Pandemic Quarantine: The Best Thing You Can Do While Stuck at Home

Events are canceled, restaurants, museums and schools are closed, the streets are empty (or at least they should be) and supermarkets are low on stocks of toilet paper. The world as we know it is basically on hold. And with the COVID-19 coronavirus spreading at an alarming rate, the best thing we can (all) do to fight this pandemic is stay at home under quarantine.

The word “quarantine” originates from Italian

But quarantine wasn’t always like we know it today. During the 14th century, in an effort to protect coastal cities from the plague, the ships that would arrive in Venice from infected ports had to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. That’s how the practice came to be called quarantena, the Venetian dialect form of the Italian quaranta giorni which translates to “40 days”.

By the way, if you want to learn Italian, you can do it right here.

Since then, humankind went through several quarantine periods to stop the spread of diseases like the bubonic plague, typhoid, anthrax and the Spanish flu.

So, if you think about it, the self-isolation we are dealing with today is not even that bad. Back in the old days, people didn’t have Netflix, did they?

Jokes aside, there’s no better way to show that we care about all those who have been infected with the new coronavirus. Doctors and scientists worldwide are working around the clock to fight the pandemic. So let’s play our part and stay at home. We can even make it fun. Let’s see how.

Make the most of your self-isolation and learn a new language

Remember all those tiny little tasks you always had to postpone due to lack of time? Remember that same new year’s resolution you had for the last few years in a row? We used to be so busy. The human beings who became human doings. But now, the pandemic is forcing us to take a break and invest in ourselves.

Reorganize that kitchen cabinet as you’ve always wanted to, read books that piled up on your nightstand, watch a movie, do that online marketing course you had in your laptop for weeks, meditate, do some yoga, do absolutely nothing or, better yet, learn a new language.

There are countless online courses that can help you add a new skill under your belt every single day. For example, with Mondly you can learn 33 languages from your native language. Are you Italian and want to learn Spanish? Non c’è problema! Mondly allows you to learn Spanish with an Italian language interface. Or maybe you are American and want to learn German? It’s all possible with this language learning app.

Besides, learning a new language with Mondly is super fun, easy and efficient. It feels like a game and everybody can do it. Using a contextually rich environment mixed with practical topics, authentic conversations and bite-sized Daily Lessons, the app encourages you to make the connections yourself and speak any language fluently fast.

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Let’s make staying home cool again

Rapunzel did it, Sleeping Beauty did it (slept through most of it, but still) and even Matt Damon did it in The Martian. Staying home is fun and cool if you want it to be. Especially now that it is for a good cause: stopping a virus from further spreading and fighting the pandemic.

Now download Mondly and start learning that language you always wanted to learn. Staying under quarantine can actually be pretty fun and beneficial if you make the most of it.