Working through the lockdown
A lot is happening in our society, we are living through a historical time right now and the only thing we can do to keep moving forward is stay at home, but… what is there to do?
There’s so many posts around about “things you should be doing during the quarantine” or “things you should have accomplished by the end of this quarantine”, etc. It can be really stressful to think about this, at the same time as dealing with what is for some, a traumatic experience.
We don’t only have to worry about our families, friends, economical situation, and the future of society, but also we’re meant to be doing a lots of work at home? Maybe for some of us that’s possible, but we can’t expect that from everyone in the world. It’s just unfair, as everyone will react differently.
Today, 16th of April 2020, is my 26th day at home, without leaving the bounds of my 600sqft flat at all. I feel okay, but worried, I still have some of my students to teach which really helps me keep myself as sane as possible, and I do like to be at home, but not for so long. So today I decided to write about what happened with my work and how I’m able to survive as a self-employed Spanish teacher and ZUMBA® instructor when I’m not able to leave the flat!
Let’s start with the beginning, how did I react to how the world was changing so fast?
Well, with having family in Spain I expected the quarantine to come to England too at some point. I panicked a bit to begin with, thinking “oh my God, what am I going to do without my classes?”. I’ve only been self-employed for one year, and with no safety net to catch me all that I had on my mind was “how am I going to pay the bills?” and “are my students going to be okay?”.
I absolutely love every student that I have, they make me smile and laugh every class, they show me their love and interest in my native language, and they’re willing to work really hard at learning it, which I appreciate a lot! For most of them it is a way to escape from the routine, to do something out of their comfort zone and social circle, and they enjoy it to the point where some of them even say to me that they’re looking forward to my classes all week! This is just an amazing thing to hear, it really motivates me to keep going and working really hard not only for myself but for them to learn my language the best they can!
Knowing all of this, I had to act quick, I wanted to keep working not only to pay bills but to keep offering my services to all my students that kept wanting to learn Spanish, and as a way to forget about what’s happening in the world for at least one hour. When at home all most people do is browse social media, and let’s face it, most of the things we read are negative and just will make our days longer, worse and more stressful, but I wanted to keep making my students smile and laugh during this quarantine instead!
When I realised how dangerous the situation was and saw places shutting down, even where I taught ZUMBA® on Sunday mornings, I had to think about what I was going to do. ZUMBA® instructors pay a subscription fee per month to be able to teach, so not being able to teach at all but still having to pay the subscription is a bit of a financial pit.
Even before the quarantine hit the UK, I was thinking and acting quickly, I did work on different ways for me to keep teaching Spanish online. I tried many ways until I found Zoom, which I am still using today!
I’m teaching both Spanish and ZUMBA® online through Zoom. I've lost some of my Spanish students during this time because they don’t want to have online classes which I fully understand and respect, so I just had to accept it and keep going with what I have. For ZUMBA® I decided to increase the number of my weekly classes from one to four, that way I make myself workout at least four times a week which will help me not only physically but mentally, I definitely need it, and it’s definitely helping.
After having everything set up for teaching both Spanish and ZUMBA®, I realised how these two things were not only going to keep me alive as a business, but they were going to be an amazing way of keeping me sane and fit too!
So far it’s been stressful and difficult, mainly the massive change in routine, but seeing all my students stay happy, forgetting about what’s happening in the world for at least one hour, making them smile and laugh while learning Spanish or doing exercise with ZUMBA®… That’s the feeling that keeps me going forward, and gives me all the motivation I need!
Happy students = Happy Álvaro
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