Reporting from Shenzhen, China: Back to School ... Online

It is nearly 4 o'clock in Shenzhen. I am just wrapping up my school day -- a very quiet, but productive day of delivering curriculum and feedback to my students on online platforms.

Sitting on my classroom beanbags, finding a friend peaking in behind me. #SISrocks

It'll be interesting what this more solitudinal life does produce ... today I wondered if I was really meant for Mars.

Because with Google and China #itscomplicated, Shekou International School uses Microsoft Office as our collaborative learning space. I have spent a good part of my day monitoring and dropping into book club discussions happening in Microsoft TEAMS.

I would prefer to be conversing with my students in person, but what was cool about today is that I could drop into multiple book clubs in the same hour; generally, during class time I can only sit with one book club each day.

I did start the day with some yoga, and then made it to a cafe near school in time to catch the halftime show.

HH Gourmet was opened by an ex-pat from New York -- he supplies Shekou's bagels.

This is the only part of the Superbowl that I understand. All hail Shakira and J. Lo!

I was getting sweet updates from Minnesota while I watched the halftime show, and I was excited to see that my two youngest nieces are working on being in the show in a few short years. #justaquickheadbang

After working for a bit at school, a few of my friends and I ventured out for lunch. There were two other individuals eating at a restaurant, Les 5, on what we call The Strip, the long line of massage places, restaurants, bars and pet stores that runs for several blocks adjacent to SIS.

Two Midwesterners and a Pacific North Westerner featured here.

Today's new norms: temperature checks when you walk into a restaurant and complimentary (read: mandatory) hand sanitizer at the same time. Later, when I walked into my apartment building, I stepped into the elevator to find that a box of tissues had been taped to the elevator wall. Convenient, I thought.

After school, I was blessed with almond cookies and almond bread baked by Alli, time to get down with my #wholebowls routine in my kitchen, and space to meditate.

Stepping away from devices now so that I can turn back to Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill.

Good night, or good morning, certainly have a good day from me and the kitty who loves to live on my air purifier.

I don't ever have to worry about her getting kitty asthma; she's breathing the best air in the house.