Lessons Learnt the Hard Way

Last night I had a dream. The kind that puts you in a stupor. The kind that when you are in it, you live it, breathe it, drown in it. It is both real and surreal. And now I've half forgotten it but the uneasiness remains. The kind of uneasiness that lingers ever so like a dark cloud on an already downcast day. The kind of dream that when you wake up from it, you woe the hour you fell asleep. 

What a couple of months: school reopened, marriages started in full swing, Biden got elected and Covid is coming back - hard! Oh! And I won an award: The Meritorious Mention Award (story writing competition - SPELT conference). In fact, they even asked me to participate at the closing ceremony of the prestigious educational conference. I didn't expect to win, but I did. The prompt was to write an inspirational story from the classroom. I couldn't pin point just one, so I did what I do best and subverted expectations - and won. And for your reading pleasure, I'll put it up for you to read:

It's been a while, but in my defence a lot has been happening. First, my sister had a baby, her third boy. But it was a risky surgery with her life on the line. Thankfully, all ended well and then she came over to stay. They're gone now, after a month, and it's quiet. I miss the kid the most - she named him after my third born. Simultaneously, I've been giving online classes. I have a dirty little secret: I actually enjoy planning and executing these online sessions. There are just so many great interactive sites to get students' thinking juices flowing. And the impact has warranted an unprecedented amount of ... love. It's so humbling... kids are awesome. So much better than adults who just chew you and spit you out... well not all adults... ha ha. Case in point from a little 5th grader (excuse her English - I was subbing in for a fifth grade teacher): I didn't even know she had put this post into the Zoom chat until my co-host teacher saved it and i...

This virus is sweeping over entire nations like a swell that births in the middle of the vast ocean, insignificant at first, but gradually building into a crest, rising, gathering a deep rumbling power, developing momentum, coming head on, swallowing anything and finally leaving devastation and despondency in its wake. As a daughter, I fear for my elderly parents, even more so because my brother, who was diagnosed a couple of weeks back is in quarantine in the next room, although he has recovered for the most part. As I sister, I still worry about him. My dad still goes out and carries on, but he understands that wearing a mask is not crazy and that keeping a distance is a good thing. As a teacher I feel so much sadness from my kids when they say they can't submit an assignment because of the death of a loved one and infected parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles. This morning a beautiful talented young lady wrote an apologetic email citing that two of her uncles had pa...

With norms of society being rewritten everyday, some things never change. - With remote/ distance learning being all the rage and teachers the world over stepping up their tech game, the fact remains we all miss our classes and student interaction like crazy; I believe the opposite holds true for students too. The only thing is, we just took it for granted before. It will be a happy happy day when we are all together again. - With most of the world in self-isolation, it has been a moment of glorious reconnection. Ironic how it took the world to retreat into the recesses of their homes to bring hearts closer to each other. Absence does, in the words of someone wise, make the heart grow fonder. - In the face of uncertainty, humanity it turns out, is pretty resilient. And there really are more good people out there than I realised. Well good as in really trying to help out people in dire need. Any good person is a 'bad guy' for someone I guess. - About myself, I am...

The current global climate has been taking a toll on everyone: from moms to kids, from teachers to students, from employees to employers, from the homeless to the elite. Nobody has been spared this minuscule organism's wrath. But just like all things that encompass tragedy and adversity, there is always a silver lining. This post will unveil the wonderful things that have come my way, even as I sit here missing my work, drowning in anxiety over the fate of my O Level students in the wake of the cancellation of exams, craving a BBQ roll, and yearning for family that can't be in close proximity.

Winter Break is ancient history - so is Spring Break. A cacophony of memories evoke complicated feelings that are on either side of the positive and negative spectrums, ultimately negating each other. But current affairs are happy. Let me explain. It's not too difficult. I have yet another niece to add to my  portfolio of being an aunt. She's perfect in every way. And while I have enjoyed my time with my brother and his family, I have also enjoyed (unexpectedly) taking in the sights here in Doha; and I still have a couple of weeks left on the itinerary.