Wind Mill Diaries

Quarantine - Day 16 We are in official lockdown from the 14th of March. The Spanish government, a week later than the Italian one, decided to adopt strict measures to contain the spread of the virus. The lockdown has been already extended till the 13th of April. We can leave the house just to go buy food and medicines. Police officers drive in the streets checking on pedestrians.  The months of the ESC project were passing very fast, but suddenly time stopped. Now, the other volunteers and I spend the days working from home, reading, writing, drawings, sunbathing in the terrace and watching movies. Indoor workout View from the window Racing The beach "Vieni anche tu/ Vieni anche tu/ Vieni anche tu/  Andiamo a vivere in terrazza/ Se guardi giù/ Se guardi giù/ Se guardi giù/ è meglio di una villa/  A Malibù/ A Malibù/ A Malibù"

European Solidarity Corps Volunteers 2019-2020 and their famous quotes

On the 11th of March, WHO (World Health Organization) has declared the spreading of COVID-19 a pandemic. March is the month of the first serious restrictions in Europe due to coronavirus alert. Expecially for Italy that is lockdown since the 9th of March struggling to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. March is the first #stayathome month. The virus is spreading incredibly fast and it concerne everyone. We are all stuck and separated (some more than others). We are far but close to each others in this new, disturbing and never-seen-before situation. "Oh, home, let me come home Home is wherever I'm with you" [Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Home]

Working at the Casal I'm learning a lot of funny and simple handicrafts and I'm really enjoying that. I always loved doing handmade stuff and this job is teaching me new ones. Recently we have realized labyrinths for marbles made with straws (or popsicle sticks) and shoes boxes, keychains with pom pom or felt shapes, and wallets made with milk cartons. I've also helped the kids to make salt dough and pop up cards, as I used to make when I was a child. I leave here some pictures and the tutorial of my favourite handicrafts. I suggest them to kids (and adults too, why not?) stuck at home because of COVID-19 lockdown. Enjoy! ;)  Pop up cards Pop up magic unicorn Melted crayons lamp How to Make a Cardboard Box Marble Labyrinth Game  [Pic from frugalfun4boys.com] How to Make a Cardboard Box Marble Labyrinth Game (in English) How to Make Salt Dough - Recipe (in Spanish) How to Make Pop Up Cards - Step by Step (in English) How to Mak

In Italy, the emergency situation for the new coronavirus precipitated dramatically during last few weeks. Currently whole Italy is lockdown: you cannot leave or enter in the country, you have to stay at home as much as possible, work from home if possible, avoid aggregations and you can leave your home only in case of emergencies or to stock up on supplies. The 8th of March has been the International Women's Day and demonstrations and events were planned all over the world. In Italy everything has obviously been canceled. Here, in Spain and in particular in Menorca, where the number of infections is not high yet, everything still proceeds normally, instead. For the 8th, conferences, workshops, parades and activities were organized in various cities of the island. My friends and I took part in Mahon events. Before to go to the town hall square I made an hour-long phone call with my parents (who live in Bergamo, the Italian city with more COVID-19 cases), to make sure they were

The mysterious Coronasvirus is starting to affect our lives on the island too. There aren't confirmed cases of the illness in Menorca still, but, the situation in the rest of Europe (and World) is having consequences here as well. My parents , who had planned to come to visit me at the end of the month, probably won't be able to leave Italy. And if I decide to go visit them, I will most likely not be able to come back. Everything is uncertain and precarious. Security measures and containment rules change day by day and, as never before, our mobility is seriously compromised.  Especially for my generation, the "mobility generation", all those young people used to travel a lot with low cost flights, Erasmus projects, international exchange programs and job opportunities abroad, is something we could never imagine. Distance has never frightened me, because I believe in the durability of strong relationships in space and time, moreover we have a lot of technological tools

According to a tradition spread in Catalan-speaking regions, in Menorca, after Carnival a new figure arrives: S'Àvia Corema , an old lady with seven legs representing the seven weeks of Lent. In the houses, schools and public offices, posters representing the old lady appear, and every weekend, till Easter, people (especially kids) take off one foot from the "granny" picture. The old lady carries an oil cruet and a cod in a hand, and in the other a rosary. Besides counting the weeks of Lent, the tradition of S'Àvia Corema, celebrates the transition from winter to spring. Each Saturday a big and light S'Àvia Corema sculpture ( Gegant ), made of cartboard, paper mache and fabric, moved by a man hidden inside it, parades in the streets and stops in a different square of Mahon. Every Saturday a child is choosen from the crowd to take off a foot from the sculpture. There is music, people sing traditional songs and candies are thrown to the children. At the end of th