amazon a few weeks ago “Supernatural Meetings with the ancient teachers of Mankind”. I get lost in the explanations and theories. His quest takes him on a journey of adventure and detection from the beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain and Italy to remote rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa where he finds a treasure trove of extraordinary Stone Age art. He also uncovers clues in the Amazon forest that lead him to drink the powerful plant Ayuwaska with Indian shamans whose paintings contain images of supernatural beings. All this, is extremely intriguing and Im loving this adventure from the comfort of my cosy sofa. Thank you Corona!

6) Studying New Business Strategy Ideas and Helping University Students Online

I have been enjoying online research this week about social media strategies, been looking at ways of how to improve my business online marketing strategies and I have also opened up the opportunity for university students doing thesis about social media strategies or Influencer marketing to feel free to contact me for advice. I have been contacted and as a result held over 20 video calls with people who reached out for personal Mindset activation tips.

How to think differently to see the positive in situations, how to calm the mind to allow for more clarity in their lives. It’s been a learning curve for me too and I m so grateful for the opportunity to help from my personal stories. I am loving this idea of giving back to others, lifting them and see their eyes sparkle with enthusiasm and hope for a successful future, without expecting anything in return from anyone. It really raised my own vibes. Thank you all and Thank you Corona!

7)

I Organised a 3 DAY ONLINE SHOPPING SALE for 3 days for my Jewellery Sales

On the entrepreneurial side, I thought I d take advantage of everyone being online to retail some of my jewellery and gemstone collection. Since Maltapost is till is functioning as normal for local post, and working even more efficiently I would say,  I thought of boosting sales of my small business online by creating some informative videos in our living area. Factual videos on Instagram stories about crystals and I offered my followers a special one time offer for 3 days on selected items.

The effort was worthwhile because I did successfully move  some stock and create a small cash flow on Revolut and Paypal. I love that Maltapost is still working normally which means that I can still sell jewellery and crystals from home during quarantine. If you wish to enquire about anything, feel free to contact me either on Instagram @graziellecamilleri or on Facebook at @ Gemstones & Jewellery by GC. Thank you all. Thank you Corona!

There were so many more things, but I m gonna save them for another episode of the quaratine diaries!

This crisis we are facing right now – one that we are not yet realising or feeling the full repercussions of it yet, is an opportunity for positive change on a social and personal level simultaneously.

It is a time when some things may be forced on us – such as being locked down at home and not being able to live the usual social life – but that I believe will create many conscious changes that will be so positive, socially transformative and long term.

Thanks to technology, and social media, we are able to cope with it better than previous crisis hundreds of years ago and this #Togetherness is what will help us make it through this rough patch of change and transformation. Thanks to meditation and prayer, it is an opportunity for us to also work on our SPIRITUAL side, looking inwards and see what we can change in ourselves right now, before we start pointing our fingers again towards what others are doing. It starts with us. I invite you all to also Call on your Creator/ God, angels, whatever means you feel comfortable with, to open your heart and draw to your self  a sense of peace and inner knowing, and enjoy the time you have to realise how important this CONNECTION is every day.

We have survived before and we will survive again and we will all come out stronger and more wise in a short span of time! 

Send you my love and best wishes until we connect again.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you enjoyed the read, thanks to share it in the online community for people who you think might benefit.

Xxx

Grazielle

 

You can also connect with me on Instagram – Facebook – and Tiktok !