Gorge families cope with COVID-19 while living in Italy

When COVID-19 struck northern Italy, my heart immediately went to Hayden Knight Weiler and his family living in Lecco. The Alcocks were not affected yet, and were still getting adjusted to their new home, making their personal effects work in yet another space and signing up for classes and other learning opportunities.

Katie Gribble Shepphard and her family were just arriving in Sicily and starting to look around while Caleb and Lacee (Brandt) Torrey had not even left San Diego. 

As I followed and collected their insights, I was struck by the community that they are building every day and have been helped by.

 I see incredible resiliency, strength of family and positivity.  Curiosity and sense of adventure are pervasive in many words that I didn’t have room to submit. 

I hope this Gorge community, their families, teachers and mentors who have influenced them are taken by this as well.

‘The base was a ghost town overnight’

Caleb Torrey, CHS class of 2001, is a GIS Analyst for the U.S. Navy. His degrees in History and Geography, and a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, from Central Washington University led him to Florida, working on maps for the 2010 census, then to Twenty Nine Palms as a GIS analyst and last year to MCAS MIRAMAR in San Diego. Lacee, CHS class of 2000, was a positive behavior aid in the school district.

In April 2019, Caleb interviewed for a position in Naples, Italy, thinking it was a long shot but a great adventure for their family. The long and stressful process of waiting on orders, passports, visas and selling their home finally ended when they arrived in Naples on Feb. 29 with daughters Jazmyn (17) and Andrija (13). Their oldest daughter, Domenique, remained in California. They checked in and started orientation classes on base, and on March 4, the girls started school while Caleb and Lacee took a tour of the still bustling city, learning how to get around and to use public transportation, sightseeing, experiencing cafés and telling the girls that they would take them soon. On Monday, school was closed, and they were unable to leave base for leisure. Their “adventure” came to an abrupt halt. The girls, who had been in school for just three days, started virtual learning with teachers they hardly knew.

 The base was a ghost town overnight with people working from home. Caleb goes to work by shuttle every day because he is new and doesn’t have consistent work to do by teleworking, but he is alone in the office and he is still waiting on access to many programs. Restrictions increased and the only stores open are the NEX and commissary with greeters at the door checking IDs and letting in a limited number of people. Outdoor activities on base are short walks and taking out dogs. Their limited outside time is used by frequent walks to the stores for groceries and necessities because of limited food storage. They are in a small hotel villa with a small balcony. Lacee has connected with a few other families, both new and established,  who have reached out to their needs, and she is beginning to meet other women over the phone.

“So here we are, a family from White Salmon, living in Naples, Italy, stuck on the military base with so much culture and history surrounding us and unable to reach it. Our time will come and we are excited for when it does. We know this needs to be done for the safety of all. We hope the U.S. can learn from other countries and take this seriously.”

(These are Lacee’s and my opinions and do not represent the Navy or the Department of Defense.)

Surviving on community, creativity 

Hayden Weiler graduated from CHS in 2002 and has been in Italy since 2010 with wife, Elena. He has become an Italian citizen. They live in Lecco in Northern Italy, so were among the first to experience life with COVID-19.  He teaches elementary school, translates and is a tour guide. He is a musician as well. Elena translates English, Spanish and Italian and writes poetry.  Liam is 1-and-a-half, and they are expecting a baby in June.  You can see a lighthearted video atyoutu.be/iWRInGfJaRk or search YouTube for more pieces. 

“Lecco has a strong sense of community. Every time you go out you see familiar faces.  The coffee shops are always buzzing, the hair salons full … it’s so strange to see nothing but deserted streets and shuttered shops now. I just got back from the supermarket and there was a silence that I had never experienced, other than in remote nature. We have good internet and in some ways I’m actually more in touch with people now than before, especially those far away. First there were a few small towns that quarantined, then Lombardy, then all of Italy. Restrictions keep getting tighter. I take Liam out for a short walk or two every day close to our apartment.  Other than that and grocery shopping, we are home. You have a form justifying why you are out. There are police around making sure people follow rules. It feels like a post apocalypse movie.”

“We are trying to stick to a routine. We say a few prayers and sing after breakfast, take our walk and do some creative/messy activity, Skype calls with grandparents (Bill and Rene Weiler of Lyle), and even the ones who live down the street. We’re trying to stay creative, make new recipes, leave brownies on doorsteps. I’m trying to make some music, although I broke a guitar string and can’t go out for a new one. I feel confident that this crisis will lead humanity greater awareness and understanding, love and unity. Creativity is really flourishing; there’s a real sense of doing something for the common good, which keeps our spirits high.”

Changes abound, and 'everyone has been kind'

Katie Gribble Sheppard graduated from CHS in 2001 and is an OB-GYN nurse by trade. Her husband, Emir, works in Naval logistics in Sicily, where they recently moved with their son Logan, 2-and-a-half. A baby girl is due in September.

They arrived just before the virus spread, and were able to travel to Catania, about 20 miles away, exploring and learning their way around. Katie writes that at a playground “a little boy kept staring at us. I could make out that he was asking his family why we speak differently. It was interesting to be the foreigner. They weren’t rude at all. To see the curiosity in his face was neat.  A lot of people speak English, or at least understand a little. Everyone has been kind.”

They were fortunate to receive their household items in time to create a familiar home before lockdown.  Their housing is supported by two bases on Sicily, and is isolated now from outside of those installations except essential outings. They always carry their declarations, and temperatures are checked at the gates. Only one adult per family can go to the store at a time with a child and the 1-meter rule is enforced. All other amenities for families are closed.

For the Shepphards, personal community began when they moved into their housing, with other people right there in the same situation, even though they hadn’t met.  After a heavy rain one day, all the children ran out to play. The parents stayed the required distance and got to know each other. 

Katie hopes to work at the hospital on base soon, with her specialty in labor and delivery.  The application process has slowed down, but if they don’t need her on the unit, she wants to volunteer, to help, as well as to keep up her skills.

“The driving is crazy! So far, my husband does it. So much history! The buildings are very old and beautiful. We live in the country, where there are old brick houses falling down but still so pretty. Orange fields surround us, and the fruit is delicious! A man selling them at the end of our street is very nice and waves at everyone. Everyone calls him the Orange Man.

“We plan to stay on the island and explore. I’m excited to go to the beaches. I’m hoping to learn a lot more Italian, take some cooking classes, and after the baby’s born, go to the wineries!  Mount Etna is close to us and beautiful! We could see smoke coming out of it the other day.”

An abrupt break

Both graduates of Columbia High School, Kyle (1998) and Carol (2001) have been living in Italy for less than a year with the United States Navy.

Since May 2019, Kyle has been stationed in Gaeta, Italy, as the Officer in Charge of Naval Station Gaeta. The base exists for the support of the USS Mount Whitney, a Command and Control ship. Carol, along with their daughter Teagan, 7, relocated to Gaeta in December after she finished her job at Sotheby’s International Realty in Washington, D.C. They chose to live in Gaeta, to be part of the community Kyle works in and to enroll Teagan into a small Italian school, rather than in the Department of Defense school in Naples. Prior to December, as a family, they experienced Gaeta’s “Illuminati” lights festival during the holiday season. It was mid-January before Teagan was enrolled in second grade, having acquired the appropriate uniform and school supplies. It was weeks before learning that toilet paper, soap, towels or toilet seats were not supplied. The school day is 5.5-hours long, with only a 15-minute snack time. Though different from what she was accustomed to, she was progressing. The rhythm of life was starting to take course when the schools closed for cleaning and then to an abrupt halt due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The initial decree set forth by Gaeta allowed people to be outside in public, on the beach and to hike the local Mount Orlando Park while still maintaining social distancing. Unfortunately, those privileges were soon revoked and they are now required to stay home, only being allowed to depart for essentials. Only one adult can leave the house at a time; with Kyle at work, Carol and Teagan stay home. They have a balcony for fresh air and occasional neighborly music. When anyone is out of the home, they must carry their documentation stating destination and reason for being in public.

Carol enjoys going to base every other weekend to wash sheets and towels at the laundromat. They bake often to send treats to the base security team and have completed all the puzzles from the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center, ensuring they are complete before sending them back. They have a small courtyard where Teagan has been perfecting her volleyball spike, jumping rope, making up games and hula hooping. Carol has arranged shopping of goods for their family and others from Naples with commuters, to reduce the amount of people traveling.

They look forward to everything being open again to build further community relationships and to travel within Italy and Europe.

If you wish to read more about the Alcocks’ experiences, visit Carol’s blog at www.alcocktravelnotes.com.