Life has not been the easiest in 2020, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. Two UIC international students have both been stuck outside of China for the past several months. One of the students has to attend classes online from her home country. The other was able to get back, but her journey to return was not straight forward. The following are their experiences.
Celeste Velásquez
Celeste Velásquez is a full-time degree-seeking student who is in her third year majoring in Media Arts and Design (MAD). Due to the COVDID-19 pandemic, Celeste is currently at home in Venezuela as she is unable to return. Therefore, Celeste has to start the 2020/2021 semester by doing all her classes online. Below are her experiences and feelings about doing her classes online.
Celeste
Starting a new year online has brought me advantages and obstacles that I would have never predicted, but above all, it brings new experiences that make great anecdotes. Our story starts with the slow and looming approach of September; I spent the end of the summer weighing the pros and cons of having to start the new semester online, but this time with most of my classmates and teachers back on campus.
On the one hand, starting online meant going back to waking up at inhuman hours to attend classes online as Venezuela is 12 hours behind China. I also have to fight vainly with my internet any time it rains as well as feeling disoriented for the rest of the day due to the time difference. On the other hand, I had already survived having the previous semester online, and there were a lot of interesting classes this year that I wanted to attend. And so, with September on the horizon, I decided "Meh, why not? Let's do this!" and then proceeded to miss my first day of class because it rained so much we spent half a day without electricity. The rest of the week went much smoother.
Now with four weeks into the routine, I am finally starting to level the pace. Naturally, I try my best to sleep at 6 pm so that I can go to class at around 2 am. For Tuesdays, I have one class set for the evening, which means I only have to be up at 6 am; this is the latest time, I have to wake up at during the week.
Celeste attending class via her computer
On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I start the day with Chinese class. Since I am the only student at my current level I have to put extra effort into being awake and conscious, so I wake up half an hour earlier to have a snack and some water or an early breakfast if possible. Lastly, I should have class on Fridays, but due to complications with the set up I study the content by myself and meet up with the teacher every two weeks to have a mini-lecture about the given classes. This arrangement is beneficial to me as I can wake up whenever to read the contents instead of trying to follow a lecture at 1 am.
For me the wildest part is knowing I am not the only one with a crazy schedule; two of my teachers have to wake up super early as well to give class and, to be honest, it comforts me a lot to know I am not the only fighting sleep whenever I log in to the class meeting.
All in all, and time difference aside, it is not that difficult to get used to online learning. Most classes, I have adapted well to the online structure. While it is not as fun as being in a classroom or studio, able to turn my head and see people around me, there is a perk in having 6 hours of classes while wearing pyjama pants that no amount of distance can take away from me.
For tips on how to get the most from online classes, I suggest you don't overflow your schedule. This goes to both regular and online classes, but it can hit you incredibly hard with online courses. Even with a regular schedule, studying online can feel quite challenging at times because it is harder to manage time when everything is right next to you, and procrastination can be all the more tempting. So it is easier to make sure you don't engage in very demanding subjects at the same time, especially if the work on three-hour class blocks.
Keeping your files in order is also very important. Typically, people take notes and keep their papers in check throughout semesters, but online, and most documents will be online; this doesn't mean they require less order. If you use a laptop, I suggest building a folder, especially for your study subjects and fill it with subfolders divided by class subject, class content and homework. That will make it easier to find anything you look for and keep you from re-downloading anything you can't immediately find.
Unless you are interested in the class subject, keeping attention on online classes can be challenging, especially if you don't get adequately ready for class, so I advise you to maintain your morning routine. Get up 60 or 30 minutes earlier, have a snack, wash your face, anything that wakes you up and helps you start the morning. Just because you don't need to leave your bedroom does not mean you should wake up 5 minutes before everything.
Finally, classes commonly occur in a classroom, and not the middle of a plaza, for a reason. If you're studying online having a designated space for classes can help you absorb the content later; it doesn't have to be a studio room, or an elaborated corner, just a place free of distractions where you can sit calmly. Additionally, avoid entering the class while you are outside or doing something else; it can easily make you think you are successfully multitasking until the class is over. You realized you couldn't remember anything.
Victoria Yun Ju Park
Victoria Yun Ju Park is a full-time degree-seeking student who is in her fourth year majoring in Cinema and Television (CTV). Due to the COVDID-19 pandemic, Victoria had to go into quarantine as she returned to China from South Korea. She is now on-campus and has returned to classes. Below are her experiences and feelings about returning to China.
Victoria
The COVID-19 outbreak has started, and since then I thought I'd never be allowed to get back to campus to join regular classes face-to-face, let alone even be able to get back to China.
It took a while for me as an international student, to be able to get back to China as all visas and flights were cancelled. I then expected myself to spend another year taking my courses via Zoom from my home in Seoul. However, UIC announced that classes would be back to normal on campus. Since then, thankfully, even though it took fairly long enough time, I was able to get a chance to get my visa done then get a flight and eventually got to spend two weeks at a quarantine-hotel in Guangzhou, China.
I took the flight to Guangzhou from Incheon international airport on the morning of 3 September. Beforehand, taking the COVID test and get a negative result three days before the flight. After I arrived, I went through two more COVID tests that were conducted before and during the quarantine, plus I had to fill in health declaration forms. Masks were, of course, mandatory everywhere.
Upon my arrival at Guangzhou Airport, I followed a one-way track to have many temperature checks, immigration process, and COVID test. Once I was done, I was allowed to pick up my luggage so that I could take the bus to the hotel.
After getting on a designated bus, I was invited to a WeChat group chat for the quarantine hotel and filled in the personal information about my health conditions and my final destination.
It took four hours to get out from the airport, but once we exited the airport, it took about two hours to arrive at Bridal Tea House Hotel, where I had to stay for two weeks for quarantine.
The hotel that Victoria was quarantine at
I was assigned to room 564 on the 5th floor and received 20 bottles of water and given two towels.
Since then, I had to isolate in my room, opening the door only four times a day to receive meals and a temperature check. The breakfast was usually fruit, a sandwich, and a salad, but with lunch and dinner, we had to order by ourselves as food deliveries were allowed. There were different WeChat group chats for various restaurants, and the temperature checks were taken between 10-10:30 am.
I also had to take my final COVID test on the thirteenth day, which was the day before my last day in quarantine.
However, even though my hotel quarantine has already ended on 17 September, UIC asked me to do another 14 days quarantine at home in Zhuhai, so I was only allowed to get back to campus since after Chinese National Day holidays.
Victoria and her classmates when classes were being conducted online
Anyway, after this long journey of quarantining, having online courses, etc., I am glad to be back on campus to meet my friends and professors, to attend on-campus classes, as well as to have some food that I missed having.
What I found that helped me with online classes was creating a dedicated workspace, which made my learning more effective. Also taking notes can promote active thinking, boost comprehension, and extend your attention span. It’s an excellent strategy to internalize knowledge whether you’re learning online.
From MPRO
Editor: Samuel Burgess
