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How Australians Seek Connection in Isolation How Australians Seek Connection in Isolation
(6 days later)
The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This week’s issue is written by Besha Rodell, a columnist with the Australia bureau.The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This week’s issue is written by Besha Rodell, a columnist with the Australia bureau.
Every couple of days for the past few weeks, I have clambered onto my roof from the small patio on our second floor. I hoist up a pillow, our pet parrot Chobi in his cage, and a couple of beers or a glass of wine. Then I peer over the lip of the roof, and into the backyard of the house across the alleyway, where a friendly face is waiting.Every couple of days for the past few weeks, I have clambered onto my roof from the small patio on our second floor. I hoist up a pillow, our pet parrot Chobi in his cage, and a couple of beers or a glass of wine. Then I peer over the lip of the roof, and into the backyard of the house across the alleyway, where a friendly face is waiting.
My friend Brooke has lived in the house across the lane from our townhouse for over a year, and we rely on one another for normal neighborly things like borrowed ingredients and reciprocal pet feeding when one of us is out of town. But since coronavirus has made us all prisoners in our own homes, we have been holding regular catch-ups across the laneway, me from my roof and her from her backyard.My friend Brooke has lived in the house across the lane from our townhouse for over a year, and we rely on one another for normal neighborly things like borrowed ingredients and reciprocal pet feeding when one of us is out of town. But since coronavirus has made us all prisoners in our own homes, we have been holding regular catch-ups across the laneway, me from my roof and her from her backyard.
I call this “isolation happy hour.”I call this “isolation happy hour.”
Before Victoria went into stage three lockdown, barring people from leaving home for anything but the most necessary activities, my brother and his partner would walk over from their home a few blocks away and set up lawn chairs in the alley, far enough from me on the roof and Brooke in her backyard to maintain appropriate distance, but close enough so that we could feel some sense of communion. That option is gone now, but Brooke is still there when I need her, and vice versa.Before Victoria went into stage three lockdown, barring people from leaving home for anything but the most necessary activities, my brother and his partner would walk over from their home a few blocks away and set up lawn chairs in the alley, far enough from me on the roof and Brooke in her backyard to maintain appropriate distance, but close enough so that we could feel some sense of communion. That option is gone now, but Brooke is still there when I need her, and vice versa.
Apart from the obvious fear, anxiety and disruption, the thing that has struck me the most about the current crisis is the resourcefulness of our attempts to remain responsibly connected.Apart from the obvious fear, anxiety and disruption, the thing that has struck me the most about the current crisis is the resourcefulness of our attempts to remain responsibly connected.
The obvious example is the lovely emergence of Italians singing to one another out of their windows, but The Times has also covered a range of other acts of solidarity.The obvious example is the lovely emergence of Italians singing to one another out of their windows, but The Times has also covered a range of other acts of solidarity.
There are folks in the USA using a neighborhood app to reach out and help one another. There are music lovers sharing streaming classical music performances.There are folks in the USA using a neighborhood app to reach out and help one another. There are music lovers sharing streaming classical music performances.
The food section also has a thoughtful package about celebrating Passover and Ramadan under the current conditions.The food section also has a thoughtful package about celebrating Passover and Ramadan under the current conditions.
People I know are organizing elaborate virtual birthday parties and starting streaming yoga classes, but the creativity isn’t limited to the virtual realm. On my stepfather’s block, neighbors collaborated on a shared playlist, then everyone sat in their individual backyards at the same time and listened alone and together.People I know are organizing elaborate virtual birthday parties and starting streaming yoga classes, but the creativity isn’t limited to the virtual realm. On my stepfather’s block, neighbors collaborated on a shared playlist, then everyone sat in their individual backyards at the same time and listened alone and together.
My stepfather and I are both lucky to live in proximity to people who can provide us with some sort of distanced community. But as someone who lives a world away from some of my closest family members, the possibilities presented by social distancing creativity are revelatory.My stepfather and I are both lucky to live in proximity to people who can provide us with some sort of distanced community. But as someone who lives a world away from some of my closest family members, the possibilities presented by social distancing creativity are revelatory.
Why should we not always have virtual birthday parties with those who are far away? Why don’t I use Netflix Party to watch movies with my sister in the USA all the time?Why should we not always have virtual birthday parties with those who are far away? Why don’t I use Netflix Party to watch movies with my sister in the USA all the time?
My hope is that when this is all over, our close connections will feel even closer, and we will continue to find creative ways to stay connected to people who are further than across the alleyway.My hope is that when this is all over, our close connections will feel even closer, and we will continue to find creative ways to stay connected to people who are further than across the alleyway.
What creative methods have you been using to stay connected during lockdown? Let us know at nytaustralia@nytimes.com.What creative methods have you been using to stay connected during lockdown? Let us know at nytaustralia@nytimes.com.
Here are this week’s stories:Here are this week’s stories:
Updated August 27, 2020
A Lucky Country Says Goodbye to the World’s Longest Boom. Every nation confronting the coronavirus pandemic sees a recession in its future. But after nearly 30 years of economic growth, Australia is struggling to process surging unemployment and declining exuberance.
Stuck Inside? Here’s an Australian Kids’ Show Every Parent Can Love. “Bluey” is the country’s biggest children’s TV export since “The Wiggles,” speaking with rare frankness to young and old.
They Made New Lives in the U.S. The Coronavirus Sent Them Fleeing. Expatriates, especially in New York, have abandoned the lives they built over fear of the inequalities in the American health care system.
This Fireball Ignored the Solar System’s One-Way Signs. A meteoroid that grazed the night sky over Australia in 2017 took a very unusual path away from Earth.
Australia’s Record Heat Means Another Blow to Great Barrier Reef. For the third time in five years, abnormally warm water has caused a “mass bleaching” of coral, and some of it will not survive. Scientists say global warming is killing reefs worldwide.
When Humans Are Sheltered in Place, Wild Animals Will Play. Goats in Wales; coyotes in San Francisco; rats, rats, everywhere: With much of the world staying home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, animals have ventured out where normally the presence of people would keep them away.
Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together. Never before, scientists say, have so many of the world’s researchers focused so urgently on a single topic. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.
At Home. It’s a scary time for some, and an unsettled one for nearly all. But art and books and beautiful things are still possible to see and read and think about. We have games to play, hilarious chores to attend to, music to blast and performances to cherish. Deliciousness is available at the stove. Our reporters and critics want to tell you about it.
Long-Silenced Victim of a Pedophile Writer Gets to Tell Her Story. For decades, the writer Gabriel Matzneff used Francesca Gee’s image and letters to champion his sexual pursuit of adolescents. But her own account was rejected, until now.
Last week, we wrote about the plight of Australia’s pubs, restaurants and cafes, and asked about aspects of Australian culture you’re worried about losing. Here’s one reader’s response:Last week, we wrote about the plight of Australia’s pubs, restaurants and cafes, and asked about aspects of Australian culture you’re worried about losing. Here’s one reader’s response:
Five years ago, on hiatus between jobs I launched a slow fashion blog. I sensed there was a movement emerging in Melbourne; a refulgent entrepreneurialism in the big old warehouses of Brunswick, Northcote and Kensington.Five years ago, on hiatus between jobs I launched a slow fashion blog. I sensed there was a movement emerging in Melbourne; a refulgent entrepreneurialism in the big old warehouses of Brunswick, Northcote and Kensington.
For me, there’s no delight like walking down Gertrude Street in Fitzroy and finding a dinky little linen shift dress with a quirky collar that was made by the designer/machinist sitting at the back of the shop. These independent fashion labels are as intrinsic to Melbourne as the old Victorian cottages lining the laneways of Richmond. Many will be sunk by what is happening and they are fragile little ecosystems at the best of times.For me, there’s no delight like walking down Gertrude Street in Fitzroy and finding a dinky little linen shift dress with a quirky collar that was made by the designer/machinist sitting at the back of the shop. These independent fashion labels are as intrinsic to Melbourne as the old Victorian cottages lining the laneways of Richmond. Many will be sunk by what is happening and they are fragile little ecosystems at the best of times.
I cherish my wardrobe of Melbourne made fashion…it has even greater value now.I cherish my wardrobe of Melbourne made fashion…it has even greater value now.
— Megan Sloley— Megan Sloley
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