Sabbatical x Pandemic = ?

I have received a number of thoughtful emails from people concerned about us in Spain amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In short, we are fine. Being on sabbatical from our university, we are already working remotely and the kids are already being homeschooled. So on a day-to-day basis our lifestyle is not especially impacted. Of course, we did wake up this morning to the news that our president (who I did not vote for) does not want us back. But that's okay because we're not planning to travel home until mid-July, at which point I certainly hope the worst of this situation is behind us. Of course we are concerned about those at greater risk of illness than we are. And we are doing our best to be responsible, socially-distancing citizens. Our greatest disappointment is that our dear friends are no longer able to visit us over spring break, which we had all been looking forward to. Matt's parents are also scheduled to visit in mid-April and we'll see if that is able to happen (we're guessing no). We are disappointed not to have the opportunity to share this beautiful city with others, but we are safe and healthy. Schools in Catalunya (the region of Spain that Barcelona is in) are closing starting on Monday. Sagrada Familia, the biggest tourist attraction in Barcelona, closed today as well. I understand that the government is looking into ways to reduce public transportation traffic to 1/3 the usual number of people. I hope that measures such as these make a difference and slow the spread of this virus.

In the meantime, I am obsessively following the news in the U.S., especially at home in Delaware. My university has at this point 4 positive cases of COVID-19 and classes are going all online after spring break, which was moved to next week. For those of you not in education, this is a BIG. DEAL.  If I were teaching this semester I honestly don't know how I would make the shift. The technology is there, but it takes time and practice to get used to it and nobody knows exactly how it will work. But people are banding together and helping each other and making it happen. It is inspiring to follow the email traffic from afar, at least in my department (shout out to UD Mechanical Engineering!).

I wish you all continuing health and safety and I'm sorry you can't come visit us in Europe. We would love to see you. I leave you with this picture of Will and Ryan practicing social distancing the way that they know best.