I can't believe it's August already! Most teachers I know are somewhere in-between normal and abnormal stress right now as they are gearing up for the fall as usual, but trying to figure out how they're going to do it with the added responsibility of keeping kids virus free. They already act as counselor, psychologist, nutritionist, judge and jury in disputes, nurse, doctor, and generally in loco parentis, so why not add epidemiologist to the list.
As of now I won't be doing any of these things this fall. Do I miss it. Absolutely! No, I don't think I'd want to be the one dealing with the couple in the principal's office who have pledged their eternal love to each other by trading masks (yeah, try and tell me that won't happen), but I'm so used to August being the time for course prep that I actually feel stress by not getting ready.
No, I haven't decided not to return to China and it's not that China has kicked out all of the foreigners. If anything, my school wants both my wife and me to return because without us they're now short two foreign teachers. The problem is foreign English teachers are now at something of a premium in China since the government is not letting foreigners in or out. Normally I'd just renew my residence permit in a simple process and be able to come as go as I please, but since it expired before I could get back I'll have to go through the entire process of getting a new visa in order to return. I won't be able to do much of anything about that until the Chinese embassy in D. C. opens their visa office. They closed back in April and I've heard they're not likely to open again until October at the earliest.
What about online teaching? No, that's not going to happen. Unfortunately neither the parents at the school nor the local education department are willing for their students to have any more online education. If they want to do it on their own that's fine, but as part of their formal education it just doesn't cut it. This fall all of the kids in China will be back in their classrooms with real live teachers standing in front of them.
That means for now I'll be looking for something to fill in the gaps (and my bank account) until I can get back to China. The hope is that my family and I will get back sometime before January. That might make the visa process a little easier since my wife and I won't be considered new hires. When/if we get back, there will likely be a 14 - 28 day quarantine and even after that life won't be anything like it was before we left, but where in the world is life going to be anything like it was for the foreseeable future?
For the moment there's not much I can do other than move forward as much as possible and enjoy what I can of the moment. I have both of my daughters with me. That's only going to become more rare in the future so I should enjoy it while I can. I'm able to be with my parents. I doubt they'll be making many more trips to China so why not make the most of the time I have here in the US with them? It's important to look and plan ahead, but it's equally important (and possible) to make the most of what's here and now.