Deskwarming Diaries #11

Welcome to another edition of the Deskwarming Diaries, where an ALT is back at school (without students), and is doing…

Today’s post features some general updates, knitting, and virtual exploring. Let’s jump in!

Updates

After another two weeks self-isolating at home, my school has decided to cancel all telework except for specific cases (like teachers with kids at home), so I’m back at work starting yesterday. School won’t be starting back until June; looks like more deskwarming is in my future (= more deskwarming posts)! And while I’m a little peeved I can’t stay at home anymore, it’s nice to be around other people again. There were many days in the past couple weeks where I would lay down for bed and think to myself, “Wow. I didn’t talk to anyone today.” At least now I can get some social interaction!

Even though I haven’t been to school in a while, I’ve still been working on keeping an updated list on all the Covid-19 cases in Nagano Prefecture. Yesterday, the teacher across from me asked me after lunch if there had been any new cases, and all the other nearby teachers laughed; “Right!” they said. “You are our source of information.” And it’s true! Before I started teleworking, I would let them know if there was a case or a press conference happening later. I think they found it funny that I was giving them information in Japanese about current events. I just enjoy it because it gives me a chance to talk to them haha.

Knitting

Knitting is one of my favorite things to do, but ever since I moved to Japan, my relationship with this wonderful hobby has changed. Before, I knitted whenever I felt like it; it was the perfect thing to do while watching TV. Now, I feel like there’s a limited window of time I can actually do it here! Let me explain.

Right now, spring, is the best time for me to knit. Why? The temperature is perfect and there’s a lot of time before winter. For example, I’m working on finishing a looooong, thick, wool scarf. It’s still a little chilly at night, so I drape it over my legs while I work and it helps to keep me warm. I enjoy working on it because knitting is easy in spring (see winter), and I can look forward to completing something and being able to wear it later in the year.

Then summer comes. It gets too hot to knit. That same wool scarf? I don’t even look at it during summer. I don’t have AC in my house, and I don’t want to just sit in my chair sweating and covered by something thick.

Fall, my favorite season. You’d think that, like spring, this would be a good time to knit too; you’re right, but fall is when I do a lot of my traveling. It’s also too close to winter, so I usually look at all my projects and heavy sigh because I know they won’t be done in time for winter.

Winter. No central heating means I can’t raise the temperature of a room to something mildly comfortable, so my hands freeze. They move slowly and lethargically. I could keep them under my kotatsu to warm them up, but then I wouldn’t be able to see my project! Like summer, I don’t even look at my yarn.

See? So long story short, I’ve just been knitting up a storm while self-isolating. The scarf I’ve been using as an example has been on those needles for probably close to two years now, and I’m finally going to finish it! Can’t wait to wear it in winter!

Virtual Exploring

This is a new favorite. I had heard of certain museums doing virtual tours and whatnot, and, while I’m deskwarming, I decided to check it out. Enter the British Museum. This place is freaking huge (I had no idea), and they’ve got cool stuff like the Rosetta Stone, a piece of papyrus from the book of the dead, and Mayan art. You use the street view from Google Maps to explore, and while it certainly isn’t perfect, it’s kinda fun. This interactive timeline from the British Museum is much more interesting in my opinion! You can also search through almost 3.5 million objects in the museum, here. Excuse me while I go get myself lost in learning.

I’ve also explored the Riksmuseum in Amsterdam, home to The Night Watch by Rembrandt. I’ll be honest, I know hardly anything about classical art. But it was still fun to take some time and check out their Masterpieces Up Close virtual tour. You can also check out all the artwork they have, here.

Last but not least, I found a couple live cams for some of the animals at the Smithsonian Zoo! I eagerly clicked on the cheetah cam and was rewarded with a mama cheetah (Echo) sleeping with her four cubs. While I was watching, one of the little ones would inevitably stretch or wiggle and wake everyone up. Brb, my heart is melting.

Have a favorite museum? Check their website to see if you can visit virtually!

Until next time!