One year later…

An after school forest walk in Park Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo

It’s hard to believe but it has been a full 365 days since my school shut our campus on March 19, 2020. Though today we know that COVID-19 was with us much earlier than we had realized, this anniversary gives me pause. As I took some time today to reflect on the rollercoaster ride of 2020-2021 and write this post, I want to preface all of this by saying how lucky I feel that my friends and family have all remained safe, mostly employed, and fairly even-keeled mentally during this time. This is clearly not the case for so many people effected by this pandemic.

Strictly by the numbers, the last year has brought:

  • 80 days of lockdown in my Moscow compound
  • 11 COVID tests (all negative)
  • 1 antibody test (positive)
  • 4 international flights resulting in 48 days spent alone in quarantine (not counting the cat, she would be offended)
  • 6 weeks of asynchronous teaching via Google Classroom posts
  • 3 months of distance teaching in my Moscow apartment
  • 3 months of hybrid teaching (teaching simultaneously to students online and in my classroom)
  • 2 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine*
  • Hundreds of Marco Polo video messages to friends keeping in touch

Still not sure what to make of any of it except to say that I’ve survived, thanks in huge part to the support of my family, friends, colleagues, and students. The cat has some residual separation anxiety and I’ve gained about 10 lbs. but we’ll both bounce back. Some days are harder than others but, on the whole, I’m choosing to champion the little victories.

I’m very happy to share that my Grade 12 Visual Art students were able to hold their IB Exhibition this past week. The event was a bright spot in an otherwise abnormal school year, appreciated by the whole school community. Sadly, last year we were shut down just two days before my students were meant to mount their show. Above is a video of the event and below a few pictures of the artists and artwork. This was a small but mighty group and the show packed a punch. Very proud of these young women.

Next week our entire school will be returning to campus. Thus far, we have been in “hybrid learning” with only half of our student population on campus on a given day. It’s complicated but was starting to become the new normal. Can’t say I’m looking forward to yet another additional change in teaching flow but it’s the direction our school has chosen.

The more I read about mental health stability during this time, the more the word novelty arises. Many of us have turned to routine for stability during these turbulent times. However, as we humans are curious social creatures by nature, experts are encouraging us to change up the routine when possible to refresh our daily perspective.

In this vein, I was able to take a night at the Hotel Savoy over my February break. We are not allowed to travel internationally right now but it did seem necessary to change it up and spend a night in another part of town.

Choosing a hotel I could walk to and avoiding public transport was important to me. I also really wanted to see the lights in Red Square and hadn’t been able to due to temperatures in the negative numbers of Fahrenheit. The Savoy assured me of their safety measures and contactless check-in. I was sold.

The hotel did not disappoint and I even got a blue sky day to enjoy the 45 minute walk from my home to Red Square. After warming up and ordering room service for dinner, I set off to enjoy the lights. Moscow does “lights” particularly well.

Red Square was no exception, especially amid the snow of a recent storm. Though the Christmas market was over, the holiday spirit remained.

As always, there are bright spots. My students continue to bring joy and excitement to each new school day. The sun is staying out longer and rising earlier. We’re holding steadily at 35F after two months of very cold weather. I’m venturing farther from home as weather allows and taking walks with friends often. You may have noticed above that I made the choice to get the Sputnik V vaccine. I have no completed both doses and I’m a week away from “full immunity”. I continue to wear my mask. Moscow remains fully open which I find both intimidating and premature. However, this affords me certain liberties and choices that friends in other countries do not have. Pandemic life continues to be full of starts and stops, ups and downs, pros and cons. As always, I try to appreciate a little beauty amid the madness.

I hope you are all staying safe and getting vaccinated when possible. Wishing you good health and a good week ahead. Please stay in touch – it means a lot.

Advertisement

13 thoughts on “One year later…

  1. Meg,
    You have done so much this past year…and most often, for others!
    One can see the students are glad to express their ideas while you shape the future in art education with students. Taking a break at the hotel Savoy must have been fantastic. Thank you for the post…always enjoy seeing your posts. Glad you are all set with the vaccine!!

    Like

  2. Thank you so much for the lovely & informative update on your well being & status of you & your students in Moscow. Quite a story!

    Like

  3. Megan, you have a gift of making the best of any situation . I hope your journey through life continues to be enjoyable and safe.. love from Aunt Dottie

    Like

  4. Meg, I always look forward to your stunning photos of life in Moscow! Glad to hear you’ve been fully vaccinated! Most teachers here in VT have been able to as well.

    Like

    1. Thank you, Michelle! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the blog 🙂 And that VT teachers can be vaccinated – that’s fantastic news. Hope you and your family are healthy and well.

      Like

  5. Dear Meg< Hang in there. It has to be over soon. Just love reading your experiences and seeing photos of Russia.
    Stay well
    Carol Monti

    Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s