Anyways, during September, Japanese take time to celebrate the beautiful Autumnal Equinox and its moon, as well as the elderly in our community.
Back in April, I had written about my grandma's sudden health decline. By the Grace of God, she made a miraculous recovery and is now in a senior citizen home. And her 40 years of teaching apparently made her resistant to this crazy Covid virus! She tested positive shortly after moving into a home and never developed any symptoms! She is truly a tough woman just like her mother!
So, what has happened over the months after? Well, in Japan, we quickly started reintroducing class time to students. This was a bit easier to do because our school year starts in April. The kids' classes were split into Half A and Half B to keep the student population low. Starting in the last weeks of April, we would have the classes come for only the morning. Half A would come one day and the next day would be Half B. Only the most important core classes would be taught, such as math, language arts, and social studies, with additional assignments being given as at-home studies.
In May, we upped the morning classes to twice a week while still maintaining Half-Class policy, meaning teachers were teaching four out of the five days. Because early May is chockful of national holidays (making up what is known as 'Golden Week'), these classes didn't start until mid-May.
After a couple of weeks, we recombined the halves and allowed students to go to school with all their classmates in the morning.
By the second week of June, we began having normal length days again and have maintained that ever since.
Now, of course, social distancing practices have been institutionalized since the beginning of this mess. Students are not supposed to touch each other nor speak to each other or in class without a mask on. All desks must face forward. Windows are routinely opened to air out any germs. And any students or staff with cold-like symptoms are asked to stay home.
Any other rules are decided upon by the schools themselves.
Since students missed the last month of the previous school year and the first 1.5 mouths of this year, our summer vacation was moved from mid-July to early August and shortened from 4 weeks to 2 weeks. Also, the school year has been reduced from 3 trimesters to 2 semesters, with the first semester ending in a couple of years.
It is a truly bizarre year. Each week brings changes and new additions to the ever-evolving Covid school format, giving all the teachers headaches. But, the students are happy to see their friends! That is what is important!
In short, this year is a toughie. With so much going on, it is easy to be angry or depressed. So, if it is possible, take a peek at this year's full Autumnal Equinox moon and think of blessing in your life.
"I'm still alive!"
"I got to see my kids!"
"I read a book for the first time in years!"
Whatever your blessing is, it is important to keep that in mind during this struggle. And, trust me, no matter what diarrhea-like darkness hits the fan, there is still a blessing to be found within the struggle. Find your Polaris and never let go!
Til next time, Later Peeps!
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