The Bittersweet Life

How are our daily lives changed due to quarantine and life during the coronavirus outbreak? It seems like every day something changes: restrictions get tighter, a new epicenter emerges, and the new theories on the best way to conquer this crisis emerge. It's hard to keep up, so we like to check in with you from time to time to let you know how we are faring—and hear from you as well. This week, we read a letter from a listener (and recent expat in Italy) who, despite the challenges, is finding the joy and beauty in life under lockdown. --------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an with Tiffany as your guide! 

When did a podcast about travel, living abroad, embracing adventure, and going off the script become about… staying home all day, every day? Since coronavirus, that’s when. The Bittersweet Life is certainly not the only media platform that is suddenly all about the spread of this virus and the quarantines around the world that it is necessitating. So today we ask, what’s it like to cover a major world-wide news story that changes and develops practically every day and blots out every other thing going on? How do you keep up with the story and find new ways of looking at it? And what happens when you, as a reporter, become part of the story? And what kind of people thrive in these situations? We discuss this and more in our latest episode. In addition, Katy sits down with Patricia Murphy, an award-winning NPR reporter who covers justice and public health in Seattle, as well as one of Katy’s former colleagues. Patricia just launched the NPR podcast Seattle Now, and has found herself dedicating the entire premise of the new show (so far) to the growing crisis. Check out the Seattle Now podcast on their with Tiffany as your guide! 

Lockdown has hit the United States—at least in some parts of the country. And people all around the nation are choosing to self-isolate. On this mini-episode, Katy and Tiffany discuss the realities of life under quarantine, including the practical things you need to do if you must leave your house. They also wonder if self-isolation will make enough of a difference, or if a nationwide lawful quarantine is the only way to combat the spread of Coronavirus. Tiffany also lays out Italy's grim numbers, which are about to eclipse even China's heart-wrenching statistics. ***More cheerful episodes starting next week, we promise!!*** --------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an with Tiffany as your guide! 

The lockdown in Italy continues on the second part of Monday's episode, and as each moment passes, lockdown looms across the United States and the world. Tiffany shares some tips with Katy and our listeners for what to expect when their own quarantine inevitably arrives. She also explains why Italians aren't hoarding toilet paper, and together they ponder the cultural benefits of a world-wide plague. --------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an with Tiffany as your guide! 

Italy is on lockdown. No going out except for basic necessities for medical reasons—or work if you absolutely cannot work from home. How is Tiffany coping? How is she staying sane, keeping her four-year-old entertained, and resisting tearing her husband limb from limb? We check in with Tiffany on today’s episode, and hear from Katy how Seattle is responding to the rapid spread of coronavirus in Washington State and the rest of the US. Does she think there is a lockdown in her future? --------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an with Tiffany as your guide!