Shanghai

Journey Back to China: Testing, Quarantine Hotels, and More Testing. Oh My!

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This summer I was very fortunate to be able to visit family back home for a whole month AND more importantly, successfully returned back to China. Going home this summer was definitely a risk considering the strict border policies that China has kept in place. Considering I hadn’t been home since March 2020, I weighed the risks and went for it! I had a great month back home spending time with family, having days of doing nothing in the crisp Colorado air, seeing my goddaughter baptized, spending 4th of July in Wyoming, and so much more. But in the back of my mind was always the stress of completing the journey back to China. The travel policies and regulations of China have been the strictest in the world starting at the end of March 2020 when they completely shut down the border to all non-citizens. In the past 2 years they have “loosened” them somewhat with lots of caveats of qualifying visas allowed, testing procedures/policies to be approved for entry, and variations of quarantine after arriving. No tourists have been allowed into China since March of 2020.

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Shanghai Lockdown 2022: I Survived

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Appropriate photo for the time-a cross stitch I did while locked in my apartment

This global historical event seems like it was in another lifetime, when it only “ended” a few months ago. Living through an entire city being locked down (and I mean locked down) was a wild experience that I feel like I can talk about now that it’s over (mostly). Mid-March during a staff meeting on a Friday, everyone’s phone started pinging with the news that all schools in Shanghai would close and move online starting the next week. No one could imagine the following few months…

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Skip past the end of 2020, all of 2021, and here is life in 2022 !

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* Obligatory message about how I haven’t posted in forever, but have been meaning to, and have delayed it

I just read the last post I made in the Summer of 2020 and it’s wild to reflect on all that has happened since then. I could make a list of 2022 things that happened, both big and small. But I have a brunch to go to, papers to write, and spring cleaning to do. Firstly, Happy Chinese New Year! Here is a look at the biggest events since August 2020. I will attempt to do one for each month that has gone by to where we are now in January 2022.

Here goes nothing.

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The End of Summer Camp!

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Summer camp has officially ended and I am thrilled! It was a long push with no break between the end of last school year and summer camp. My school every summer does a summer camp for six weeks. This summer it was a little more complex as we extended the school year by two weeks. For the most part it just extended into the summer except for the students who have graduated. My school has students from age 2-6 and I teach the oldest class that is preparing for primary school. I thought I would share some of the themes and projects we did the summer for fellow teachers and just everyone else who wants to see all the fun we had!

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Graduation: The Class of 2020

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And just like that the school year finished! It doesn’t feel like it in many ways with the changes because of the virus, but it’s over and my little zebras are off to primary school! We have started summer camp right away with a mix of my students and another class and and have finished a week about Albert Einstein and Tu You You. I was so happy when kindergartens in Shanghai were given the clear to open at the start of June. I really had missed my students, a sense of routine, and being in the classroom. We did online classes for two months and I was ready to be done with that! Online teaching is a lot of work also and required a different type of energy and innovation compared to the classroom. I learned a lot from it but was super glad we didn’t have to continue it any longer. I thought I would share memories from graduation night as it was spectacular and what we had practiced for 5 weeks. Nobody does a kindergarten graduation like China!

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Shanghai, Covid-19 and Returning to “Normal.”

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Checking into my quarantine hotel.

After returning to Shanghai at the end of March (a week before the borders closed to foreigners), I spent two weeks in a hotel being quarantined. Truth be told it wasn’t that bad and I felt lucky to have had the privilege of mandatory quarantine given the state of the world right now. Life has slowly transitioned back to a new “normal” in Shanghai with the opening of Kindergartens at the beginning of June. Other grades had resumed prior and they slowly phased in lower grades. So what does life in Shanghai look like now? When I look at the rest of the world, I know I’m one of the lucky ones who has returned to work and able to go out and about.

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Christmas Season Abroad

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The Christmas season is here and I am on vacation in Philippines as I write! It was a crazy first two weeks of December that involved an unexpected move! I loved my past apartment, but after deliberation with my roommates and landlord we decided not to re-sign. It was an amazing place to call home for a little over a year and I’ll miss that place a lot! However, I am super excited and loving my new place. I have my own apartment in the Former French Concession. It is in a lane house with creaky stairs and only a block away from my yoga studio and gym! Amidst moving I also was working like an energizer bunny on work for the students while I’m on holiday and preparing for our Christmas party. The foreign teachers go on holiday in December and our school hosts Chinese science week! The kids love it. So here’s our super fun holiday party!

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25 Memories for Turning 25

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Surprise I’m 25! On my birthday, my coworkers totally surprised and pranked me! They had a decoy cake on the morning followed by a prank in the afternoon where they told me our December holiday was canceled. I actually was fine and said I would be gone no matter what. Ha! Needless to say, I had a great day and wonderful dinners with friends. 25 feels so good and I’ve had an amazing year. Here are 25 memories that I have loved and will cherish forever. And I truly believe the best is yet to come! Cheers to 25.

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