The Merry-Go-Round
On the eve of the new year, I commented that 2020 would informally be known as the year of perfect vision. Each year, a dear friend repeatedly challenges me to choose a theme song for my life, and I Can See Clearly Now seemed the obvious choice. That same day, a pneumonia of unknown cause was detected in Wuhan, China, and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). That news didn’t even reach my radar. The merry-go-round was rotating and operating as normal. Up and down. Round and round. By the end of January and into the beginning of February, many of my international teaching friends and colleagues working throughout Asia began to post to social media about schools closing and returning to their home countries. It got confusing to track their movements, not to mention understanding why and where they were going. Around that same time, I had the opportunity towitness the art installation Seeroo fi al ardh , the final artwork of Maqbool Fida Husain, which pushed my thinking and my understanding of art. Art communicates one’s thoughts, emotions and life experiences, pushing one to consider, or perhaps reconsider, her perspective, her view, her lens. The complexity of Husain’s installation almost overwhelms. Where should I look? If I look left, will Imiss somethingon the right?The content of the carousel is simple as it represents the spirit of innovation. Yet it’s not so simple. The colored mosaic backdrop of horses, the hanging bronze sculpture of Abbas ibn Firnas, the recreation of da Vinci’s flying machine, the five Murano crystal glass horses, and the vintage cars from Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani’s Museum combine to enhance one’s excitement and increase one’s adrenaline. By mid-February, the WHO identified the novel coronavirus as COVID-19 and my friends’ Facebook feeds and Twitter comments shifted. The merry-go- round started to slow down a tiny bit, but then resumed its pace. The first case of COVID-19 in Qatar was confirmed at the end February, which coincided with our school’s spring break. Most of my students and colleagues decided to remain in Doha due to travel concerns related to the virus. We returned to school a week later to hold what would be our final two days of face-to-face
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