Day Whatsitnow? I’m Losing Count in Quarantine

Day 33: April 28, 2020
Global cases: 3,136,508; Deaths: 217,813
Egypt cases: 5,042; Deaths: 359

Dalia AbdelWahab
Multimedia Journalism junior

I can’t count it anymore.

The Dalia (or “Lia”, as she prefers to be called) from two weeks ago couldn’t be of more drastic difference from the Lia of today, whether physically or psychologically. Maybe it’s the new hair I’m currently sporting, or my newfound chubby self.

Maybe it’s the fact that I am becoming more and more interested in COVID-19 news. Not a single day goes by without asking my dad whether Avigan, the Japanese anti-flu drug on trial against the novel Coronavirus in Egypt, “works” or otherwise. The conversation always revolves around Japan when it comes to inventions that saved the world, and this will be no exception if Avigan proves itself to be a cure for COVID-19.

Perhaps it’s myself getting more used to being in a state of quarantine, day in and day out. “It’s like being in hibernation,” I tell myself. “It’s basically a time of recharging.”

It’s probably the fact that it has been two weeks since I last played Super Smash Brothers, yet this hasn’t stopped me from treating my own life like a video game. After all, it is my core belief that each and every one of us is individually trapped in some sort of simulation-type video game, complete with its own characters and story-line, save for the part of being controlled by some bored teenager’s joystick.

In fact, a recurring level has just been reintroduced to the video game that is life, and that level is Ramadan. The main tasks in this stage involve surviving on minimal energy levels without using any power-ups from dawn until dusk.

For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.

Quarantine is making this stage of my video game more challenging. I know that my video game is not the only one that features this level, which is commonly referred to as “Ramadan” – if anything, over 1.6 billion video games across the globe currently feature this month-long level.

However, this annually available special stage of my video feels just as mundane, yet difficult to walk through, as any other stage of the video game I am the titular character of without it involving getting together for a fast-breaking Iftar meal with my friends or distant relatives.

Thus, being in hibernation might have its drawbacks. I initially appreciated the serenity and tranquility it brought me, which were much-needed on my part after the train wreck that was the state of my mental health since the fall 2019 semester. Still, for the first time ever, I got some first-hand experience of what university graduates feel like, even though I am but a mere junior. I miss AUC and I miss my AUC friends.

Notwithstanding, being away from all that for now is a small price to pay for salvation, whether on the small scale of fully recharging my mental health, or on the large scale of protecting our communities against the contagious threat of the novel Coronavirus.

For now, I will just keep reminiscing about all the insane antics that took place between my friends and I in my backyard. This makes me feel surrounded by them – surrounded by their love.