Melodramatic love stories aside, life here is a little surreal at times and oddly normal at the same time. It started with the arrival of the COVID-19 coronavirus a few weeks ago. Soon after that hot spots in a few smaller towns and cities in Northern Italy were quarantined. New orders cancelling school trips were a bummer. Then schools and universities were closed for 10 days. (March 5-15) Sunday the quarantine area spread to include much of Northern Italy including Milan and Venice and all museums, libraries, sports venues, and archaeological sites were closed nation wide. Luckily, we spent Saturday at a delightfully empty Vatican museum. No more. Monday night the quarantine area was expanded to include the whole country and school closures were extended to April 3. So, here we are a week later and so much has changed.
The kids are doing school online. It's interesting to see how the two schools approach it so differently. My Girl's school is very interactive. Her teachers are using Google Meet to hold real time classes on their usual schedule including choir and PE. It is interesting to see how they are adapting to the situation. The kids work together and talk to each other. My Girl even has lunch with her friends some days and meets with them online to talk about homework after school hours. My Boy's school has boarders who are now spread across the world so synchronous classes are not really viable. He gets assignments through Google classroom and works on them through the day. I think there is less accountability since he isn't seeing or interacting with his teachers in the same way. As an online teacher I've seen the other end of this where students just sort of float along. I'm trying to encourage him to continue to do his best work. He did have a text chat meeting with his advisory group yesterday so that was something. They both seem to be doing fine with it. I think My Boy might like it a bit too much. Last week his drama class got together informally at a student's house, but with the new restrictions I don't think that will be able to continue.
I teach online so nothing has really changed for me at work. The only problem is that with all of us at home and everybody else now at home during the day the internet has become clogged. Sites are slow to load and videos are laggy. The trials of the modern era! I have more to do than usual since I'm trying to get a new online health class organized on top of my usual teaching/grading. It's a different dynamic with the kids home during the day even if they are busy-ish with their school work.
John is in California for tax season. He isn't missing the epidemic fun entirely. California is having it's own COVID-19 experience. He'll delay his return so that he doesn't have to go back so soon. The CDC is recommending a 14 day self quarantine for anyone coming into the US from Italy or other affected country. If you are planning a 7 day trip it just isn't worth it.
As of last week our church was closed. Now that gatherings are prohibited, all church services, including mass, are not allowed. It's interesting. At the beginning of the year we started a new "home-based church-supported" curriculum. The idea was that we would study for ourselves and learn at home as families then gather on Sundays to discuss and share. It was something years in the making and a big shift for the church. I don't think anyone had an idea that there would be a global pandemic that would shut down churches around the world. Last Sunday we watched a video devotional by one of my favorite church leaders, Dieter Uchtdorf. It was especially fun to hear from his wife. She talked about how they met and how grateful she is for the missionaries who taught her many years ago in Germany. He talked about being willing to give something up for a greater blessing later. For example, he had to learn English, not something that came easily to him, in order to become a pilot, something he loved doing. This Sunday they will be offering church services broadcast through Zoom. It will be in Italian, so I might join in for a bit, but we will do our own thing at home as well.
I was not terribly surprised when I heard the news that we were being quarantined. Another blogger in Rome mentioned that what a couple of weeks ago seemed unthinkable, seemed inevitable when it happened. In a weird way it is almost a relief not having to wait for the shoe to fall. We don't know what will happen next or how long it will last. But for now we are doing fine.
When I first heard that there would be more restrictions I was nervous and confused about what that really meant, what was allowed and what was not. Today, the day after the new restrictions went into place, there were lines outside the grocery stores as people waited to get inside. Stores were limiting the number of people inside so that we could all practice the recommended 1 meter of "social distancing". On the street there are fewer people, in some neighborhoods the streets are empty. We live in a part of town where a lot of people live their regular lives. It isn't a tourist neighborhood at all. The streets around the tourist sites are deserted. Even last Friday when we went out for a walk near the Colosseum, Largo Argentina, and the Jewish Quarter I was surprised at how few people were out. The Jewish Quarter was shockingly empty. You would expect it to be bustling with tables in the street full of tourists and locals eating artichokes. No tables, no tourists, no people. Oddly quiet.
Ravenclaw Biker Girl and Hufflepuff Plaid Boy
Colosseum without a crowd
Back alleys of the Jewish Quarter
Saturday we "avoided crowds" by going to the very uncrowded Vatican museum. It was wonderful to be able to walk right up to the ticket counter. It isn't unusual to have a 2 hour wait, more during peak seasons. Inside the museums there were people around, but not so many that you couldn't see or really experience the work. I'll write more about that later. It was a great day.
Sunday we planned to take a walk to the museum of the walls and then down to a little church where, according to legend, Jesus Christ appeared to Peter. Sunday morning the museums closed. I found out by reading the sign on the museum door. So we headed down the Appian Way to the church. It is a tiny little church, very small and very simple. Even before it was a church it was a place where travelers leaving Rome along the Appian Way would stop and pray for a safe journey. The story goes that Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" (Domine, quo vadis?). Jesus answered, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" (Eo Romam iterum crucifigi). At this point Peter returned to Rome where he was imprisoned and later killed. It couldn't be much different from the opulence of the Vatican.
The situation seems to change almost daily. We're rolling with it. The kids are generally in good spirits. My biggest concern is if I can get my new class ready to go in the next couple of weeks. If you are the praying sort send in one our direction. The whole country could use it.
1 comment:
Gotcha covered on the prayers! Love ya!
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