Get to know our community through interviews with students, parents, siblings, and faculty members about their experience with the shelter-in-place and things they are looking forward to.
IN TODAY’S POST:
Alexa Hart, English Teacher | Spencer B. ’21 | Sophia Y. ’22
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ALEXA HART, ENGLISH TEACHER
What is one thing you have learned about yourself during quarantine?
I am a perfectionist and that doesn’t go well in the face of a pandemic.
What is one thing you have learned about someone you are quarantining with?
I have learned how demanding my husband’s job is and how little coffee he requires (compared to me).
How do you think your life will change compared to pre-quarantine?
I imagine that it will change pretty dramatically in some ways—concerts, conferences, large gatherings will be canceled or restricted for a long time. In other ways, it won’t. I am optimistic that socially we will rebound to embracing each other again. I hope.
What do you miss most about teaching classes on campus?
I miss the energy in the room. I miss the smiles and side conversations. I miss my colleagues. I miss the hectic yet predictable pace of Nueva.
What’s one new habit or activity you have picked up during quarantine?
Waving to my neighbors and I started a Friday night Zoom call with my grad school friends. I hope that I keep both habits.
What was one mistake you made during quarantine?
Just one? HA! I have been humbled by the mistakes I have made throughout quarantine. Just a few? Sharing my screen with students who had already seen the assignment last semester with a different teacher. Missing what time a class started.
What emotion do you feel most often during quarantine?
I feel like I have to be a shark and in constant motion. I don’t know if that is a specific emotion but it feels like a necessary biomimicry to embrace as a mother, teacher, partner, and friend.
Who do you talk to most during quarantine? What was the last conversation you had?
I talk to my kids the most. My last conversation with my daughter was about why she shouldn’t drop her hair bow in the toilet. Ya know, highbrow stuff.
What is one “forbidden fruit” thing you want to do during quarantine?
Ohh…playdates.
SPENCER B. ’21
What’s something you’ve learned while in quarantine?
Our family has been cleaning the house every Saturday. I’ve learned how to clean a lot of places and things in the house (for example, the fixtures in the bathroom).
What’s the first thing you plan on doing once you’re out of quarantine?
I want to see a movie. I want to be able to go to the theater with friends and watch whatever’s out at the time.
How do you think your life will be different post-quarantine?
I’ve been trying some things I haven’t done in a while—playing video games and reading some of my old books. I might go back on that string.
SOPHIA Y. ’22
What’s one new habit or activity you have picked up during quarantine?
I’ve made a habit to go outside and kind of walk or bike. You don’t really have time when you have school every day. When you can’t go outside, you wanna go outside. It’s just, like, being rebellious. Your way of being like “ha-ha, world.”
How do you stay away from people when you’re outside?
Oh, my god, it’s actually awful. I play a very dangerous game of Crossy Road. I walk the Bay trail, and on the other side, there’s a sidewalk, so if there’s a person coming toward me I just have to go into the road. And if there’s a car coming at me I’m like, you better stop or this will be the end of me. At this point, I’d rather get run over by a car than [interact with someone].
Once there were three people coming right at me and they were walking in a straight line and they were not family, okay? I can confirm that. So I was like, okay, I guess I’ll go onto the grass and—okay, it wasn’t really their fault, but—I fell and I almost twisted my ankle and I was really mad at them. I’d just like to say—PSA: if you’re gonna go outside and not follow the rules at least walk in a single file line. I also saw a whole host of like sixteen kids—not sixteen but like, let’s imagine—and they were all on bikes. They were all charging. And they were behind me and I had my earbuds in and I turned around and it’s just like a pride running at me and it was scary and I did not enjoy it. So I would just like to say. Families are the worst.What emotion do you feel most often during quarantine?
I’m pretty happy. I try to be happy. Just ‘cause like, I just feel like I already stay inside a lot. The only thing I really miss is going to school with my friends, but I can Zoom them. Sometimes I kind of forget we’re in quarantine. I’ve kinda gotten used to it.
Who do you talk to most during quarantine? What was the last conversation you had?
Definitely my brother. We talk about life. We kind of argue a lot. Usually he’ll ask me to make him food and then we’ll have an argument about why I won’t. Or, like, he wants to sneak out and meet friends. Oh! Or if he goes out to get food. We’ll talk then.
Favorite thing you ate during quarantine?
My brother made burgers for us and they were really good. And I had this two-day phase where I just made a bunch of muffins and we had just gotten a ton of fruit and I kind of wasted all the fruit but it was fine. And it was so good. I don’t know if my parents enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it.
Okay, I have a thing for Chipotle, it’s actually my favorite thing in the entire world. Chipotle is just so good. Like, my brother hates it because apparently he has a weak stomach, I think he was there when there was an E.coli outbreak. I just like to consider that someone’s looking out for me. The Chipotle gods are like, you belong here.What is one thing you want to do as soon as the shelter-in-place is lifted?
I’d probably just go on a fast food run. Just the satisfaction of being able to go to Chick-fil-a and get something, and In-N-Out and get something, and McDonald’s and get something. I know fast food has kind of a bad rep at Nueva, but yeah. And then take a road trip to, like, Canada. I’ve been with my entire choir before and it kind of sucked because my breakfast was taken by border control. I just was a good kid and reported that I had meat with me, so.
