Covid and Sesame Street

Covid and Sesame Street

December 12, 2019. A cluster of patients in Wuhan, Hubei Providence, China began to experience shortness of breath and fever. Two years since it all started. The pandemic hit California in March 2020. I work as a teacher. I remember receiving the news that the schools needed to shut down because a highly contagious virus that was spreading like wildfire. It was a Friday. I sent the children home and did not see them in person again. I taught online from March to June. I had to learn how to use zoom and find creative ways to keep young children engaged for blocks of half an hour daily. I was planning to visit my family in Brazil that year and had to cancel the trip. Meanwhile, the images of dying people and endless coffins continued to fill the news.

Trying to buy toilet paper, alcohol, and wipes became a daily challenge. Somebody told me that boxes of toilet paper were delivered at a certain store twice a week at 4PM. I went there at 4PM and sure enough there was already a line of people waiting for the boxes. People grabbed the packages even before they were placed on the shelves. It was also hard to find masks even online. People started using bandanas and improvising masks with all kinds of materials including tick cotton socks. Soon enough everybody knew at least someone who had been infected or who knew somebody who had died from Covid related illness. I went back teaching online fall 2020. By then, I had gotten more creative, and the children had grown accustomed to it even though they needed an adult nearby. At times, it felt like I was a character on Sesame Street. Knowing that I was also teaching in front of a camera and having the parents watching me teach heightened my anxiety. I was vaccinated in the Spring of 2021 and went back to teach in person the last week of March. The children have been remarkable! They have not skipped a bit: they keep their masks on most of the time, run around, participated during circle time, and play with their peers. It still exhausting having to remind them to pull their masks up, count to 20 while they wash their hands, and feel my mouth dry up while I read stories and sing songs. I try to breath, be mindful and thankful that everybody around me is healthy. I hope for better days ahead.