How we had been preparing for lockdown even before the Government's announcement (Confinement Day 13)

By the time the French President announced the lockdown on March 16th that the country was going under a two-week lockdown, we had actually been preparing for it for over two weeks. We started preparing ourselves for self-isolation from the beginning of the month of March.

As a result, we did not have to buy a lot of food and supplies last minute, which allowed us to get everything we needed even before people started to shop massively.

Here are two reasons why we were able to do so.

1. We were listening to foreign media

On a daily basis, we obtain information from multiple media and worldwide. For example, we usually follow the Japanese media and the BBC. We want to be informed about what is happening in Japan because our families live there and we listen to English media in order to work on our English language competence.

We heard about the panic-buying that was happening in Japan concerning masks and paper products. Also, the BBC has thoroughly reported the situation in China: how the disease was spreading and how the cities went under lockdowns. 

Listening and reading to these reports, we considered the possibility of us being confined for a certain period of time. We then decided to buy a little more food and other necessities as usual (but not too much).

Also, we read, of course, French news articles. The evolution of the situation was very rapid in France. First, the disease, as well as binge-buying, started in the bigger cities. Because we live in a smaller city, we had some extra time before people started to shop for their necessities here. So we were able to get what we need before the lockdown.

2. The experiences of the earthquake in Japan in 2011

I experienced the great earthquake in Japan in 2011. Many people died from a tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan and others were injured. The region that I lived back then was hit by multiple strong earthquakes. 

I remember that I had to stay home and take care of our two dogs while my mother couldn't come home because she was on a business trip. She was not able to come home for two days since the transportation was completely paralyzed. During that time, the supermarkets were all closed. I was very lucky that I only had a short interruption of water and electricity.

Learning from the experience, we were able to assess what will happen if we were to go under a lockdown. Because it was not a natural disaster, we thought that the supermarkets will not close and water, electricity and the heating system would still be working. But we guessed that other shops would close.

We decided not to buy too much just for the sake of stocking them. Objectively, we thought we wouldn't have problems getting the essential products.

The panic and anxiety that swept over the country and the world made us rethink our consumption. The lockdown has and will continue to have an impact on our economy. Many businesses, especially small businesses, will certainly suffer from this health crisis. 

Considering the consequences, we decided to buy more products from a local butcher or farmers' markets and less at a big supermarket, in order to support them during this difficult time although they are relatively expensive for us, taking into account our revenues.

I don't think what we do makes a huge difference in the world but we do want to contribute to minimizing the economic crisis that is certainly ahead of us.

Thank you for reading as always. Sorry for a post which is a little bit inconsistent and incoherent, since a lot of things were going on in my head. 

Stay safe. And see you again soon.