General Update

No Sunday snippet again. I haven't written a word of fiction in March, and I don't actually feel too bad about it. I'd like to write more, and I have a tiny seed of an idea, but I'm just tired. We had our "Ski Week" break last week, so I went up to York and Leeds and met friends and stayed in a Probably Not Haunted hotel and bought so much American candy from a shop.

We're back online, and while I feel okay about this mentally, my poor stupid body is not on board with my anxiety management techniques. My tummy in particular is distressed, but I won't say much more. Suffice it to say, it's irritating.

My school admin will be sending surveys to the families this week to see if we have enough staff and students around to have even a partial return to campus. If we do, then I will probably go back to Minsk the week after next. I still don't have my passport situation resolved, but my current passport is still valid, as are my visas, so I may just end up picking it up when I leave Europe in June.

I also have no job lined up for next school year yet. I feel like I'm going to be unemployed for a bit, which is scary but also I'm really really tired, so it wouldn't be the worst thing, aside from having to find health insurance.

Which I will think about later.

Interesting Times #9

We had a week off last week and started up again today, including our normal staff meeting. Things don't seem to be getting worse in BLR, so I'm probably going back either this weekend or next week. We still have a lot of families in country. Once a survey of just who is and is not around is done, we'll have a better idea of how to serve our families while still keeping ourselves safe. It seems like there are far more elementary kids whose families have stayed than secondary or middle. In addition, secondary and middle school kids are much better able to work online than the littles, so there is a real possibility my classes will stay online indefinitely, and I could stay in the UK. But I really want to go back to have some sort of closure -- and close up all my things in my apartment. I'm also worried about my AP students. One of the kiddos will definitely not be back, but I think I will have an easier time arranging things from a stable location in my classroom as opposed to my friend's lounge.

I am taking advantage of the opportunity to do a little retail therapy while I'm still in England. I'm up to about 12 books bought or ordered. Tee hee. Plus I added a few items to my wardrobe to see me through the rest of the school year. (Not to be too personal, but I think I got a bad batch of underpants when I restocked in the summer because the elastic waistbands have not held up, so it's nice to restock those.) I'll mail some things home from England, like some of the books. Other books I'll read and leave in my classroom library. I got volumes four and five of the cute manga A Man and His Cat because my students really adore that series.

This is all still tentative, but I find myself looking forward to returning to Minsk, especially since so many families are still there. I am less hopeful about my job prospects for the next year, since people leaving Kyiv are being given precedence in our school system transfer, as well as those from our schools in China, and of course, I understand and support that. Those families and teachers need to move a lot more than I do, but still. It's scary to have so much unknown and to be in such a state of flux for as long as I have been and will continue to be. So if you have any good vibes to spare in these Interesting Times, send 'em to the Job Fairy so I can have a good place next year.