Teaching Socially Distanced - Diary of Recovery!

 

A little more than a week ago I got to teach a workshop at the Community College where I have been teaching regularly. Until the last day I was expecting to receive a cancellation due to rising infection numbers, but that didn’t happen. 

 

We got together, no hugging as usual, the tables stood a bit further apart than usually. But we always have pretty big tables, one of the many many assets this venue provides, and so the situation in the sewing room wasn’t that much different than any other time. Except for wearing masks when going around in the room, I did not go as close up to participants as I might have in other times. And we were supposed to wear masks when leaving the room, of course. Nothing we were not prepared for, because by now everybody knows how to behave. And we were all so very happy that the workshop could take place that everybody obliged willingly. In Germany by now many people are debating more and more whether wearing masks does actually make a difference in terms of infection rates. I wonder why – is it because we were so successful in the spring to cut it all down that now, because it all was so successful people are not taking the danger for real anymore? By now, numbers are rising again, and it is getting to the point where the increase is dramatic.

 

However, I did feel a difference, both in the teaching, and in the dining room situation. Meal times were split up, to reduce the number of people in the room together at one time. And we were supposed to sit with social distance, although not quite 6 ft. apart. Normally, there would have been a gorgeous salad buffet, one of the highlights of that place – not possible. Meals weren’t served to the table, one had to stand in line, then got to pick out what one wanted and could take the plate back to the table. Food was as good as always, but I clearly felt how important those meals together, the conversations that take place at the table during eating, are for the overall well-being of the course. We were still fine, the group knows each other, and we all had a very good time. 

 

Under the circumstances it was probably much better than we could have hoped for. And I am very grateful that we could do that weekend. It is just a tiny bit of feeling of completeness that was missing.