Back to… (diary of recovery 3)

In the garden, it is the time after the tulips and the yellow early blossoms, and
I love the different shades of red that show up now. They don't photograph well...
and you can see that as always there is a lot of work that needs to be done in my garden!

This past Monday I went ‚back to school’. Only half the class of my nursing course, the other half was home schooled, and we will switch weekly. Safety distance between the tables, masks in front of our faces, and we are not supposed to sit next to each other during breaks either. The usual by now. The building can be accessed only through the main entrance, all the others are barred for entry, though you can exit that way. I did not take a picture of the classroom. It is not interesting, really, we can all imagine.

Classes are … well, different. Because ‘back to school’ with all these measures is not back to anything, it is adjusting to a completely changed learning environment. Which is one reason why I simply can’t stand that phrase ‘back to a new normal’. There is no going “back to” normal as nothing is going to be the same anymore if these measures persist. We have to move forward and accept that we are dealing with completely changed modes of interaction. So ‘getting used to a new normal’ would be a much more fitting phrase, I think.

Sitting in a classroom with masks, a serious construction site right outside the windows and temperatures getting warmer does not make for easy learning. Sometimes I feel sorry for the teachers, because students’ eagerness to answer questions is not too great, and standing in front of such a masked-up class must be anything but exciting.

I am surprised at the degree of uninformedness of some of my course mates. They are studying to become nurses – and talk about conspirational theories, how politics is taking away our liberties and human rights. But some of the nurses on the ward, and that was the infectious ward, in direct confrontation with Covid19!, did not really know much about the virus either, only how to put on the protective masks and uniform. 

When I went to get tested almost two weeks ago the doctor had a bit of time to chat – few patients, because everybody was afraid to catch something in the waiting room – and as we know each other privately, too, we chatted about various things that had more or less to do with the virus, or not. I told him about that virologists’ podcast I listen to and how that had helped me deal with the situation because it taught me a lot about what is going on. He told me about a wonderful book he was currently reading, and it sounded so interesting that I went ahead and am testing an audiobook service now for a month to listen to this book. And he was right – it is a highly fascinating book: “Pale Rider – how the Spanish Flu changed the World we live in” by Laura Spinney. 

Screenshot from the audio I am using.

The current virus is not a flu, but a lot of things that happened with the flu are similar to what we are experiencing these days. If you want to read something that puts everything into perspective, try this book. I could not lay hand on a hard copy, which is why I then decided to try the audio version. I stitch, and listen, and feel as if this is grounding me.

Progress in recovery. 

Stitching is a part of this, of course. I am on the finishe line with the black and yellow piece I have been working on and finally, this morning, found a title, so can proceed with the sleeve.

One knitting project is finished, too: the moebius type cowl I have been working on from a handspun yarn that was the outcome of the Spinning musical chairs I participated in last November. Just in time for summer... But I did in fact wear it today for a little while, not only for the photo, which was taken two days ago it is rather cool today.

And a number of zoom sessions during the past few days enabled me to continue on one of the many many UFOs I have: I am actually getting closer to having enough blocks that I can then assemble them and put them together.

Progress on stitching myself to recovery.