Translation of degenerar

I congratulate you on your move to become a private Spanish teacher. People need to believe in you and the most important thing is that you need to believe in yourself. It won't be easy at the beginning.
I interpret this as follows: It reflects the calm life without any hectic atmosphere. The life that these two are looking for (like they did before) is far away: Far away, beyond the river.
I got up at five in the early morning because I wanted to take pictures of the sunrise. I hoped that there would be some fog, as it would add to the atmosphere and would results in great shots.