Me:
What is your essential food/item that made it on top of your quarantine list?
Ana:
Must have natural yogurt for my breakfast! That I mix with fruit and various seeds. And Strawberries!
Me:
lovely packaging! Is this your favorite kind of yogurt?
Ana:
It is. It´s natural and it´s perfect to eat with a mixture of seeds and strawberry or banana. It gives me the strength I need to begin a new day.
Me:
Yummm nice way indeed to start the day!
How is your quarantine life in Lisboa?
Ana:
I have been mostly positive about it, even if I know there are lots of things that will never be the same and that we´ll loose a lot with this whole new situation. The city of Lisbon is super quiet now, I can even hear the birds and people are respecting the guidelines from the national health care institutions, which is a relief.
Me:
That’s great that everyone is respecting the guidelines. Staying home needs getting use to, have you started something new while quarantine?
Ana:
It is not actually something new but it´s something that I haven´t done for a long time: play the guitar and find the chords for those songs that I really like.
Me:
That’s so nice! Ah I wish I am more musical person. That sounds so fun to play guitar and sing.
Talking about creativity are you cooking or baking as well?
Ana:
I´ve been cooking and baking a lot. I love it! And all of this is so new to me. The idea of thinking carefully about what you eat and dedicate time and energy for that it´s been quite surprising. I made bread already, I even made cottage cheese and fresh pasta. I´ve been sharing my pastries with the neighbors. We´ve been sharing a lot of things.
Me:
That is super inspiring! I’ve been trying new things, too. I just made Chinese scallion pancake last week, it was surprising for me that it was more like baking bread. I was thinking more of Japanese and Korean pancake. It needs so much care, time, and technique. I am realizing a lot of food that I was taking advantage of eating out and thought it’s easy to make are actually quite difficult or time consuming! I have another layer of appreciations for those dishes.
You are super close with your family. Are you calling them everyday?
Ana:
Being apart from my family has been the hardest part. But we´ve been reinventing everything! I start my day doing some gymnastic with my father, then we do a lot of video calls and we also have a whatsapp group where we are in constant contact. It´s been hard but beautiful at the same time. We are a close family and now we fell even closer.
Me:
Awww that’s wonderful. You are always so positive and I am always inspired by you :)
Thank you so much for being part of this interview series!!!
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Project Note:
The idea of “ My friend’s quarantine shopping list” started when I was peeking at people’s shopping baskets during the COVID-19. What are their essentials? Is there a one thing they can’t live without? I was curious about my friend’s. Everyone’s list was unique and I enjoy making the items and talking about them with my friends. I hope this brighten your day and maybe those items will make it to your next shopping list :) Have a nice staying home day!