Moving into Fall

 

It feels like this corner of the world has started shifting into Fall. The shops are still stocked with sandals and swimsuits, but temperatures have dropped slightly and rains have blown in this week. I was very nervous about biking to school in the rain, but we have managed so far. Got new raincoats and sturdier shoes. 

The first rainy day, I wore these nylon pants that I've had simply forever. They are not waterproof but they do dry very quickly so they are suitable for wet days; I just take a skirt or something to change into once I get to school. Not very stylish but they'll do the job. 

I actually did the math then, because I remember wearing these in Bolivia, back when I would drive a motorcycle in the mud and hike into pastures in our work with MCC. I remember that my uncle Dave gave them to me. They are Champion brand and I'm pretty sure he got them at Wal-Mart. They have to be at least 25 years old, then. I don't remember having them in college so I can peg the date at or around summer 1995 when I graduated. 

Not that my memory is that reliable. 

But I do have vivid memories of mosquitos clustered thickly on these pants during community meetings in Yapacaní. 

It feels good to have clothes that old, still useful. Older than some of my colleagues at school! 

School in the time of Covid-19

 Week one of in-person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year is in the books!

On Monday I was ready to collapse from exhaustion, but it turned out to be mostly dehydration. The weather continues to be very hot in Albania, and we are required to keep our classroom windows open and wear masks at all times indoors. We can turn on the A/C in the classroom, but it isn't very effective with the windows open (although it helps). 

I forgot to drink water, and since we biked to school and back, I got home with a massive headache and just kind of fell into bed.

The rest of the week went better, although by Wednesday I actually thought we'd been in in-person school for two weeks already!

About a month ago, when staff meetings began, I discovered this card on the whiteboard in my classroom, under the date: March 9, 2020. That was the last day we were in the building until this fall. It was a poignant moment. I left the date un-erased, as a kind of marker of the massive transition that happened that day. 

As far as school itself goes, there have been no major disasters, no huge problems, no massive snafus. It has been a surprisingly uneventful first week back in the classroom. I absolutely love being face-to-face, despite the masks, despite the heat. I love getting overly dramatic while reading out loud or explaining concepts. I've always had a bit of a diva in me (I loved acting in plays or performing music, even though I'm at best mediocre in those areas) and it's really fun being in front of a classroom again. 

The students have been mostly cooperative, and also glad to be together again. Everything depends on their cooperation, so that's encouraging. 

At the same time, I am deeply tired. I have very little down time for planning since we have to cover more study halls (keeping class cohorts separate) and more stringently supervise lunch time and down time in general. As an introvert, it's wearying to be always "on stage." I like being on stage, but I need the backstage time to recharge and rest. 

Hurray for weekends! 

Feel the breeze in my face

Last year we bought a second-hand bike for Gabe, and a new one for Val. During lockdown there were not many opportunities to use them, and then this summer with all the unpredictable travel restrictions we opted not to do our usual grand world tour of places we have lived before and instead invested that money in wheels for the whole family. We upgraded the kids bikes, and bought two more adult sized bikes as well. 

I absolutely LOVE biking. I think the last time I used a bicycle was around 1997 or so, when I rode one around the Yapacaní area in Bolivia. But a combination of factors gave me a lot of lower back pain, which was exacerbated by biking, so I quit and hadn't mounted one since then. So it has been over 20 years. I had forgotten how much fun it is! 

It reminds of how Harry Potter felt the first time he rode a broom:

“He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him- and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught- this was easy, this was wonderful." (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

There is another description of how the broom seemed to know what he wanted it to do, how it responded to the lightest touch of his hand. That's how I felt on my bike today, gliding down this bike path (below) to school.  

 The current mayor of Tirana has expanded the bike lanes all over the city, and during lockdown continued to do so. Drivers of vehicles are not very happy about it, as on-street parking has diminished considerably. Public use of the bike lanes is also not ideal - a lot of pedestrians walk in them, and people often stop their vehicles in them to pick up and drop off things or passengers. The traffic lights at major intersections are not terribly well organized. However, it sure beats walking (to me - Terry still prefers to hoof it). 

We are planning to have the kids bike to school, at least we'll try it out. If we manage to bike for 60 days out of the 180 school days in the year, the cost of the bikes will balance out the cost of a taxi. The exercise and renewable energy benefits are superlative. 

But most of all, gliding down the street on my bike is just pure joy. 

The Tirana Pyramid

 The Tirana Pyramid is a well-known landmark in the city, on the main boulevard between Sheshi Skenderbeg and the university. When I think of pyramids, I think of Egypt, of course, and of the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in the new world. Something in the way that the shape evokes mountains obviously invites climbing.

The Tirana Pyramid was built as a monument to Albania's cruel dictator, Enver Hoxha, and was a center for communications for many years. Now, it is a decrepit, graffiti-covered trash pit, more or less, although the current municipal government has ambitious plans to turn it into a center for digital technology innovation and training. 

It's also a kid magnet. It's something of a rite of passage for kids in Tirana to climb to the top, and yesterday my kids and their friend S. did just that! It was such a beautiful day out, that I suggested we all ride our bikes to the lake after school. Well, a simple bike ride turned into extended playtime in the park by the lake, and "can we stop and climb the pyramid?" on the way back!

My heart was in my throat watching them become little ants before my eyes, ascending on a slant, raising their arms in triumph at the top, then inching their ways back down again. 

Last year we enjoyed reading the Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch. In the first book, The Name of This Book Is Secret, our hearts were in our throats reading the thrilling story of Cass and Max-Ernest who sneak into a pyramid-turned-spa to rescue their friend Benjamin from the nefarious designs of Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L, who want to live forever.  

Whatever the context - communist Albania, Egypt, the Americas, a book of fiction - pyramids seem to confer a sense of magical power. I love that my kids met this challenge, this Albanian rite of passage, scaling to the top of this new height. I love that they came back down to earth, grounded with me again. 

A hot minute

Hello! 

It's been a hot minute since I've posted here, actually more like 1 million thirty thousand minutes (give or take...). Basically I spent a year after that last post processing a lot of "life stuff" internally that I wasn't really comfortable making public, and then this past year I've been super busy teaching. Plus, the kids are at an age where they're a little more aware of what gets posted about them on social media, so I haven't felt as free to talk about them as much here. 

But here we are, and I thought it might be a good time to rev up the ol' blog again. 

We have started school online this year!

We had hoped to begin in person on the 20th, then on the 24th, and then got word that permission to open face-to-face was denied by the Albanian Ministry of Education. But, we could start online, and then transition to face-to-face once all the Albanian schools open on September 14. 

It seems like everyone connected in any way, shape, or form to formal education is struggling with the pandemic and all that implies for the ways that we do school, at all levels. It has been a learning curve, for sure, but I've felt a lot of confidence in our administration - the thoughtful planning, consultation, and decision-making that has gone into preparing for this year gives me a great sense of optimism.

And, so far so good! There have been tech issues and glitches, to be sure - on Tuesday, four of my 9th-graders living near each other lost power! But students, teachers, and families have shown themselves to be adaptable and resilient. The four 9th graders got together at one home and used 4G to connect on one laptop to their class. It looked to me like they were actually really enjoying doing school together. 

We have had our own little family "pod" as well. 

Over the summer, our kids have had regular playdates with a couple friends from their respective classes, and so when school started we decided to keep the friend-pods going and invited the other kids to join us at our house. We hired a recent high school graduate to look after them while Terry and I work, and so far it's been going really well. 

COVID-19 stats in Albania have not been great this summer. We are up to 101 deaths per million, which is lower than the global average, but not by much. After lockdown lifted on June 1 (after a whole month of *no deaths*), people seemed to feel quite free to do whatever and also seemed to be trusting in the summer weather to knock out the virus. Daily cases soared - and are only now just starting to come down again as people seem to have realized the consequences of their actions. 

So, we will see how things go. That's all we can do, really - prepare and plan, but be ready to flex at a moment's notice.