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Locked down but not out in Italy

Singing from the balconies! One nice thing about this crisis ... solidarity! “Guess you’re not living like a tourist anymore,” was the funny, truthful and somewhat gut-wrenching message of a friend the day the lockdown in Italy began. Today is day 6. My beloved Italia has been hit hard with the COVID19 epidemic. With the second largest elderly population in the world, the epidemic has meant a disproportionate amount of deaths in the country. So though I haven’t been worried about contracting it myself, this isn’t about me or someone like me who, if contracted it would probably have a sucky couple of weeks and then recover. It is about if someone like me contracted it and then spread it to a person with a complicated health history or an elderly person with a weakened immune system. Eerily orderly: Lines for the grocery store, each person one meter apart In a country with no concept (and no physical room really) for personal space, and in a city with reproachable hygie
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Postcard from Mexico City!




About Mexico City
Mexico City is the largest metropolitan area in the Americas, and it is in the top 5 largest cities in the world. It is the capital, largest city and financial center of Mexico. Though not as densely populated as Shanghai or Mumbai, Mexico City is generally within the top 25 most densely populated cities in the world.

As Santiago points out, this massive urbanization has taken a toll on nature and wildlife in the area. As Wikipedia puts it:

Urbanization has had a serious negative effect on the city's environment. Pollution, dwindling water supply and poor air quality have been some of the city's largest problems improved in recent years by regulating the circulation and renovating the vehicle park. Many factors such as industrial growth and a demographic boom (from 3 million in 1950 to some 20 million in the metropolitan area today) have contributed to this situation. More than 3.5 million vehicles are now in the city streets.

However, Mexico is still home to many diverse species and wildlife, with 30% of its territory covered in forests. Monarch butterflies migrate south from Canada and the United States every year, and organizations like the World Wildlife Fund are ensuring that they, and other native species like the Puma and black bear, maintain their habitat despite population growth and urban sprawl.

Where are you?
Send me a postcard! Just take a digital photo, write a 2-3 line message and send it to touristliving(at)gmail(dot)com! I'll turn your photo into a postcard and post it on my blog to share your experience of living like a tourist in your own city.
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