April 18th, 2020
I knew the Year of The Rat would be tricky . . . But who knew it would be THIS tricky?! I mean, so many things! Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, tornados, and Covid-19. To say it has been a tough several months would be an understatement.
While we were in the belly of the beast with Covid over here in China, I watched a lot of Netflix (specifically all of Gossip Girl, which took forever!!! SIX LONG SEASONS, people. Six!!!), knitted 3 scarves, and played hard with my growing puppy. I taught 7 weeks of online lessons and spent more time at the grocery store than I have ever done before. I also wrote a little bit about my experience. These writings are not life-altering writings, but they are very indicative of how I was feeling at the given moment.
Like everyone in isolation, I had good days and I had bad days. The bad days were filled with strange thoughts, irritation, and the walls closing in on me. The good days were filled with productivity, good food, successful student work, and feelings of accomplishment. Thankfully, the good outweighed the bad.
I ate a lot of cheese during my time at home. Did you know you could order giant hunks of interesting cheeses online from Shanghai?!!! I had no clue and was instantly excited by this prospect which was so worth it! I also ate a fair amount of high-quality chocolate and drank a lot of wine, heavily spiced and mulled because it was freezing cold outside and snowing on occasion. (I have not had cheese, wine, or chocolate since we have started back to school . . . Almost a month back, now!) Sir Rigby has stayed in bed for most of 2020, per usual.
Due to the Chinese New Year holiday happening at the beginning of all of this Covid craziness, there were almost no people left in my apartment complex. Lots of Chinese families had already traveled back to visit with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and so-forth. There were just a handful of foreigners (me, a few colleagues) and a few Chinese families left, trapped in our complex for 10 weeks. This allowed for my friend Karla and me to become heavily acquainted with the stray dogs living around our apartments. We fed them daily, took them on cab rides and walks, and swept out the Gazebo for them numerous times, filling it with old mattresses and clothes, to create a safe and warm space for them to sleep and eat. They became our friends and companions, two of them my puppy’s parents.
All of the various gates into our apartment complex have been closed and barricaded, remaining this way still today. Normally I would not think this a big deal, except the only open gate is about a 15-minute walk from my house. Again, not a big deal . . . Unless you are carrying 10 bags of groceries and two 5-gallon jugs of water. No deliveries are allowed inside, so I am retrieving things all the time. Plus, when I take my dog to the park, I have to physically carry him to the gate and another 30 minutes to the park because of the stray dog population and the various unsavory things on the streets. Again, things could be much worse—so I am grateful—but this is my experience.
What a difference a month makes!!!
Today is my first day back at school with a full load of classes. Last week, we had students, but only grades 3 and up. This week, we start back with everyone. I will be waiting, mask on face, for my students at the door, squeezing out sanitizer into their young-but-able hands as they enter the classroom.
Before last week began, I was instructed to change around tables so that students were always a meter apart. All students and teachers, faculty and staff have to wear masks during school hours. Students are not allowed to “mingle” and all group-based events at our school have been cancelled. (Except for a talent show that was dropped in my lap last week . . . More on that at a later date.) It kind of makes my heart hurt a bit that my classroom has turned into such a non-collaborative space. But we do what the pandemic wants.
We are currently working on a postcard project to send out to Jason Brown in Nashville, Tennessee for his most recent mail art show, which will be housed in the Vanderbilt University special collections department. This is a great way for the students to be able to reflect on their time at home during our isolation homestay period. And, it’s a wonderful way for my older students to write out advice to other students their age, helping them to figure out their own isolation homestay period and how best to manage time.
It’s been a rough and LONG semester so far. But I hope that things start looking up for everyone around the world soon.
→ → → Next up: Part 2, Online Learning and Reflection
It’s been a rough and LONG semester so far. But I hope that things start looking up for everyone around the world soon.
→ → → Next up: Part 2, Online Learning and Reflection
Stay healthy! XOXO!
