Back to School: COVID-19 Edition
Hello! And welcome to the Back to School blog post! This is one of the few times where I wish my blog was a vlog. But alas, it is not. Buckle up, and let’s get into this!
Moving In
The past two weeks have been the definition of weird and crazy as I moved out of quarantine and into my dorm and began my classes for the semester. The craziness started on Wednesday, August 20. I was sitting at my desk eating and working on this blog when my phone rings. It was one of the Residential Directors here on campus, and he asked me if I planned on moving out that day. I was taken aback, because I had received an email stating that I was supposed to move out the next day, Thursday. I stammered out a response, and he basically told me, in the nicest way possible, to please pack up and move out.
Well, having been in quarantine for two weeks, I was not going to spend another night in Salam House, room 913A. After hanging up, I did what any normal girl does: I called my mom. I hurriedly told her about the phone call and after ten minutes, I hung up and started packing. In-between shoving things into my suitcases and backpack, I called a friend to pick me up (thanks, Matt!). Forty minutes after the initial phone call, I left my quarantine housing.
After Matt picked me up, he took me to my dorm building and we hauled my things up to my room on the seventh floor. My roommate for the year, Arianna, had already moved in earlier that week, and she was sitting on the bed while I unloaded the blue bin and just set boxes and bins on my side of the room.
Matt and I retrieved the rest of my things I had left in New York at my twin’s house (thanks, Alex!) and within an hour of him picking me up, I had all my things in my dorm (thanks, Matt!). The room looked like it was a bomb ready to explode. Arianna graciously left so the room could explode before being put back together. I then, for the next three hours, moved furniture, made my bed, and put things away in the dresser, in the desk, and in the armoire. As someone who likes the familiar, I attempted to copy the way I had my side of the room last year. I was waiting for a box from my mom to completely finish my room.
On Saturday, my friend Jovani took me shopping and I bought a wall mirror and some more storage, as well as lots of Command strips and bathroom items. On Monday, I retrieved the box from the post office and was able to finish up my side of the room. Don’t the pictures add a nice touch?
Memories to keep me company during the year.
The rest of the week and the weekend consisted of adjusting back to campus life and preparing for the start of classes. I did the little homework I was assigned and hung out (safely) with friends I hadn’t seen since mid-March. So far it has been bittersweet: some friends transferred from Hofstra; some friends have decided to stay home and take all their classes online; some friends don’t live on campus anymore and instead live off-campus nearby. It’s definitely a different dynamic than last year, and I miss the familiar.
But I know this is all about growing up. Life will always throw curveballs at you, and I just need to grow accustomed to dealing with them.
First Week of Classes
Monday is my heaviest day of the week with three classes. I have my Women and Politics in the Middle East class via Zoom before hurrying to my Shakespeare: Off-Stage class which is in-person.
First day of school — reppin’ the Hofstra blue and gold!
I’m super excited for these two classes. As a feminist, I am always looking to better understand women’s issues where they occur outside of the U.S. I know there are a lot of misconceptions of how women in the Middle East are viewed and treated, and I want to know how I can be a better ally for women in the Middle East. (Plus, it’s taught by my favorite political science professor!)
My Shakespeare class is taught by one of my favorite deans. In this class, we’ll be looking at the historical context that surrounds Shakespeare and his time. We’ll be looking at the history of print, and how people read and received books in that time period. Our first big reading is Venus and Adonis. While the situation described in the poem is not ideal, the language and form of the poem is beautiful. We’ll also be reading Othello, Hamlet, and I also will be reading Macbeth for a project later in the semester.
After my two classes, which was just reviewing the syllabus and going over class policies, I ate lunch on campus before picking up the box my mom sent me and heading back to my dorm. (That box was heavy!) I unpacked the box once I got back to my dorm, and then I did some homework.
At 6:30pm, I had my online Book Promotion class. It’s a three hour class every Monday night. Thankfully, I know a lot of people in the class, and they help make it bearable. The professor let us out early by over an hour, so I spent the rest of the evening on my bed doing homework.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my only class is Arabic! I have an entire blog series dedicated to my journey of learning Arabic: #ArabicWithAlex. You can read about my first week of Arabic classes here!
On Wednesday, I had my Shakespeare class again. Afterwards, I grabbed lunch with a friend before heading back to my dorm. I did some homework before 6pm rolled around and I had to hike back to the south side of campus where I have a different 6:30pm class that meets once a week in-person for three hours: Editing Fundamentals. What’s great about these classes is that the professors work in the publishing industry during the day, and then come teach once a week. So we have direct access to knowledge about the publishing industry. While I hate how late and how long the classes are, I think that’s pretty cool.
Friday was a long day. I met up with my “twin” Alex for breakfast before class. It was really nice to talk with her and catch up, since we hadn’t seen each other that week. We walked to our Women and Politics in the Middle East together. Funny enough, we didn’t know that the other had signed up for the class until weeks after class registration closed! Class in-person, rather than via Zoom, was interesting, to say the least. We had a good discussion, though, and we students got to talk among one another. After class, Alex and I headed back to her place to study together. Another friend of ours, Shelby, joined us later.
It was a long week. It was a weird week. It was a good week. I miss the feel that campus had my freshman year, but I am so grateful to be back here in person… for however long it may last. Here’s to a safe, healthy, and prosperous semester.