‘’Happiness depends on ourselves’’
Aristotle
I consider myself fortunate and lucky to be in Cambodia, a country that has struggled in the near past, with beautiful people and amazing forests, temples, jungle and islands, the Kingdom of Wonders.
This has been a pretty great place to be during Covid-19 times, actually. Last year we were teaching online from March till June and started face to face in late August with a few weeks online in November and December.
After the winter break we were able to go back to school, teach face to face and even organize sports events, Sports Days for the elementary school and a bike trip in the forest temples of Angkor Wat. We knew that at any time things could reverse, and that this would mean to go back online.
On February 19th we went to Angkor Wat with 60 students and 12 chaperones in 4 buses to be sure that we respected the safety distance and other hygiene protocols. The bike ride happened early in the morning, so there are not many vehicles on the roads, although we tried to be off road as we could.
We had a blast. It was the perfect day, the kids were so excited and cycling in the forest, listening to the birds and other creatures that lived there was like music for our ears. Breathing the pure air throughout our masks and smiling, not only with our mouths, but also with our eyes and hearts. We were so happy!
As we finished the bike ride and were bringing the bikes back in the trucks I saw the terrible news. 25 new cases of Covid-19 in Phnom Penh. Anywhere else in the world, this might sound like a joke, but in this country, the official numbers have been very low, until now.
I couldn’t believe it. We were in Siem Reap, we felt so fortunate that this happened once our trip was up and running and after the bike ride. The weekend kept on going, we visited the temples with the students in the afternoon, and went back to Phnom Penh on the day after, grateful for an awesome trip and for the opportunity to have been able to run it.
On Monday we went back to school, quite rare, as after every single breakout, once of the first things that happened was to close all the schools. And Monday night we had the news, schools closed, online learning will be happening from tomorrow.
And so now it’s been two weeks, with a three day holiday in between.
‘’Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success’’
Shiv Kera
If you are a teacher with young kids you might relate with me. It gets full on at home just helping my kids with their tasks, so I decided to be intentional about it and be present.
My husband is also a teacher and most of his lessons are synchronous, which means that he doesn’t have much time in the mornings to be with the little ones. I do, so I feel lucky that I can do my job at a different time of the day.
Some of the positives of these uncertain times are to be able to run early in the morning, we take turns with my husband, as well as spending more time with my family.
We are been very creative about the games and activities we do and learning how to best support each other.
A month ago, our helper had to go back home, so while we are finding a new one, we are also finding times to do all the chores of the house as well as cook. It’s been challenging at times, but a great learning and a way of appreciating the little things.
My aim with this post is to reming myself all the positives that can be around us, they are very powerful and can totally change your perspective.
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Stay safe and positive!
inspiredbymovement 