Life during the time of Coronavirus - A personal perspective

So, how has this time of Coronavirus affected me personally?

As I write, CR is loosening restrictions more & more, that most people think that we're 'getting back to normal'. However, I'm not sure what normal means yet, as there still might be repercussions - we will see. But as I look back at this time, some things stand out...

Spring 

We enjoyed the most amazing spring in CR! It has been probably the best that I have experienced since we moved here in 2001, but the fact that I could personally enjoy it was even more special! I love spring - it really is my favourite season. Normally, because of the demands of my job, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it as much as I have done, but I adapted a routine where I would work mornings & evenings & keep the afternoon free, in order to take advantage of the wonderful weather, and all that goes with it. As a keen birdwatcher (twitcher!) it was fabulous! I was able to enjoy walks & some cycling trips (I've cycled twice as much as I have done in the past by this stage of the year!), and fitted in some birding with that. It really was a delight to see spring develop & unfold like a symphony - I could savour each movement.

It was a change of lifestyle that suited me. I was even able to take advantage of having a regular siesta after a busy morning! (Surely my favourite Spanish word - a great idea!) I found it refreshed me, and then having shifted some endorphins around after a good 20-30 km bike ride, I had the energy to continue working later on.
Spring was surely the greatest gift which the Coronavirus restrictions gave me 😊

The land of Zoom & FB chats
Of course, one of the main negatives was not being able to see friends & family face-to-face. We usually have a family get together, each 6 months, and the last one was due in Prague in March, but this was cancelled. So, we 'zoomed' a few times. I did Facebook chats with students, individually, and then groups, and when the groups were too big, then I moved them to Zoom.
I also enjoyed a couple of cyber-beer-chats with friends.
We even had our church meetings on Zoom, which was awkward to begin with - and some continued to struggle with it. It wasn't as good as face-to-face, but it was certainly better than nothing, and we had to learn how to get the best out of this medium. I'm glad it's over now, though we still continue to pray on Zoom each week.
However, I did start to get 'zoomed out', and became nauseous at the sight of a computer screen. I really missed the face-to-face, live interaction with students & friends.

Travel plans
Initially, a big disappointment for us was cancelling our travel plans. After losing ISLI, it was gutting to know we wouldn't be able to go to the Scottish highlands in July - we knew this back in March. It was something we were both really looking forward to, and we'd had our Airbnb booked & flights etc...but, it's not the end of the world 😉

However, our Plan B - the High Tatras in Slovakia - one of our favourite hiking/stomping grounds, is now open, and we'll be going there in early July. Bit by bit, the borders around CR have opened up in an effort to get the economy flowing again - are we being too hasty? Again, we shall see. We're expecting the Tatras to be very busy, but we know the area so well that we've been able to line up some hikes where we don't think there will be many tourists 😉

The bigger picture
This has been a very unique & unusual time - we can only guess how significant it will be in the future. I think it's been a wake up call - for people to think about what's really important in life, to challenge some of the values, and dare I say, even idols that we have created for ourselves. Shopping, sports, entertainment, travel - just to name a few - it leaves us with the question: What does my life consist of?

One of the biggest dangers, I think, is that many people will just try to 'get back to normal', or 'move on to the next thing' - but I think it's important before we do any of that to at least reflect on the experiences we've gained from this time, and to reevaluate & perhaps reassess what our life is about. Do we have a bigger picture - or do we still have a narrow field of vision?

Life during the time of Coronavirus - A teacher's viewpoint

ISLI had been cancelled on 26th February.

Just under 2 weeks later, on Tuesday 11th March, I was teaching a seminar group when the school director gave a notice that there would be a meeting for all teachers in the next break...but by then, my students were alerting me to social media notifications that schools would be closing in the Olomouc area from the next day - the 12th! And that was the last time I saw my students, face-to-face 😔

Having hoped that the virus was not such a threat, suddenly, even if it didn't seem to be a direct threat on my health - it was affecting schools (& other aspects of my life, which I'll deal with in another post).  At the time, I think most of my colleagues were under the impression that this would all soon blow over - even some student genuinely believed that after 2-3 weeks of a nice holiday, we'd all be back to normal - but that was not the case.

I had been preparing students for their graduation exams, and also working with some groups of students who would be doing those exams next year. I still had marks to close, and being as I'm more of a conversational teacher (rather than the classical type), I quickly came to the conclusion that something needed to change. I had to find a way of connecting with my students.

By Friday 13th (no, I'm not superstitious! 😜) I was already doing talks with graduation students on Facebook. During the following week, I closed my 3rd marks (also doing some essays) & for the next 2 weeks after that I spoke with every one of my students (100+). I'm not saying this to boast - not only was I 'doing my job', but I was trying to do it in a meaningful way, but I was also genuinely interested in how the students were reacting to this situation. After that, then I had 2 weeks working with the students who would graduate the next year. I worked from school & from home - I tended to discuss it with my wife & I decided on the needs of driving & practicality etc. Room 112 became MY office! 😀 To begin with, everyone in the building wore masks, but as restrictions have lifted, so have the masks...

Some observations: even after a month, it became clear that there were roughly 3 groups of students - two extremes & one big chunk in the middle. One extreme was the extroverts: this was a killer for them - being confined to home, not being able to see friends, no socialising (all pubs, cafes, restaurants, sports, cinemas - all outside entertainment closed!) - struggling to keep motivated, they were suffering. This hit the relationship types really hard. The other extreme was the introverts: living the dream in their bubble - masters of their own universe - organising their time - this was their moment! In the middle was everyone else, who (on the whole) seemed to be fairly stable & would have days when they missed friends, and days when they could quite happily focus & do what they needed to do.

I didn't come across many 'flakaters' (slackers/time wasters) - though there were some - idling their days away on computer games, but it was a way of staying in touch with their friends 😏. However, I did meet quite a few students who were actually using the time to learn something new, or to resurrect an old interest or hobby. Some became addicted to Netflix & perhaps overdosed on it... Some became nocturnal & changed their sleeping/eating habits. I was also aware of some who were fighting with depression & loneliness 😟.

I also did a short video, then branched out into podcasts, as a way of trying to encourage & motivate my students, which I think it did, judging by some feedback. I had to get out my comfort zone. It was noticeable to me that language teachers were the main ones to take up internet forums/chat to relate with their students - not exclusively, but mostly. The important of language & communication, I guess. But many students appreciated what teaching really is about & even missed school! 😯 I never thought I'd hear such things!

For a long time, it looked uncertain as to if our students would even do their graduation exams - the government seemed to be divided & pussy-footed around a bit, but in the end, from next Monday, there will be some didactic exams, and then from the 15th June, all classes will (hopefully) graduate in their oral exams. I have been quite confident that they would happen, but if I'm honest, I 'd hoped we could have done them sooner...but better late than never 😏.

It will be odd this year, during the exams. Thankfully, we won't have to wear masks! (I will be glad to see the back of them!) However, as it stands, there won't be an opening/closing ceremony (for each class), and not all teachers will be able to congratulate the students when the results are announced 😔, and certainly there won't be any hand-shaking, hugging etc - though I think students will do pretty much what they want to do! In fact, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to do my day-by-day reports via FB, which has become a tradition...we shall see.

This has been a unique time for everyone, for teachers & students alike, and no doubt for parents of these students.
I'm confident that we have great students who have acquitted themselves very well, in view of the circumstances. I'm not sure we could have prepared them for this, but I hope we have all learnt something from it.
It seems to me that we could change the way we do things, as teachers - this is a theme to be explored another time, perhaps?
I have dearly missed the interaction with my students - at over 60 years of age, I really value their energy & skill in the English language - their wit, humour & willingness to stretch themselves in what is their 2nd language. I'm glad for at least some contact through social media (I also used Zoom & Skype too), but nothing will replace real, live teaching.

As for my lifestyle...well, that will be the theme of the next post 😎

Life during the time of Coronavirus - In the beginning...

It's been  a very long time since I wrote anything here. Hard to give a reason why - perhaps a lot going on & I never got around to writing? Perhaps I procrastinated 😏?
Whatever the reason, I feel it's time to write something, especially having lived through a time in history that pretty much brought some countries to a standstill, and in which nearly everyone's lifestyle has been affected by an invisible & sometimes deadly foe.

I will write about how this time has affected different parts of my life - my normal lifestyle - my teaching - but also how I see things going, not that I'm an expert - you can go elsewhere for that - but there are sure to be consequences...

But, I need to go back to the beginning...

Once upon a time, there was a life before the virus. I had a routine, a certain way of living, of doing things. My wife & I were very happily married - and we still are! 😃 I was very happy in my job - easily the BEST job I've ever had. I loved the interaction with the students - the stories, dialogue, banter & humour, and inspiration. We had already planned our summer holidays for a road trip, involving hiking, around the Scottish Highlands (where we would see some old friends). ISLI 2020 (the best event I've ever been involved in!) was about to happen withing a couple of weeks. In many ways, things could not have been better - really...

Then there were rumours about this Coronavirus - Covid 19 - virus/type/thing. Coming all the way from China. At one time, it seemed so far away...and yet very soon, it was gaining a deadly momentum in Europe - at that time, in Italy, a country with schools involved in ISLI.

If I'm honest, when all this first kicked off, I put together a meme based on characters & quotes from the Marvel-Avengers series...

I think it pretty much summed up what I was picking up from the media about this dreaded infection. All sorts of panic, opinions, & speculation.

And then the Italian schools pulled out of ISLI. Then some U.S. schools in Italy, and other bases around Europe. On Sunday 23rd February, Italy pulled out - by Wednesday 26th February, the leaders of ISLI had to make the momentous decision to cancel ISLI, for the first time in its history. We had no choice but to cancel a project which had involved a huge amount of preparation beforehand, and resulted in disappointing over 200 people.

That was a bad enough feeling - it was a tough week - not the worst one I've ever had, but not one I would like to go through again.
But that was just the beginning...