Arjun's Postcard from Home

I hope that you are all safe, well, and coping with the lockdown. These are unprecedented and surreal times and I am sure that you are all looking for some sort of normal. I live in Lagos, Nigeria with my parents, siblings, and grandparents. Despite how unusual the situation is, I have managed to find some regularity in my days - especially once the school timetable started again. During Easter break, the lockdown was initiated in Nigeria which meant I could not meet friends, go to restaurants or the cinema or even take a simple walk around the streets. However, despite these restraints, I decided to busy myself with something during the lockdown: I began to learn how to read and write Hindi. I already knew how to speak and understand it, but I wanted to use the lockdown to learn something new. I must confess, I am finding it one of the most difficult tasks on Earth - all the letters look so similar and sound nearly the same! Despite that it was a nice change of pace and kept me working and active over the holiday.

Counter-intuitively I believe that lockdown over Easter actually made me more socially active. Everyone is keeping in touch and socialising as much as possible with friends and family, perhaps even more than usual. Over Easter, I talked a lot with my friends in Lagos who are just a two-minute walk away. Keeping in touch in times like these is very important. It offers you a different perspective and a little bit of entertainment, even if it is just for a few minutes.