During the term the UNITAS club got together and made bags with essentials for each student staying on campus. They delivered the bags in CPH and the RAs where in charge of distributing them. In the bad there where snacks, cleaning supply and a seed with a flower pot and soil. I had no idea what kind of seed it was but decided to plant it nonetheless. It brought me something to do every morning and I really enjoyed watering it and watching it grow over time. I am still not so sure what it is but it still keeps growing. The plant has proved to be more than just an addition to my room. It is weird when you live alone like me and human contact is so minimal that even a plan can make a big difference.
During the term the UNITAS club got together and made bags with essentials for each student staying on campus. They delivered the bags in CPH and the RAs where in charge of distributing them. In the bad there where snacks, cleaning supply and a seed with a flower pot and soil. I had no idea what kind of seed it was but decided to plant it nonetheless. It brought me something to do every morning and I really enjoyed watering it and watching it grow over time. I am still not so sure what it is but it still keeps growing. The plant has proved to be more than just an addition to my room. It is weird when you live alone like me and human contact is so minimal that even a plan can make a big difference.
During the term the UNITAS club got together and made bags with essentials for each student staying on campus. They delivered the bags in CPH and the RAs where in charge of distributing them. In the bad there where snacks, cleaning supply and a seed with a flower pot and soil. I had no idea what kind of seed it was but decided to plant it nonetheless. It brought me something to do every morning and I really enjoyed watering it and watching it grow over time. I am still not so sure what it is but it still keeps growing. The plant has proved to be more than just an addition to my room. It is weird when you live alone like me and human contact is so minimal that even a plan can make a big difference.
My birthday was in February so I was lucky than I did not have an online birthday celebration like many of my friends. Still, we have managed to make the most out of zoom when it comes to birthday parties. We have managed to bring people together, make videos and to really exploit our creativity. The people that showed up are all across the world in almost every continent. It was very nice to see each other and to get together to celebrate a birthday.
During the term the UNITAS club got together and made bags with essentials for each student staying on campus. They delivered the bags in CPH and the RAs where in charge of distributing them. In the bad there where snacks, cleaning supply and a seed with a flower pot and soil. This was very nice of them and the residents and I appreciated it. We also posted it on the cph Instagram account.
Given the circumstances, several regulations where put in place in CPH. There are several regulations. For example, you need to be wearing a mast whenever you go to buy food and must keep a six-foot distance between yourself and the other students. There are hand sanitizers next to the elevator in the ground floor and the floor is marked showing six feet. This encourages the students to keep their distance from each other.
Given the circumstances, several regulations where put in place in CPH. There are several regulations. For example, you need to be wearing a mast whenever you go to buy food and must keep a six-foot distance between yourself and the other students. There are hand sanitizers next to the elevator in the ground floor and the floor is marked showing six feet. This encourages the students to keep their distance from each other. This is me wearing a mask.
One day I saw a bunny in the first floor of CPH. It belonged to one of the members of the staff and it made my day. The students that came down to get food saw him. It was a very pleasant surprise and he was very cute.
Occasionally I must go to Walmart to buy a few things. The last time that I went I wore my mask and gloves but noticed that a few people were not wearing masks. I thought that this was very interesting but I still wore it just in case. There where entire sections devoted to cleaning supply that where entirely empty so there was no toilet paper or swipes or that kind of thing, which seemed crazy. It was hard to find specific items like specific shampoos.
Occasionally I must go to Walmart to buy a few things. The last time that I went I wore my mask and gloves but noticed that a few people were not wearing masks. I thought that this was very interesting but I still wore it just in case. There where entire sections devoted to cleaning supply that where entirely empty so there was no toilet paper or swipes or that kind of thing, which seemed crazy. It was hard to find specific items like specific shampoos.
The mail room on campus does not handle returns anymore and therefore when I had to return a package I had to go to the closest UPS store. Clearly the store had regulations in place. People had to stand six feet from each other as marked by the marks in the floor and the signs in the walls. I thought that these regulations were very well handled since there was a number of people in the store but everyone kept their distance and everyone was wearing masks.
I am a sophomore in Union College so this is the second spring that I have spent on campus. Last spring was definitely an experience for me because I am not used to winter so when winter was over and all the students where excited about the spring so was I. Everyone is excited for alumni weekend, springfest, and so many other activities that we get to do with our friends. We also get to say goodbye to the seniors that are leaving. This spring could not have been more different since it is only about 60 students currently on campus. In the beginning it was very sad to walk around the blooming trees and see that there was no one else around where under regular circumstances people would be outside all day. I definitely got to experience spring differently since I would be the only one walking around an empty campus. The garden where students would usually go for picnics or just to hang out was still beautiful but it was definitely missing some life.
I am a sophomore in Union College so this is the second spring that I have spent on campus. Last spring was definitely an experience for me because I am not used to winter so when winter was over and all the students where excited about the spring so was I. Everyone is excited for alumni weekend, springfest, and so many other activities that we get to do with our friends. We also get to say goodbye to the seniors that are leaving. This spring could not have been more different since it is only about 60 students currently on campus. In the beginning it was very sad to walk around the blooming trees and see that there was no one else around where under regular circumstances people would be outside all day. I definitely got to experience spring differently since I would be the only one walking around an empty campus. The garden where students would usually go for picnics or just to hang out was still beautiful but it was definitely missing some life.
There have been several regulations placed in Ecuador since the COVID-19 outbreak began. One of them was that people could only leave their house to get food or medicine. Also, some vehicles could only go out on a specific day dictated by the last number in their license plate. This caused a very sharp decline in the number of cars that were out in the streets. Many people would go to buy food in bicycles since they could not take the car out. This reduced pollution in Quito and the sky was very clear. This video was recorded by my father on his way back home after buying groceries. It shows an active volcano called Cotopaxi which can be seen clearly.
Since gyms are closed people need to exercise in their own houses. My grandma used to take walks across the city but now she can only take them in the garden. It is important for people that are at high risk to keep their defenses high and a good way to do that is exercise.
People in Quito are allowed to leave their house only to go buy food or medicine. My grandma has several visits to the doctor due to her eyesight. In order to avoid risks she wears a suit, gloves and mask in order to avoid contamination. When going to a hospital it is always scary because many people containing the virus could be there so she must take extra care since she is high risk.
Since gyms are closed people need to exercise in their own houses. My grandma used to take walks across the city but now she can only take them in the garden. She uses my stationary bike at home in order to exercise her legs and she really enjoys it. It is important for people that are at high risk to keep their defenses high and a good way to do that is exercise.
Losing spring fest was definitely a disappointment but everyone got excited when we hear that we were actually going to have an online spring fest. Jason Derulo was going to perform and everything was recorded life. Many people signed up to watch and I was chatting with my friends while Jason preformed. It was definitely an experience and it was Very nice of Union to get creative with it and have a unique spring fest. The event lasted about one hour and several students got so ask Jason questions which was very cool. I will not forget this spring fest.
When I stared getting bored in CPH I decided that I had to get a puzzle. My family has always enjoyed solving puzzles in the dinning room table so I knew that this could keep me busy for a while. I got a 1000-piece puzzle on amazon and due to the corona virus, it took a bit longer to arrive. I find it very relaxing to solve puzzles and just clear your mind of all the stress related to classes or other things. I needed a flat surface to build the puzzle so I used the cardboard box where it came. The puzzle shows an astronaut in space and the entire solar system but obviously not in the most realistic way.
When I stared getting bored in CPH I decided that I had to get a puzzle. My family has always enjoyed solving puzzles in the dinning room table so I knew that this could keep me busy for a while. I got a 1000-piece puzzle on amazon and due to the corona virus, it took a bit longer to arrive. I find it very relaxing to solve puzzles and just clear your mind of all the stress related to classes or other things. I needed a flat surface to build the puzzle so I used the cardboard box where it came. The puzzle shows an astronaut in space and the entire solar system but obviously not in the most realistic way.
I get asked very often how to stay entertained in CPH and there are many things that I stared doing while I have been here. One of them is drawing and painting. I am not exactly an artist but I found that drawing can be very relaxing and specially during these hard times it was very nice to lose myself in a piece of paper. Also, the weather is not always nice so during the rainy days I would draw a lot. This is the sketch that I did numerous times of a lion.
I get asked very often how to stay entertained in CPH and there are many things that I stared doing while I have been here. One of them is drawing and painting. I am not exactly an artist but I found that drawing can be very relaxing and specially during these hard times it was very nice to lose myself in a piece of paper. Also, the weather is not always nice so during the rainy days I would draw a lot. This is the sketch that I did numerous times of a lion.
Adapting to the online environment has been a challenge for students and professors alike. In the beginning we all had to get used and familiar with zoom. This could be particularly challenging because there where days when the internet did not work in CPH and at least two times the power went out. I did miss a few classes due to connectivity issues but most of the time the professors where quite understanding. This video shows when my zoom app in my iPad broke down during my German class.
My birthday was in February so I was lucky than I did not have an online birthday celebration like many of my friends. Still, we have managed to make the most out of zoom when it comes to birthday parties. We have managed to bring people together, make videos and to really exploit our creativity. The people that showed up are all across the world in almost every continent. It was very nice to see each other and to get together to celebrate a birthday. We asked everyone to make videos of themselves saying happy birthday and then we combined it into one big video that we showed during the zoom celebration. It was a lot of fun to see everyone’s reaction to the video. It was a small way to celebrate a friend’s birthday from afar.
