Zoom Zoom Zoom

Nobody disputes that Zoom has been a lifesaver during the pandemic.

Sure, we all complained when we first started Zooming around. It was hard to learn how to join with audio, how to use breakout rooms, how to raise your hand virtually, and especially how to mute your mic when you are yelling at your partner to bring you a coffee. But we easily figured out the tricks: wearing a nice jacket over your pyjamas, and drinking your wine out of an opaque water bottle. Zoom has given us a germ-free world inside the safety of our homes.

I’m currently enrolled in 2 Zoom courses; they are both entertaining and often amusing. I follow a fitness class at 9:15 on Mondays. I believe this is a good way to get the week started. The instructor, Sean, sees things differently. There I am, ready with my weights and water and where is Sean? Well he usually shows up around 9:25. He is mostly in a rented studio, but during the Easter break he visited his sister and used her living room for the class. I had trouble focusing, as I studied her home and noticed that her tropical plants needed watering. Should I tell Sean?

Last week Sean had a new student join – his cat Gus. Gus, a tabby house cat, rubbed against Sean’s legs as he led us in some balancing poses. Next Sean got out the stretch bands and Gus got on a nearby table so he could bat at the bands as they flew around. Then Sean lay on the floor for some abdominal exercises and Gus climbed in his lap and fell asleep! Now that was a dangerous example for the rest of us who were also ready for a nap.

My other Zoom class is Italian. I have been studying Italian since the pandemic began and I must admit that this pandemic will have to last a few more years if I am to become fluent. I have switched teachers twice. The first time was because the class was progressing too quickly while I needed to go backwards. (This is hard for a former teacher to admit!). The second class was on Monday evenings at dinnertime and I found it difficult to cook, eat, and study all at once.

So now I’m in a new morning class with a new teacher. Letizia doesn’t have a cat; she has a dog – a very barky dog. When he gets into one of his moods, she has to go into the other room and cuddle him on the couch till he settles down. She also has a husband who brings her snacks throughout the class. And she doesn’t even have to yell at him to get this service! The first class went very well except that I set up in the TV room where Peter wanted to watch TV and soon I was getting calls from the other students to “mute.”

The second class was even more interesting: it turned out that 2 of the students had Covid and were lying in their beds or relaxing on the couch in their pyjamas, their kleenex boxes and pills on the table beside them. Then Letizia started doing a little sniffling as well. Not to miss a “teachable moment,” she quickly switched to medical words such as cough, headache, and sneeze. It seems like Zoom and Covid have a partnership going on.

Pace e bene tutti! Which, roughly translated, means “Stay safe and try some Zoom classes.”

Sue