Day 90: more online schooling?

The president of the Philippines has announced recently that no face-to-face school until a vaccine is found. This means probably no school for at least one semester. I didn’t give much thought about it as I don’t take him seriously. But then a colleague of mine said she’s planning to go to japan for the time being so her kid can get some real education. I suddenly wonder…. what should I do? what are my options?

Obviously I can’t envision to continue the current state for another 6 months or more. Working load is crazy and homeschooling for two kids is just impossible, and I do worry about educational implication for the kids, not so much academically but more emotionally. They both love social time with their friends and online learning makes it impossible. I try to schedule face play date for them with whoever is available, but it’s just not optimal. The more I think about it, the more I started to worry. I then talked to few more colleagues in my situation and each of them has different family situation and preferences. It’s interesting to learn from others, but I came to realise that this kind of decision is also personal, it reflects our family values and should not be compared to others. At the end, I wrote to management to get some more clarity before I can make a decision. Are we even allowed to work remotely from other countries so our kids can get real education?

One option is send the kids back to China while I stay here. I know this will be hard for me and the girls, so I asked them casually and the answer came clear: they’d rather continue online learning to stay with mommy. Well… one option down, which I’m kind of relief to know. I don’t need to struggle about it.

To be continued.

On a positive note, I had a great run, the weather was soooo cool (25C), I run 1 min/mile faster than usual and didn’t even feel it. We are finally allowed to use the green path again so I loved seeing some red

After my run I took the girls for a walk so they can enjoy some fresh air too.

We invited over a friend’s kid for pizza. They loved the pizza but I felt that Sofia didn’t like the playdate so much. I can understand but felt sad about it. Sofia craves sooo much friendship and she’s deprived from it.

for the adults I made green beans, radish cake, remained, fungus with our okra and tofu skin.

I took a nap after lunch, glorious, first time in a while. Then I read some before I head out for an evening walk with a colleague friend. I haven’t seen her since March, although we talk almost daily. It was nice to catch up for real, especially when she’s going through some personal struggles. There’s nothing more comforting than a friendly hug when one’s vulnerable.

On sunday i’ll meet with another colleague friend for morning run. i am also craving human interaction clearly 🙂

Q: How are you keeping in touch with friends during quarantine? 

I find chatting online is okay to know what’s going on with each other’s life but the spontaneity is gone.