JB: Hmmmm. That doesn't sound good. What observations have you got for us having been in two countries dealing with the pandemic at virtually the same time?
WB: In Argentina, only grocery stores and pharmacies were open. You needed a permit to leave your neighborhood and people were only allowed out for necessary errands, like buying food or bringing food to people who couldn't get it themselves. I didn't feel oppressed. I felt like I was cooperating with public health measures to protect other people in society and I also felt protected because everyone else was taking the same measures. The president, Alberto Fernandez, said that you can revive the economy but you can't revive the dead. Their preventative measures saved tens of thousands of lives. Here in Texas, it's the opposite. There are people out everywhere in big groups and no one seems to take the threat of the virus seriously. Businesses, including gyms and bars, are opening up quickly and cases are going up with equal speed. My city here has around the same number of cases as the whole country of Argentina. I felt so safe there, but here I just worry about my mom, who I'm living with again after finishing my 14 days of quarantine, and all of my friends and all of the vulnerable people out there and all of the people who we still don't know how this new virus will affect.
JB: Yes, the contrast is stark. Well, Whitni, welcome back. What a saga! Thank you for sharing your harrowing, exciting, unnerving adventure with its not at all inevitable happy ending. Stay safe!
WB: You're welcome! Take care!
Traveling light: fully loaded, Whitni's luggage weighed in at between 10-15 pounds
(Image by courtesy of Whitni Battle) Details DMCA
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My previous interview with Whitni:
Whitni Battle: Learning to Fly - How Circus Changed My Life8.8.2014
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