Welcome to Truly Raw Stories. My name is Christine Troyano. Although I am American, I have been living internationally for the last several years.

I first ventured to South Korea to begin my journey as a teacher, teaching English as a Second Language. Deciding I needed a warmer climate, I relocated to Indonesia in July 2014.

Before working internationally, I spent many years working for various California counties within departments of social services. I also worked as a substitute teacher in California public schools and for Prevent Child Abuse California.

During my time in Indonesia, I taught Indonesian children and adults, both in classrooms and online. I also taught Chinese children in mainland China and Hong Kong through online English lessons.

Through teaching children in China, I witnessed firsthand some of the effects COVID-19 had on my students.

It began when Chinese New Year events and celebrations were canceled in January 2020. There was uncertainty about whether families would be able to return to their hometowns and gather for this important holiday. They could not.

Schools closed. Soon, lockdowns were happening throughout the country.

At first, many of my students liked being home. They could sleep later, dress casually, avoid school uniforms, play online and cellphone games, and eat whenever they wanted.

But the Chinese education system quickly brought lessons into each student’s home. Online distance learning was in full force. While parents worked from home or ventured outside for essential jobs, families remained under strict lockdown.

I could sense a genuine fear of leaving the house among many of my students.

The new normal had begun.

Many children counted the days since lockdown began. One visible sign of the passing time was how long their hair was becoming.

Before each lesson, I checked in with them to see how they were doing, what they were feeling, how their families were, and how distance learning was going.

Some parents gave their sons buzz cuts as their hair grew longer. It appeared that only one parent in many households would go outside to buy groceries. Home deliveries quickly became increasingly important.

Although my students had many online school classes, the workload seemed somewhat lighter than their usual schoolwork and homework—at least for some of them. They even had physical-education classes a couple of times a week, lasting about 15 minutes.

Over time, however, many students became bored with being locked indoors. They missed their friends and parts of their normal routines.

Not every student was eager to return to the classroom. Some preferred waking up later, snacking whenever they wanted, and not wearing uniforms.

As infections decreased and restrictions began to lift, students slowly returned to school. Their reactions were mixed.

Some enjoyed reconnecting with friends and having social interaction again. Others would rather have stayed home and continued learning online. Many said that, other than wearing masks and having their temperatures checked, school felt much the same.

By mid-April, the students had officially returned to school. Even then, many went directly home after classes because they did not feel safe wandering freely around town. Others met friends during their limited free time.

As for me, I was traveling around Indonesia when lockdowns began. Because Indonesia consists of more than 17,000 islands, restrictions were not the same everywhere.

Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest city and one of the hardest hit at the beginning, first advised residents to stay home. Eventually, that recommendation became mandatory.

Some businesses defied the restrictions and were fined, closed, and sent home. Lockdown took different forms depending on the number of infections in each region.

East Java’s restrictions followed soon after Jakarta’s as groups of people became infected there. Schools closed in mid-March.

Friends in East Java told me that roads were being blocked by security personnel. Those who could work from home were fortunate. Many others were not.

Street-food vendors and day laborers disappeared from their usual places. Local governments began distributing weekly food staples such as rice, noodles, and cooking oil.

I chose to remain in Bali for several reasons. Most importantly, my doctor was there.

After living in East Java for four years, I relocated to Bali to teach online, mostly working with adults from around the world.

After a few months, physical health problems made online teaching uncomfortable, so I returned to classroom teaching. After one year of teaching in Bali, I left the classroom again and chose to go my own way.

With only one online teaching job, working with my Chinese students, I became more location-independent and could teach while traveling.

I packed my belongings and relocated to Ubud. I soon realized it was not what I had hoped for. After three months, I packed again and carried everything I had accumulated back to Kuta, Bali.

I had a plan: travel to Lombok to take care of some business, visit old teaching friends in East Java, see more of Indonesia, finish traveling through Malaysia, take a quick trip through Southeast Asia, return to America to visit family and friends, and then travel to Spain and around Europe.

I made it to East Java, but seeing my friends did not go exactly as planned. Lombok did not either.

I intended to return to Bali for only a few days to see my doctor and sell my belongings, but lockdown was looming. I decided to put on the brakes and stay in Bali.

Bali’s streets were already quiet. Although restrictions were not yet mandatory, many people listened to the government’s advice and stayed home.

Most foreign tourists had already returned to their home countries. In tourist areas, there was little reason for businesses to remain open.

Tour drivers, taxis, hotels, homestays, and restaurants were closed or mostly closed. Tourism had dried up.

A small number of foreigners remained in Bali, more or less by choice. Flights to the United States still existed, but the reliability of connecting flights was uncertain.

Those of us who stayed understood the risk that one day we might receive an email from the U.S. Embassy saying there were no longer any flights home.

For the moment, that was okay. I knew the risks. I chose to stay.

It took me a couple of weeks—and three moves in 14 days—to find the right place to ride out the lockdown.

I knew I needed to settle somewhere soon because more hotels and homestays were closing indefinitely. I remained in regular contact with my family through Zoom and other online services.

I was one of the lucky ones, and I was very aware of that.

Other than staying home, going out only for necessities, and no longer traveling between islands, it was largely business as usual for me.

I continued teaching my Chinese students online six days a week.

At first, I went to the grocery store. Later, I began ordering my one daily meal for delivery. I walked about five minutes to a small local shop to buy bottled water, soap, masks, scissors, and other necessities.

I always had plenty to keep me occupied. I was rarely bored.

I have always enjoyed my own space and time alone, with a little social interaction here and there. I am a loner and a homebody. Although I love traveling, I usually travel alone because I find greater freedom in it.

Still, as I watched the effects lockdown had on the world, I began thinking that I wanted to do more with my life.

My mind kept returning to a deep desire to understand how individuals, families, and households were coping with lockdown.

I imagined many scenarios: people who had been laid off, people living alone, and families trying to balance working from home with homeschooling.

I wondered about partnerships and marriages. Were they thriving, merely surviving, or falling apart?

I was amazed by the ways companies, individuals, and communities around the world came together to care for one another.

Then another group I had not yet considered would come to mind: What about them?

I kept thinking more deeply. My sociology education was coming back to life.

I felt that this moment in history needed to be documented and preserved.

I contacted several survey and sociological-research organizations. One survey company replied that it already had its own internal researchers.

Okay. How could I do this myself?

I thought of an old friend who had spent hours mastering the iMovie process and had created a portfolio showcasing local people from many walks of life.

I imagined that he and I could travel door to door, interviewing people across America about how lockdown had affected them.

After reaching out to several friends and colleagues, I decided to create my own website.

I would develop a questionnaire that people anywhere in the world could complete, while also giving them the option to share personal stories through writing, video, and photographs.

So here it is.

I would love for you to share your truly raw stories. How has life been since lockdown?

We are listening.