The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. And for the first time in living memory I think we can all safely say we share that experience. In the space of a 48 hours I went from cruising down the French Alps on a snowboard without much of a care in the world, to cutting my year abroad short, driving from the Alps to Aix to grab my stuff and get out of France before all the flights stopped running. Now I’m home things seem to continue to get more and more unimaginable every time I turn on the TV. In fact sometimes when I do turn on the news it feels as if we’re watching fictional footage created for some dystopian Netflix original. But we’re not.
This blog has, recently, been a place where I have voiced some often harsh criticisms of my time in France and so it won’t be a surprise to most of you that my year away was a challenge for me. I’m not going to go into that more now because there’s plenty of previous posts you can check out if you haven’t already that explore that in more detail. However, I never expected these circumstances to be the ones in which I would be returning home. I was ready to come home to a perfect British summer where I’d catch up on all the socialising I’d missed out on in the last 6 months. In fact being back with my closest people was one of the key things keeping my head up on the loneliest days in France, yet here I am, at my computer, a little bit lost as to what I’ll do next, much like I’m sure many of you are too.
There are, I must admit, some positives though. In reality I’ve basically been practicing this whole isolation/quarantine/social distancing thing for the last 6 months so being at home with my parents, two siblings, a piano, guitar and a whole host of video games is really an upgrade on what I had before. Of course I miss my daily trip to the boulangerie but other than that, I’m okay with being home. My family and friends are safe and in good health and that currently seems to be all that really matters.
I think for us exchange students especially, these are confusing times academically. For some of us, our host institutions are still expecting us to complete the program remotely and sit virtual exams etc… My host institution has been, as expected, unclear in how they wish to proceed. Some professors are sending daily work, others are ignoring me completely, and so I’m opting to effectively terminate all relations with Aix Uni and complete alternative assessment at UoB. Another thing I didn’t think I’d be doing this exam season but everything is unexpected these days.
We are having to make some tough decisions at the moment and although we are reminded constantly that it’s for the greater good that doesn’t make those decisions any easier. If you are struggling, you are not alone. A lot of us, myself included, may be feeling lonely, bored or just a bit useless during these frustrating isolation days. I think the last point is particularly poignant and one that I am having to actively battle against in order not to lose my mind. Feeling useless is going to be something especially troubling for those of us who have either lost our jobs or cannot currently go to the jobs we do have. For everyone the solution is going to be different. I have found learning new skills is a really good way to not only pass the time but leave you feeling accomplished as you turn in for the night. Try to learn an instrument, cook something you haven’t before, take an online course in something you haven’t learnt about before (there is loads of quality, free content online at the moment if this is something that interests you). I am going to try and funnel more of my energy into our allotment (you never know when the fresh produce is going to run out in Tesco…). Jokes aside, give something new a go. It will give your day some structure and you’ll feel less useless.
If all that fails, make yourself a hot drink, pick up a kids novel and escape into that instead (works for me every time).
Stay safe at home, wash your hands, be kind and keep your head up,
Love
J
P.s. If you need reading recommendations or are struggling to find the kinds of online courses I mentioned above, drop me a DM and I’ll try my best to help!