Popcorn and Puberty . . . . . by Chanel

That pretty much sums up what you would get if you were able to bottle the primary aroma in our apartment during our semi-quarantine.  And let me tell you that unless you are trying to create a Covid 19 screener for possible loss of smell, you want nothing to do with it.  I love my daughters, but times, they are a changin’.  The only silver lining is that if loss of smell is a symptom of having Covid 19, then I am the healthiest man alive.  I feel like a wine expert somedays.   Today’s particular vintage began with just a hint of armpit, leading into a deep, rich middle reminiscent of the earthy tones of your local landfill, finishing with that slightly sour end that is so often associated with unwashed feet.  A solid score of 93, and available by the case.  And this is coming from the former champion of producing interesting aromas in the family, so you know it is serious.  It is like the movie Gremlins all over again, except the rule is “please, please get them wet, with soap.”

Now Hannah and Lila might take exception to this description, but since I am currently the only chronicler of our time in Brazil, they don’t get a vote.  I am sure they will find this funny someday, maybe.  Admittedly nasal shock and awe is not the only thing going on in our lives, so I will move on.

Our school has been closed since March 12th, which means we just finished up our fifth week of distance learning.   We are currently scheduled to remain closed until the end of May, which would give us one week of in person time with our students, if nothing changes, hah, hah.  And as much as I didn’t think it was possible, Sara is actually working harder than before.  She is the first one awake and the last one asleep, and her laptop is never far from her person.  She and her team are doing amazing things.  They have really made distance learning work and it feels almost like school for many of the 5th graders.  That is not the case in K5.  We are working our tails off, but the reality is that if you don’t have an adult at home who can help, learning just isn’t going to happen.  And it is so hard because it is not anyone’s fault.  We have lots of families where both parents work, and many of them in the medical profession, so how can I ask them to come home and help their child work on teen numbers after a twelve hour day.   To be fair, we also have some amazing families that are making it work.  They are watching our videos, helping their kids, and doing an impressive job.  But is a hard time for everyone, and hearing every day that your class just wants to be back at school together is hard because it is exactly what we want too.

On the pandemic topic, Brasilia is actually doing a good job so far of handling Covid 19.  There are no restrictions on people being outside, but most folks wear masks in stores and give lots of space when passing by each other.  Only grocery stores, pharmacies and medical offices remain open, and it’s working.  We have not seen a huge spike in confirmed cases, and grocery stores are actually overstocked with necessities.  The only shortages were for masks and hand sanitizer, and those were short lived.  We are starting to see cracks in the social distancing, with more people out and about and more cars on the road, but no official reduction of rules yet.  A neighboring state just reopened more stores, so we will see what happens here in the capital

Hannah has online classes every day from 9:30 to 1:30, with homework on top of that.  It is basically a regular school day for her,  just with 50 minutes classes instead of 80.  Lila has a couple of Zoom meetings every day, and then a list of activities to complete.  She is doing a pretty good job of getting things done.  It does make it harder to skip things when your mom is creating all your lessons.

We try to get outside every day.  The girls are learning to throw a frisbee in a manner acceptable to their mother, Lila and I do lunchtime runs, and walks and bike rides are still part of our family world.  Even though we are in an apartment, we have lots of green space and shady walking paths nearby,  which helps a lot.  And we have stopped taking the elevator unless we have a cart full of groceries, so daily stairs are part of our world also.

Despite our apartment smelling like quarantine spirit, we are extremely fortunate to be where we are.   Right now, we feel safe, we have more than what we need, and we are just waiting like the rest of the world to see what comes next.  There are lots of folks in much more dire situations than us, and we just hope we can come together everywhere to figure this out.

I’ll end with a few shots of our daily transformation from apartment to cubicle farm.  Sara gets the kitchen table.  I work in the bedroom at my coffee table standing desk.  Lila moved her desk into the back closet, and yes, that is an ironing board Hannah is working on.

Be safe, be happy, and be well.