Settling in

Now that the initial craziness has subsided, and my students have all decided whether to stay or go (just in my group they come from so many different countries! Each with a unique set of concerns/travel restrictions/home country challenges - just in my bat group, students from the US, Venezuela, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the Czech Republic...) - now that the initial panic and travel arrangements have been sorted out, and Panama's borders are closed and no travel decisions are possible anymore, I'm beginning to be able turn my attention to other things. I've been catching up on all the other work items that fell through the cracks during the initial corona-frenzy. Mostly it's been a lot of logistics, figuring out how to get police letters to still allow key personnel to continue to feed the live animals and water the large plots of experimental plants, for example. And of course trying to help the kids through their not yet super smooth school tasks, and minimize the general chaos of the household operations. But I am also slowly starting to attend to some long needed and really satisfying cleanup. Each new surface I unclutter feels like a small victory. A little order and calm in the midst of an uncertain time.