Well into the Lockdown

We've been on lockdown now for about five weeks, and I just realized that I haven't blogged for about three. I think that's due to a couple of things. First, I don't have a ton to write about, being home a lot, and two, I think during the distance learning portion of the lockdown I was just too darn sick of being on the computer to want to spend any more time than was necessary punching away on the keys.

To summarize my lockdown so far - distance teaching/learning from my living room, tons of bicycling, beautiful spring weather in Bavaria, lots of video chats, and lots of Netflix. Add to that a splash of guitar.

The thing that's kept me busiest this past week and a half has been my near daily bike rides. Ever since April 4th, MIS has been on Easter/Spring Break so the distance teaching ended and the long days of not a lot to do began. For the most part I'm sticking to the spirit of the quarantine, but when it comes to the "stay home" part, I just feel like being out in nature, in the sun, with the fresh air is probably just as safe, and maybe even better for my overall health, than constantly staying at home. I've been very stir crazy, a little depressed, sometimes anxious and mostly just bored and unfulfilled with nothing to fill my days. The biking has helped. I've done some longer rides, spending all day out in the Bavarian countryside, taking time for breaks, pictures, lunches and naps. Being out and seeing a few people has definitely been good for my psyche.

I've biked in nearly every direction from Starnberg including a day to and from Munich. I've discovered that it's nearly impossible to chart a course around here of 40-50 miles that doesn't somewhere intersect with a healthy rise in elevation. So, needless to say, I've gotten in pretty decent biking shape. It's felt great, though at times, I won't lie, I've wished for 10-20k of flat terrain. Back in August I bought a used Cube Nature trekking bike from a guy in Munich. Never would I have guessed that I'd put so many miles on the thing. It's become my new best friend, but as friends go, I haven't treated it so nicely. When biking around here it's easy to find yourself on some fairly challenging, rugged terrain. I've put my Cube through its paces on trails that are probably best taken only by serious mountain bikes. My Cube and I have been through a lot together - quarantine buddies 'till the end.

I've boasted and carried on multiple times on this blog and on Facebook about the trails in and around Bavaria. But let me say it one more time. They're amazing. Forests, farm fields, hills, mountains, lakes, rivers, small villages, larger cities - on these trails you see them all. Oh and the app Komoot? We've become fast friends, too. I use it to map and navigate all my biking and hiking routes. Don't know how I lived without it.

As of Monday, it looks like we'll be back in the distance teaching/learning mode. The German leaders are meeting today to discuss what coming out of the lockdown looks like. Some news has already been leaked that the current lockdown will remain in place at least through May 3. If that's true, it means at least two more weeks of teaching from home. I don't love it, I have to say. I videoconference with my students just once a week per class. Otherwise it's assignments delivered electronically and students submitting work back to me. We chat once in a while through Microsoft Teams, but it's mostly a pretty lonely proposition. And it really doesn't feel anywhere close to real teaching. I totally miss my students, and I miss seeing friends and staff every day on campus. Hopefully two weeks is it, and maybe we'll try to make some kind of return to normal before the academic year wraps up at the end of June.

I've been video chatting with Tricia and the kids nearly every day, which has been a Godsend. I miss them more than ever. I've also been video chatting with my MIS friends from time to time, including a daily morning coffee thing we had going there for a little while. A couple of my friends have hosted Facebook Live concerts from their living rooms. So much fun to hear live music, and see them doing their thing to break the monotony in all our lives. And, one night last week I joined Zoom with a bunch of my high school friends from Princeton. That was especially fun, since I haven't seen most of them in almost a year.

In addition to the video chatting, my friends here from MIS and I have gotten together a few times for online game nights. We've played a bunch of different games together over Google Hangouts including Codenames, Cards Against Humanity, trivia and other things. I had fun the other day hosting "The Quarantinelywed Game" - my own spin on The Newlywed Game - with a bunch of us. Writing the questions and putting the game together gave me purpose and something fun to do for a day, then the game itself was a blast. Lots of laughter and inappropriate answers, of course.

Just the other day, a guitar I had purchased on Amazon arrived. I had thought getting started learning to play - something I've wanted to do for a long time - would be a noble pursuit during the lockdown. Just to say, my fingertips already have blisters and I can play four whole chords! Yippee! I hope to stick with it. With the advice and help from a couple of musician friends here, t's been a lot of fun so far!

As for Netflix, let's see - The Tiger King (of course), Prisoners, The Invitation, Money Heist, The Meg, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, The Alcasser Murders, The Edge of Democracy. Damn. That's a lot. I should crack a book.

I guess that's about it for now. Not sure my life will change much in the next couple of weeks, other than the fact that school will resume on Monday. All the best from Bavaria. And stay safe and healthy!