2020 SUCKS!  

On March 13, I saw my students for the last time that school year because of a new virus spreading across the world.  It is called Corona Virus 2019, COVID 19 for short.  As a teacher, it is important to me to have a connection with my students and to keep that connection all year long.  These connections allow students to feel like they can tell me anything; they feel supported and believe that I will be there when they need someone.  However, 2020 was not going to allow me to do that for students.  Although I was very close to them, the distance of only having classes via Zoom, even though I held classes everyday, did not sustain that closeness.  

 

It was total chaos from March to June.  Students were not attending the Zoom classes.  Can I blame them though? Most of them have never used Zoom before.  Even as a teacher, I was quite uncomfortable with Zoom for the first month.  Am I screen sharing correctly? Breakout rooms?  How do I do that?  Why can't the students hear me?  "Ms. Castillo, you sound like a dying robot," they commented.  "What did she say?", the chatbox would show.  "Oh geez!!! Please no!  Now now...," I worriedly thought to myself when I see or hear those comments and the like.  My stomach tightened into knots.  I felt light-headed like I  was going to throw up.  Later, my doctor said that I was having panic attacks.  I was nervous about things going wrong technologically; I hated the thought that I will let 32 students, who successfully signed in that day, down.

 

It was not just work that was affected.  My parents who are in their 70s live with me.  I have to be careful about where I go, who I see, and how many times I wash my hands.  They have pre-existing conditions --- diabetes and high blood pressure.  They are in the group most in danger because of their compromised immune system.  I can not bring this disease to them!  I had to be the one to go to the market, do the laundry, clean the house (because it's not safe to have my cleaning lady come according to the CDC's advice to limit contact with people outside your household).  I was working though... yes, I signed up for summer school so that I can practice the technology and be better prepared in August because it looks like we will still be teaching online then.

 

Then, there is my long-awaited vacation to Puglia and Sicily with my mom and my brother.  I have been saving for it for a year, putting a few hundred aside every month so that I have enough to fully pay for the tour and have pocket money by June.  Well, that didn't happen!  The three of us have been looking forward to the trip!  I have been reading about the Puglia region and the unique house architecture that I will see there.  I read about Taormina in Sicily and the Roman theater that is still used in concerts today --- well, maybe not now with COVID-19.  It doesn't seem like any gatherings are being allowed in any country at the moment.  Thank goodness that my husband and I went to Sevilla for the holidays (Christmas and New Year) because I don't know when we will be allowed to travel again, but I sorely miss Europe!  My summer is just not complete without visiting Europe.  It's a tradition for mom and me!

 

This pandemic does not care about tradition though.  It does not discriminate.  It does not care if one is rich or poor either.  Not since the Spanish Flu has the world seen such devastation caused by disease; that was 100 years ago.  The year is only half-way over, and according to Dr. Fauci, the prime expert on the subject, things will likely get worse when fall/autumn comes and flu season begins.

 

If things are about to get worse, then I think I am justified in saying that 2020 SUCKS!